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A review by nkeshyy
The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
In Benjamin Dean’s THE KING IS DEAD, we meet the Hamptons—the fictitious royal family of Great Britain—during a hard time in their lives when they’ve lost a King, a Father and husband. To succeed him and take the reigns is James, a grieving 17-year-old with no ambitions to take over.
It’s fascinating how even when I try to read YA novels that are labelled as fun and light (and delicious?), I always manage to find myself gravitating towards such topics that challenge social structures, politics and force one to choose a position even when they just want to read a book and not think—at the core of this story is James stepping into his late Father’s shoes as not just the monarchy’s first Black King, but a gay one, and serve a country that refuses to accept him and his family based solely on how they look and constantly questions their legitimacy to rule and exist in the royal house.
How do you even begin to navigate that as a teenager forced into this position, especially when the tabloids and media continuously attack you, your family, and everything you stand for? It’s the Meghan Markle debacle of the YA generation.
It’s giving The Crown meets Young Royals meets Gossip Girl (?). I truly had fun reading this, holding my breath at times when certain things were happening, and when the story started picking up where someone was leaving notes for James and his Royal Council threatening to publish their deepest secrets in the news I was right there at the edge of my seat trying to uncover who it was. I assure you, it is not the person you will first suspect.
It’s fascinating how even when I try to read YA novels that are labelled as fun and light (and delicious?), I always manage to find myself gravitating towards such topics that challenge social structures, politics and force one to choose a position even when they just want to read a book and not think—at the core of this story is James stepping into his late Father’s shoes as not just the monarchy’s first Black King, but a gay one, and serve a country that refuses to accept him and his family based solely on how they look and constantly questions their legitimacy to rule and exist in the royal house.
How do you even begin to navigate that as a teenager forced into this position, especially when the tabloids and media continuously attack you, your family, and everything you stand for? It’s the Meghan Markle debacle of the YA generation.
It’s giving The Crown meets Young Royals meets Gossip Girl (?). I truly had fun reading this, holding my breath at times when certain things were happening, and when the story started picking up where someone was leaving notes for James and his Royal Council threatening to publish their deepest secrets in the news I was right there at the edge of my seat trying to uncover who it was. I assure you, it is not the person you will first suspect.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism