Name: The Serpent King
ISBN: 9780605974197

Jeff Zentner

The son of a Pentecostal preacher faces his personal demons as he and his two outcast friends try to make it through their senior year of high school in rural Forrestville, Tennessee, without letting the small-town culture destroy their creative spirits and sense of self.

A Novel

The Serpent King

Named to ten BEST OF THE YEAR lists and selected as a William C. Morris Award Winner,The Serpent King is the critically acclaimed, much-beloved story of three teens who find themselves--and each other--while on the cusp of graduating from high school with hopes of leaving their small-town behind. Perfect for fans of John Green's Turtles All the Way Down. "Move over, John Green; Zentner is coming for you." —The New York Public Library “Will fill the infinite space that was left in your chest after you finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” —BookRiot.com Dill isn't the most popular kid at his rural Tennessee high school. After his father fell from grace in a public scandal that reverberated throughout their small town, Dill became a target. Fortunately, his two fellow misfits and best friends, Travis and Lydia, have his back. But as they begin their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. His only escapes are music and his secret feelings for Lydia--neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending--one that will rock his life to the core. Debut novelist Jeff Zentner provides an unblinking and at times comic view of the hard realities of growing up in the Bible belt, and an intimate look at the struggles to find one’s true self in the wreckage of the past. “A story about friendship, family and forgiveness, it’s as funny and witty as it is utterly heartbreaking.” —PasteMagazine.com “A brutally honest portrayal of teen life . . . [and] a love letter to the South from a man who really understands it.” —Mashable.com “I adored all three of these characters and the way they talked to and loved one another.”—New York Times

Jess

To say this story has made me want to go hug my daughter and tell her that I love her very much is an understatement. This book is a total knockout of a debut! And the audiobook was performed terrifically. 

Zahra

What a remarkable characterization. Each of them stands out and has their own distinct personality. But I loved Lydia the most for she is so determined to pursue a career in the big city and won't let anything stand in her way.

Denaiir

4.5 stars
Quite a slow start, I didn't know if I was going to enjoy it until about 60% in, I would have given it 3 stars. But then the pacing started picking up and suddenly it became so much more!! 
Loved the second part, the raw emotions we so real and the characters' evolution was on point

Siya S

★★★★☆ 4 SNAKE-HANDLING-IS-WEIRD-SHIT STARS




  
    Then they lay for a while on their backs, gazing into the starry expanse through the railroad tracks, listening to the dark river below. This might be it, Dill thought. This might be the best your life ever is. This moment. Right now.
  


So I've been hearing all good things about this book for ages, but it's not until last night that I decided to pick it up and give it a go. Well, 20 hours later and now I'm here, feeling very very satisfied.

First of all, I didn't mean it to be disrespectful when I said snake handling is one weird shit I just happened to know about. I'm Buddhist just like 95% of the rest of my country (well I'm half Buddhist, half agnostic but what the hell), so of course I've never heard of this cult(?) thing where you have to swallow strychnine (and Vava Suresh the hell out of it with all snake handling rituals) just to feel a wee bit closer to God than the rest of your neighborhood. It's creepy and fascinating at the same time, the way people would do for a sake of believing in something (I mean, here in my hometown we also have a cult that worships UFO pagoda and all that). This grinds my cultural anthropologist gears (or whatever is left of them. My college days are long gone) quite pleasantly. 



Anyway, enough with my nerdy babbling upon discovering new things (but THATis exactly the whole point of reading, right?) And let's focus on my feeling instead. I love this book. Jeff Zentner's The Serpent Kind is (if not then really close) a masterpiece. It's everything you could've asked for a coming-of-age novel. It has twists and turns and "unexpectedness" that tends to make your heart really.damn.hurt. 

Music: Paint The Sky Red  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHC7P...

  At least send her off with every secret treasure of your heart. Haven’t you learned by now that you’re completely naked? You’ve danced with death. What do you have left to fear? You can survive anything. Serpents. Deadly poison. This.


