Summary

Chapter 1 of King and the Dragonflies introduces Kingsley “King” James who is walking through the swampland in his small hometown in Louisiana, thinking about his late brother, Khalid, who he believes has transformed into a dragonfly after death. King’s thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of a white pickup truck on the lonely stretch of road. It is Mikey Sanders driving – a pale, white boy of almost eighteen – prompting King to reflect on the rumors that Mikey helped kill a Black man recently and that his truck was seen dragging the body around the bayou. He knows Mikey’s grandfather was a KKK member, too, and that Mikey used to have fist fights with Khalid and called him racial slurs. Thus, King is at once frightened when Mikey pulls over to speak to him, expressing his condolences about Khalid’s death. “You know...