W. Nikola-Lisa explores new terrain--his childhood experiences growing up in south Texas during the early 1960s. Unlike his previous books, this is not a book for young children as the author explores the darker elements growing up in a harsh environment. Although the work feels like a memoir, it reads like a novel with the author's spare, unrelenting narrative a perfect accompaniment to the time, place, and underlying familial issues. If you like this book, then you might also like Shark Man, a novel for the middle grades, which picks up where the author left off in Dragonfly taking the reader to the Florida beaches where young Billy-Boy learns how to skateboard, surf, and make new friends.