Dillard Early was falling apart. He was trapped in Forresville, Tennessee with no hope of getting out. His pedophilic father was in jail, a disgrace to the community (though somehow his follower insisted it’s Dill’s darn fault) and his family was drowned in debt. The only future he saw was to bag grocery at Floyd’s all the way to managerdom and remain there for the rest of his life. Everything was doomed from the start.

   “This is all super easy for you to say. You have loving parents who support you and want you to succeed at stuff. You can afford college.” 

“So what if it’s easy for me to say? Am I not supposed to say important stuff because it’s easy to say? Counterintuitive much?” 


Lydia Blankenship always dreamt of leaving this racist, homophobic town (her word). Coming from a privileged family, Lydia always had it easy (she claimed it’s not her fault she was born privilege, though she unconsciously rubbed in on everybody’s face (including us readers) every time she appeared on the page). She’d probably had her ways in the end, but that didn’t mean it’d be as easy as she thought it was, not when she had to leave Dill and Travis behind.


   “I want to leave something behind for people to remember me by. The way kings do. Or the cave painting people.” He learned this about himself even as the words left his mouth. 


Travis Bohannon was a gentlest soul who happened to be a huge fan of medieval novel series (a tribute to GoT on this one). But things weren’t so great back home, not since his brother Matt died a few years back. And with the looming future outside his father’s fists and hurtful remarks waiting for him at the end of the semester, his last months of youth might be the toughest one he yet had to conquer.


   “I read somewhere that a lot of the stars we see don’t exist anymore. They’ve already died and it’s taken millions of years for their light to reach Earth,” Dill said.

“That wouldn’t be a bad way to die,” Lydia said. “Giving off light for millions of years after you’re gone.” 


This is the kind of book that screams nostalgia and an infinite playlist of post-rock instrumental eargasmic sensation (I’m not making sense sometimes, but bear with me). It’s about breaking the imaginary walls that’d been built around you even before you were born – the blood running inside your veins, social expectation and family reputation). 

As much as I was a bit annoyed by Lydia, I agreed with her that college is indeed a ticket way out of your life toward something better. I experienced it first-hand; those self-doubts feeding by those who really didn’t matter almost got me good. But in the end I’ve made it, and never regret my decision ever these past ten years. To think about it, I was Lydia in some ways; though things don’t come to me easily, I do have the best supportive family one could ever have asked for.


   “No, sweetie. I’m not being a creep. You’re being very haughty and unkind about their lives. People live quiet lives and that’s okay. There’s dignity in that, no matter what you may think.”

“I wish they wanted more out of life because I care about them. I hate thinking about Dill and Travis stuck here, living pathetic lives. It bums me out. I want Dill especially to go to college and do something with his life.” 


What I didn’t have though, was friends like Dill and Travis. I mean, I do have a bunch of friends I really love, whom of which will always be occupying pieces of my heart wherever I go in this life, but our relationship aren’t co-dependent like these guys. The friendship game between them is heartbreaking and real, and it’s one of the most beautiful components in this book. 

Ok, this is getting long. So if you’re looking for a coming-of-age novel that reminds you of life before things start making sense, when everything around and about you hurts. The reality of youth and the beauty of breaking free, discovering who you are underneath the self-doubts and uncertainty and unworthy thoughts that’s been piling over you over the years. This is it. Beautifully crafted, with unexpected twists and turns, this book definitely earned a special place in my heart for sure. 

Find out more at:
https://thebleedingeyes.wordpress.com

Julia Lotz

WARUM WOLLTE ICH ES LESEN? Das englische Original - The Scorpion King - hatte ich schon länger im Blick, da es auf Goodreads hoch gelobt wurde. Obwohl diese zeitgenössichen und tendentiell traurigen Geschichten sonst nicht das sind, was ich bevorzugt lese, haben mich die Anpreisungen neugierig gemacht.

HAT ES MEINE ERWARTUNGEN ERFÜLLT? Auch hier: Ja und nein. Meine Erwartungen waren unglaublich hoch und somit war es sehr schwer, mich zu überzeugen. Das hat das Buch auch nur zu großen Teilen, aber nicht komplett geschafft.

