A review by nerfie
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender

challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Reading for my Children’s Lit class at Ithaca College

I find it crazy that this is marketed as middle grade. Such a strong, but heavy story—one that I don’t think could be told any other way, but might stress me out as a kid. I’m not sure if I would have been able to handle it while I was in the middle grade genre. Will be interesting to talk about it in class. 

Books like this are so important to the canon. It’s a good way to introduce kids to diversity and grief. 

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