“The dragonflies live down by the bayou, but there’s no way to know which one’s my brother.”

The opening line of the story reveals King’s search for his brother’s spirit, which continues throughout the novel. The dragonfly fantasy stems from King’s vivid imagination after he sees one of the insects land on his brother’s casket. The symbol of the dragonfly bookends the story as a marker of King’s character growth. He realizes at the end of the novel that his brother isn’t a dragonfly, but that he’s still “with” King, nonetheless.

“My mom’s been saying we need to redecorate for years, and I think she might’ve done it, too, but now these days she mostly sits and stares, hand on her chin—until she snaps out of it and looks up with this smile. My mom’s smile drives me up the wall sometimes. I know it’s fake. She knows it’s fake. So why does she always pretend to smile?”

In the early part of the novel, grief over Khalid’s death paralyzes King’s mother. She also feels a need to mask her true emotions. Here, the author reveals details about the family that characterize them on an individual level but that also set the foundation for the story. King’s whole family is grieving, and it’s through this lens that the reader can better understand their interactions.

“Does Jasmine want to go out with me? I’ve never had a girlfriend before. I don’t think Jasmine’s ever had a boyfriend before. If we like each other, is that what we’re supposed to do? What’s the difference between liking Jasmine as a friend and liking Jasmine as a girlfriend?”

King is trying to make sense of his feelings for Jasmine in this scene. His thoughts here illustrate the identity crisis he is experiencing and his search for his true self.