WAS HAT MIR GUT GEFALLEN? Das Buch ist brutal ehrlich. Nichts wird beschönigt und das tat manchmal sehr weh. Jeff Zentner spielt mit den Gefühlen des Lesers und konsturiert Charaktere, die tief unter die Haut gehen. Wow. Dazu finde ich den Schreibstil wahnsinnig gut. Man möchte gar nicht mehr mit dem Lesen aufhören.

WAS HAT MICH GESTÖRT? Der Anfang. Mich hat das Buch in der zweiten Hälfte schwer beeindruckt und begeistert aber ebenso enttäuscht war ich vom Anfang. Ich kam nicht ins Buch hinein, kam nicht an die Charaktere heran und wusste erst einmal nicht, wohin die Story gehen sollte. Das ist auch der kleine Wehmutstropfen, der mit in die Bewertung einfließen musste.

FAZIT. Trotz eines wirklich schweren Anfangs mit dem Buch, konnte mich Zusammen sind wir Helden am Ende doch schwer begeistern. Die Thematik ist brutal ehrlich und traurig aber zugleich tief beeindruckend und wunderschön, die Charaktere gehen tief unter die Haut und man möchte seine Augen nicht mehr vom Geschriebenen lösen. | ★★★★☆

jess

Emi Gilmore 

11.4.16 edit:   The end of 2016 is rapidly approaching, and will it comes my mental recap of all the books I had the opportunity to read this year. And my mind keeps on coming back to this book. It is, by far, the best book I have read this year. And upon reviewing my review, I have come to the conclusion that no matter how hard I try, I will never be able to comprehend the right string of words to express how important this story is to me. 

 The Serpent King  is the first book I have ever read where I see my problems reflected into a character. I've read many contemporary books that deal with important life-altering issues, ranging from mental health to sexuality to physical impairment. This is the first, and only book, I have ever read that deals with a character's struggle with religion. Which, not to get to personal, is the main struggle I have in my life. 

I can count on one hand the number of times I have actually cried in a book. In fact, I can give you a quantitative number. Twice. This is one of them. This book is by far the most underrated book I know of. 


 4.5/5 stars

“People are born and die. Seasons change. Rivers flow to the sea. Earth circles the sun and the moon circles Earth. Everything whirring and spinning toward something. And I get to be part of it for a little while, the way I get to watch a train for a minute or two, and then it's gone.”  

Something about this book had me intrigued. Perhaps it was the title. Perhaps it was because I knew this story was a coming of age novel with a male protagonist, and for some reason I adore those kind of books. It must have been one of those reasons, as I knew almost nothing about the plot. I don’t know, but I’ve seen it a few times here and there and I just  had  to read it. One day I noticed it on sale on Kindle for $2.99 and I didn’t even hesitate to buy it. Finally, I had my chance to read it, to know what it was all about, and I sat down and read it. 

	The Serpent King is the story of three friends who fail to fit in with their small southern town. There’s Dill, a musician who struggles with religion. Travis, a fantasy fanboy who struggles with an abusive father. And Lydia, a fashion blogger who struggles to stay put in their small town. Each character has to find their way in life and forge their own destiny, learn that what they think they have planned in their life might not be what the future holds. 

	With a personal library full of fantasy and cheesy contemporary books, it’s rare for me to connect to much in a book. I read to escape reality, that I usually don’t seek out books that remind me of my own life. Yet, this book was almost refreshing. I connected with Dill’s battle to understand his religious beliefs. I connected with Travis’s love for fantasy books and the way his friends and family didn’t understand it. And I connected with Lydia’s desire to go far off to college and leave her past behind her. 

	This book had it’s faults, some details felt unrealistic and the ending seem to drag on a little, but I found this story to be beyond beautiful and heartbreaking, and one I’d recommend to anyone.

Serpent King

Hannah Derzanovich

3 1/2 stars.
I've tried writing this review three different times. I give up. I'm confused.

