Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

En King i les libèl·lules by Kacen Callender, Kacen Callender

82 reviews

jocelynzoe's review against another edition

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse and Homophobia

Minor: Racism and Abandonment

chemeducator's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Racism

Minor: Bullying and Abandonment

mirandaleighhhh's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I loved this and thought it was beautiful. Love that it's a middle grade book, love books that drive home that kids are people and that their feelings are real and important. (and meant to be felt) Would have loved to have read something like this when I was younger.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Racism, and Grief

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Grief, Murder, and Outing

Minor: Sexism

cats33's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Beautiful story about growing up and figuring out who you are, despite all the hindrances the world throws at you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Grief, and Outing

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Chronic illness, Cursing, and Death of parent

citrus_seasalt's review against another edition

4.5

I’ve had mixed feelings about Kacen Callendar’s books as I read them(depends on where in their published works I am), but I’m glad I’ve come back to their writing! “King And The Dragonflies” is an example of how kidlit can (sometimes) be some of the most profound stories I’ve ever read. While this wasn’t a perfect one-to-one replica of a kid’s mindset, I liked how King was flawed, sometimes struggling to make decisions if they involved people outside of himself, and learning to keep the other perspectives of his friends in mind. His self-discovery and grief were also carefully handled, and I liked how it tied into the closure to the magical realism elements. But I was a little surprised by the direction the magical realism parts went in! (Not to say it was without buildup, though. And that part of the story was closed in a straightforward way, which was refreshing to see.)

I also appreciated the intersectionality! I feel that the different ways Sandy and King are affected by homophobia and racism (and how they aren’t always separate, in the case of King) were discussed in a way that was both respectable and easy for kids to grasp. If this ends up on classroom shelves, I think this could be a great discussion starter.

The only real issues I have were the abrupt shift in attitude King’s parents had after he was outed—it didn’t have much buildup to that point and left me confused, and the ending wrapped things up a little too quickly. Most of the story was paced somewhat realistically, and that took me aback? But I know that last creative choice was made with the target demographic in mind(and I am too old to be part of that). I also would’ve liked for King’s friends to be more memorable, the only one that really stuck with me was Jasmine and that was mostly because I liked how some of the societal pressures amplified by middle school were shown in her relationship with King. (I did also think she was a sweet kid, though.)

I wish I’d cried more reading this, but this is definitely a solid grief-centered narrative. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Outing

Moderate: Hate crime and Racism

ccrtb's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book handles such important topics like grief, racism, homophobia, and domestic violence with such care and clarity. I'm glad books like these are out there for young kids to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, and Grief

memydogandbooks's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Powerful story of grief, race and identity - so beautiful ❤️

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Grief

danajoy's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Homophobia, and Racism

emliii's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and Grief