I loved the writing, liked the plot and settings, and wasn't a huge fan of the characters. I couldn't find a way to relate to ANY of them, which was odd because they all seemed fairly diverse in personality. Travis was my favorite of the three, his kindness letting me enjoy his narrative the most (view spoiler)[but he dies, sooo. (hide spoiler)] Lydia struck me as too pushy. She had good intentions, but something about the way she treated her friends felt wrong to me. I really only liked Dill for his family, but even that didn't feel as fleshed out as it could've been. I mean... the book is called The Serpent King. And was it just me or was it slightly... predictable? If it had seemed intentional, I would've called it foreshadowing, but instead it felt like the author emphasized certain things SO much that you knew they would be effected later on.

I'm not as bitter as I sound, I swear. I really did enjoy the book and I'd recommend it! It just wasn't really for me.

Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal Winner of the American Library Association Morris Award for best debut YA Winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award for Young Adult Fiction A Buzzfeed Best of 2016 book Goodreads Choice Awards finalist A Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2016 Publishers Weekly Best of 2016 Dill is a misfit in his small, religious Tennessee town. His dad is in prison for a shocking crime, and his mom is struggling to make ends meet. The only things getting Dill through senior year are his guitar and his fellow outcasts, Travis and Lydia. Travis is an oddball who finds comfort from his violent home life in an epic fantasy book series. And Lydia is like no one else: fast-talking, creative and fiercely protective. Dill fears his heart will break when she escapes to a better life elsewhere. What Dill needs now is some bravery to tell Lydia how he feels, to go somewhere with his music – and to face the hardest test of all when tragedy strikes.

Sara Kruszka

The Serpent King takes place in the fictional Forrestville, Tennessee, based on a real life city close by to me. Zentner's writing is honest and genuine, and even a couple decades older than the characters in the book, I felt their experiences. 

Beautiful story. I shouldn't have put off reading this so long.

Vera Sokolyanskaya

** spoiler alert **
           I really liked scenes when three friends hang out together (dialogues and humor) and then everything else - not so much. "Each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way", I remember that from high school, thank you very much. I should have known that debut author will try to pull a George Martin if his book has a character in love with Game of Thrones-type fantasy. I mean, come on, do you really have to kill off a character to make another guy decide he needs to go to college? Debut authors, stop abusing death as a plot device.

But what I like about books like this is that they are easy to read on the bus and I don't have to go back in the book to make sure I didn't miss anything important.

I'd rank this as 2.5 stars but Goodreads doesn't let you do half stars.

laura

** spoiler alert **
           I did enjoy this book. I think I would have enjoyed this book more if the book did not kill one of my favorite characters. But i understand why it had to happen for story stake. I enjoy how the book that took place during the school year did not really rely on school as focus and it was great read about senior year and what happens when you might be moving on but some of your friends are not. Thanks owl crate!

Emily C Peterson

Jawahir M

Description Summary: An equally harrowing yet comforting tale of friendship, first loves, and the courage to step out of the shadows. Ethereal, contemporary, and haunting. 

Score: 5/5 

Few books allow you to feel the anguish and despair that makes up this life, while also lingering in the triumphs and spurts of happiness that warms the human soul and makes everything okay even if it's for a little while. Zentner excels in playing with the reader’s emotions in delivering raw storytelling. The Serpent King is a prime example of that.

Book Summary: In their final year of high school best friends, Dill, Lydia, and Travis aim to figure out where life will take them after graduation; well mainly Lydia. You see Delilah “Lydia” Blankenship has her life figured out, her blog Dollywould is quickly a national rising star in the making in the world of fashion and pop culture. Lydia can’t wait to get out of small town Forrestville to head to NYU, the city of opportunities and haven for aspiring creatives like her.

Travis Bohannon is a 6ft giant that has the softest heart. He never cared much to where he’ll end up being and what he’ll end up doing, as long as he can escape reality by indulging himself in the epic fantasy world of Bloodfall where he likes to think of himself as a glorious warrior who is deemed worthy. Especially since his father thinks he’s worthless.

Dillard “Dill” Early Jr is like a young version of Snape from the HP series. Cast as the town’s shame and outlaw after his father was arrested and sent to prison for church related scandals, Dill doesn’t look at the future with the bright prospect that Lydia has nor does he have the wild imagination to escape like Travis. Figuratively and literally he is stuck. 

How was it possible for love of a place and hatred of it to exist so comfortably side by side?

As the school year nears to the end, their friendships are put to the test, harsh conversations will be spoken and bitter truths will come out. Hidden true loves will be exposed and a second chance at life will be provided. But first, Who is the Serpent King? And why is he attached to Dill like a bloodstain that cannot be wiped? End of Summary.

I am completely torn, broken apart, stripped down by this book. And.I.do.not.mind.one.bit. Zentner’s ability to present something that’s achingly real despite that personally I did not experience the same circumstances that these characters had nor did I even believe in the same religion. He has successfully made me feel exactly what they’re feeling and thinking through. 

I’m hugely impressed with the character development in this book. You can see that the characters came to actively change by themselves and by help from others. All this attributed to a well crafted plot and better written characters.

This is one of the few books that made my heart ache, like really ache. The kind where you feel the muscle is constricting itself and it’s being twisted like a rag towel.

Do I recommend? Absolutely, this is one of the best YA novels.

b.andherbooks

Three teens starting their senior year in a small Tennessee town come to terms with what it means to be a friend, becoming an adult, and proving you are your own person, despite your family or circumstances.

This is very much a character study of Dill, Lydia, and Travis. I struggled a bit to find the "why" of the story, but I enjoyed the three narrators, and grew fond of the characters. It felt authentic and very different from my normal YA reading choices.

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Written by Jeff Zentner, is about three friends, high school outcasts, who are walking into their senior year from two different backgrounds. That's right, three friends two backgrounds. Two of the characters, Dill and Travis have different stories but they understand each other. They both come from families with hard fathers, not a lot of money, and the idea that there isn't any way for them to really work their way out. Lydia, the third friend, comes from an upper middle class family and runs her own blog that has over a hundred thousand followers. Yet, they are all friends. Dill considers Lydia his best friend. And, of course, he has a crush on her.

I had no idea what to expect walking into this book. It was on a book club list from a few months ago, and I didn't actually read it (I had a physical copy for months from the library) till I saw the audio book was available. Hello, long weekend drives.

This was a great audio book. The only complaint I have is that, because this story is told from three perspectives, each narrator would try and do the other character's voices themselves. I would have preferred for them to keep the same narrator with the corresponding voice, no matter who is narrating. It took something away from the story when they had each actor do all three voices.

Story wise, this was a great novel. Great not only from a YA perspective, but from a religious and adult perspective as well. What these kids go through isn't limited just to high schoolers, but happens to everyone. Which I will discuss on my site after the spoiler warning.

This is the kind of novel I would recommend to any, and probably every, teenager. Adults too. The Serpent King walks you through three different lives and how they interweave. It shows you a great example of how we don't always realize how what we do affects others. Honestly, its a book that is worth giving a shot every time.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

3.5 stars!

I jointly reviewed this with my co-blogger, Becca!

 “If you're going to live, you might as well do painful, brave, and beautiful things.”
 
 
  THE BASICS:
 

  Lisa
: Becca and I were so excited to start this buddy read together. After hearing countless times how absolutely incredible this book was, we were so excited to experience it for ourselves. We were also lucky enough to receive the audiobook copy from the publisher, so it was even more exciting for us since listening to the audio can bring a story to a whole new level. Sadly, we weren't as impressed as we wanted to be. This story was good, interesting at times, but also very depressing and didn't wow us as we had hoped.


  Becca
: The Serpent King has been the recipient of a lot of hype on social media and across the blogosphere, and it is a book that I have been eager to start, especially after hearing so many good things. TSK is a coming of age story of three teens, Travis, Dill and Lydia in a small Tennessee town. Outcasts, each with a different story and vastly different lives, they have formed a friendship that holds them together and keeps the bullies at bay... well mostly.
 
 
  WHAT WE LIKED:
 


  Becca
: The friendship between these three characters is one that many strive to find in their lives, and even more in high school. They are a group of real and true friends, who have each others backs and stick up for one another. I loved how different they were and the fact that they still worked together as a unit. Their acceptance and empathy for each other was by far my favorite part of this book.

Jeff Zentner is a clever writer, he is very witty and even inserts doses of humor within the banter of his characters. I really did enjoy his writing style and character development.


  Lisa
: I have to say my favorite part of this story was the friendships. These teenagers did NOT have it easy. There was a whole lot going on, especially in their home lives. I loved how they stuck together through thick and thin, regardless of what was happening behind the scenes.
 


I also did like how emotional and heartfelt this story was. It definitely wasn't an easy read, but I can really appreciate that in certain books. The things these youngsters had to deal with was unthinkable and definitely caused my anger to rage. Regardless, it was easy to feel for these characters as this conduct they experienced was, sadly, very realistic. (I know I'm keeping this rather vague, but I'm doing that on purpose. I think knowing little to nothing going into this story is the way to go.)


 
 
  WHAT WE DIDN'T LIKE:
 


  Lisa
: As far as what I did like... it was mostly the pacing. This story really dragged here and there. It wasn't just one time... it would drag, then something would happen, then it would drag some more. I just wasn't as into the book as I had hoped, given the emotional nature of the story. I did feel for these characters, but I never felt fully invested in them, if that makes any sense. I liked them, they were unique and I really appreciated Jeff's writing style and how his personality really came through these characters... but it all seemed like it was from afar, as I never really felt like I was in with this group.
 



  Becca
: This book has a very depressing feel, from the first sentence to the last. Books with a dark and somber story line are hard for me to take in sometimes. I tend to take on the feelings of the books I read and carry them with me as I read them and even after. This book made my soul feel dark and a bit hopeless and it really got to me.

There were also some very troubling things going on in this book, both Dill and Travis had difficult home lives and the things they endured hit me really hard. Depression, parental apathy, mental and verbal abuse and religious fanaticism to name a few and they were just so dark and depressing and a bit too much for me to handle.

In truth I am a contemporary girl at heart,  although I do like to mix in these types of books at times to change things up.
 
 
  TO SUM UP:
 

  Becca
: This book is not completely hopeless, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and some redeeming qualities towards the end. Many readers have loved this book, it is unique and really makes you think and feel a lot of things. If you are a fan of coming to age stories packed with some darker emotions and controversial topics then definitely give this one a read, you may enjoy it more than I did.

 “She's it. She's my everything. She's the standard by which I'll judge beauty for the rest of my life. I'll measure every touch to her breath on my skin. Every voice to her voice. Every mind to her mind. My measure of perfection. The name carved into me. If I could, I would lie with her under these stars until my heart burst.”


  Lisa
: This is a tough book to review for me. I really liked a lot of aspects of it, but others were lacking. I felt a middle-of-the-road type of rating fit this one right. I think it had more good than bad, but still didn't blow my mind or leave me feeling anything substantial. I finished this book a few weeks ago, and I've already forgotten a lot about the story. That makes me hesitate, since it obviously didn't stick with me for very long. Overall, I think there are a lot of people that will really adore this story. For me... it was good, but not great.

(Thanks to Crown Books for Young Readers for the review copy!)

Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

The son of a Pentecostal preacher faces his personal demons as he and his two outcast friends try to make it through their senior year of high school in rural Forrestville, Tennessee without letting the small-town culture destroy their creative spirits and sense of self.

a novel

The serpent king

Ashlee

I loved this! It has a number of poignant and realistic themes. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll smile unabashedly and you’ll want to scream at your book.

This book is about living your best life, not the life that’s been handed to you. It’s about being grateful and proud of what brings you joy. It’s about not settling for easy.

I also loved all of the Tennessee vibes it gives off. It made me miss living there so much!

The Serpent King was recommended to me by a close friend ... it’s her favorite book and now I’m recommending to to you. Read it! Now! But have some tissues ready!

I was getting fuel, listening to the audiobook when THAT PART happened. You’ll know what I mean.

Named to ten BEST OF THE YEAR lists and selected as a William C. Morris Award Finalist, The Serpent King is the critically acclaimed, much-beloved story of three teens who find themselves--and each other--while on the cusp of graduating from high school with hopes of leaving their small-town behind. This gorgeous paperback edition with a full-color step-back cover will have teens everywhere itching to discover the book that everyone is talking about. "Move over, John Green; Zentner is coming for you." --The New York Public Library "Will fill the infinite space that was left in your chest after you finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower." --BookRiot.com Dill isn't the most popular kid at his rural Tennessee high school. After his father fell from grace in a public scandal that reverberated throughout their small town, Dill became a target. Fortunately, his two fellow misfits and best friends, Travis and Lydia, have his back. But as they begin their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. His only escapes are music and his secret feelings for Lydia--neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending--one that will rock his life to the core. Debut novelist Jeff Zentner provides an unblinking and at times comic view of the hard realities of growing up in the Bible belt, and an intimate look at the struggles to find one's true self in the wreckage of the past. "A story about friendship, family and forgiveness, it's as funny and witty as it is utterly heartbreaking." --PasteMagazine.com "A brutally honest portrayal of teen life . . . [and] a love letter to the South from a man who really understands it." --Mashable.com "I adored all three of these characters and the way they talked to and loved one another."--New York Times

Ashton Reed

4.25/5 stars


  "And if you’re going to live, you might as well do painful, brave, and beautiful things."


This book is one of those that breaks your heart a hundred times over, then somehow bandages it up every time. It’s one that aches, but between the cracks you see the beauty. 

The Serpent King follows three friends - Dill, Lydia, and Travis - who live in a dirt-poor town in Tennessee, outcasts in their school. But they are all three very different. Dill: the son of the Serpent King, the minister of a church known for its dangerous snakehandling practices, and the man who was just recently put in jail for watching child pornography. Lydia: born into a rich family, with great fashion sense and a thriving blog to prove it - her ticket out of this small, suffocating town. And Travis: abused by his alcoholic father, seeking his escape through the lens of his favorite fantasy book series. As their senior year of high school begins to close and they start to look towards their futures, they all see something different, and their paths threaten to diverge. As they fight their own battles and lean on each other, they have to discover what to let go of, and what to hold on to.

This book is beautiful. I usually shy away from books that will make me sad - I prefer happy endings, you know? But because it was my book club’s pick for the month, I decided to try. About a fourth of it is all I read before the meeting date, to be honest, and it took me some time to pick it back up - like I said, I knew it would be sad. 

But I’m so glad I did. Yes, there was uncontrollable sobbing. Yes, my heart broke so many times. Yes, I grieved for these kids, who believe so little of their own futures. But this isn’t just a sad story.

It’s a story of hope. It’s a story of moving on. It’s a story of relying on the people you trust when you’re afraid. It’s a story of loyalty to those who trust you, being the one who makes them promise to stay, even when they want to surrender. It’s a story of believing in yourself and your future, in the least cliche way. It’s a story of getting back up even if you can’t bear the thought of going on, of continuing to breathe. 

As a rising senior in high school terrified of the prospect of the future, this book meant worlds to me. As a citizen of Tennessee, it gave me new eyes for my classmates. As a Christian, it gave me insight on views that exist so close and I didn’t even realize it, ones that disgust me and sadden me because they aren’t really the Gospel at all. But even more so, it impacted me as a human. It gave me a vision of what it means to be a friend, what it means to be fearless, and what it means to lose, live, and let go.

I truly cherish this book, y’all. It’s one that sticks with you forever ❤❤




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The Serpent King A Novel

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