The Serpent King

It is extraordinarily difficult for me to gather my thoughts on this book into coherent form. You can tell by this sampling of my notes:

pg 97 tears already

PAGE 197 CHILLS I HAVE ACTUAL GOOSEBUMPS

pg 249 why

So, forgive me the rambling quality of this review.

THE SERPENT KING is a book about salvation and family and what we inherit and what we make of ourselves. It touches on poverty, mental illness, abuse, and religion--all difficult topics, all handled deftly, with great care by the author. You can tell he's a songwriter, because there is music on each page, along with the aching nostalgia and a turbulent beauty that perfectly conjures the small town south. But there's humor too--just enough to make you smile through the tears.

There's not much more I can say but: Read this book, it's a masterpiece.

I just finished The Serpent King and I am extremely satisfied. Jeff Zentner shows remarkable insight to what it mean to be not only a teenager, but also what it means to be human. I think we can all identify with Dill, Travis, and Lydia in various ways. This story made me laugh, cry, and think about my own life. Definitely worth the time and money spent on it.

This book took me on a whirlwind journey. I often turn to books to pull me out of the mundane routine of my everyday life and allow me to walk in someone else's shoes for a bit. This book allowed me to walk in three different pair of shoes. I laughed, I cried, I empathized. The writing was incredible, and the story was moving. Worth a read for sure!

If you teach or work with high schoolers or teenagers, PLEASE rush out and buy this book! The characters are likeable and well-written, the plot evolves at a comfortable pace, and the story will absolutely tear your heart out. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this debut novel, and I eagerly await the next piece of writing from author, Jeff Zentner, who in my opinion, is about to knock John Green off his YA throne.

Really enjoyed this book. Tackles those difficult teenage years and the struggle to fit it as well as finding your way in the world, in a fresh way. Uplifting and heartbreaking. Acknowledging the influence your family has on you as a young adult and breaking free of stereotypes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel as a coming of age piece set in my neck of the woods. It is literature about and for teens, yet the writing is good enough to entertain and impart lessons to a 60 year old (me). I loved the characters and will remember this book. Thanks.

Wow. What a great book. The characters are unique. This book kept me up at night and I thought about it all day. I already checked to see if the author has written anything else but he hasn't. I would buy it if he had.

This storyline and book has me hooked from beginning till end. My friend told me that I would find myself and the wrongs and ways I can change my grasp on life by reading this book and that is what it did. I recommend this book to anyone

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the read. I'm an old curmudgeon and the book had me tearing up a couple of times. That doesn't happen every day. I did find the end a bit predictable but it in no way detracted from the book as a whole.​

A coming of age YA novel with three main characters in a small town I'd definitely want to escape from. I mostly liked the book but found it hard to believe Lydia would really make friends with Dill and Travis. And I found it difficult to believe she wouldn't have realized much sooner that Dill was in love with her. Some good writing. Nicely done southern, unpleasant small-town vibe. Some horrible parents in here who made me cringe. SPOILER AHEAD: I found Travis's death very frustrating. It seemed so random rather than part of the plot.

Dillard "Dill" Early is the only son of a disgraced former Bible Belt preacher who is currently serving prison time for downloading child pornography. He and his mother exist on a shoestring budget (although Dill does have a working cell phone), and she wants him to leave school early so that he can work full-time. She's also convinced that he was the one who downloaded the porn in the first place, so things are chilly between them. At school, he's a target of ridicule, and has only two friends: Lydia, who authors an insanely popular fashion blog, and Travis, who is obsessed with a literary fantasy world and whose dad may be physically abusing him. Travis also has no prospects beyond graduation, although Lydia is headed to college out of state, possibly in New York. In true young adult novel tradition, Dill also has a longtime crush on Lydia, which is unrequited because he's too shy to say anything and because their futures look so different. Dill is haunted by the memory of his grandfather, nicknamed The Serpent King, and fears he may one day become as unbalanced as the other men in his family. The topics of child molestation, homophobia, bullying, brainwashing and snake handling are addressed, as we get to know Dill and his friends.

Wow. That's a lot of angst! Fortunately, it's handled well. "The Serpent King" offers three well-developed main characters with whom the reader is able to sympathize, which isn't necessarily the case in YA books today. The book does an excellent job of portraying the isolation and inertia a teenager in that situation might feel. The parents in the book, except for Lydia's, are not likeable, but their perspective does offer a look at how Christianity can be twisted to suit one's own agenda.

I felt that the remaining part after Lydia and Dill finally got together was rushed, and at some point, I wanted them to stop bantering, though I really liked their "Pathetic Prom." Another major tragedy also seemed to come out of nowhere and did not really fit with the rest of the events in the book. Overall, this is a very well-written book and an impressive debut.

This is a mature YA adult that deals honestly with several issues. At the center are the three friends although they are each so different from each other, it's difficult to picture them as friends. I accepted the idea that they were friends because nobody else would have them as friends. Each of the three is tolerant of the other's peculiarities

Dill is the main character who we are concerned with. His father is a fanatical minister of a snake handling cult, in prison at present for downloading child pornography.

The sharp characterizations of each are what lifts the book into literary excellance. These are kids we come to know and care about. Yes, it is a YA novel, but it's deep enough to interest adults also. Strongly recommended.

I’ll be completely honest with you guys, I have a really hard time readying books set in the south and/or books that has religion somehow involved in them. And the reason I have such a hard time reading them is because I am from the south and I am a Christian. I just feel that so many times authors don’t do another research (and this applies to any subject not just the ones I’m referring to) and simply take what they see on TV as truths. Sure there are super backward places in the south and sure there are some freaking nutty Christians but the mass majority is normal. With all of that being said, The Serpent King was one of the few books that I felt dealt with these places and subject with authenticity.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are some nutty Christians and a backwards town but it’s realistic. It’s not played up or unbelievable. It’s true. And not only was the setting authentic, the characters were as well. They were flawed, and damaged. They said the wrong words, and did the wrong things but that’s how the real world works. We are all flawed, we all say dumb words, and do the wrong things. It’s refreshing to see characters that still have so much growing to do.

Through all these characters’ trials and tragedies there is an underlying element of hope in this story, and I think that’s what makes it so special. You have three friends who are all so different and who are all facing so many struggles, but at no point did I ever feel like this was the end for them. I knew that these character would wipe away their tears, break from their insecurities, and rise to the challenges that face them. Cheering and rooting for Dillard, Lydia, and Travis made this book even more rewarding.

The Serpent King gets four big ole gold stars. It’s one of the best YA books I’ve read in a really long time.

I was listening to this audiobook on my commute and on multiple occasions I was literally biting my tongue to keep from bursting out crying in the middle of the freaking train. This was one of my favorite contemporary novels of the years... not only because I tend to love books that make me cry and suffer, but it is a part of it because if an author is able to extract actual tears from my eyeballs and provoke such extreme emotion out of me, then they did a job well done.

I don't know what is is about contemporary books that take place in the South, but the ones I've read (Where Things Come Back, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, this) have been really good. It's probably because the setting lends towards really polarizing groups of people with extreme beliefs and it creates the most anxiety-inducing conflicts.

The plot of this book was well done. I find I usually don't enjoy contemporary fiction because there isn't a solid, urgent purpose that makes me invested in the story like fantasy, sci-fi, and adventure novels tend to have. However, even though The Serpent King doesn't have an immediate direction, everything that happens in this little town is so enrapturing. And don't even get me started on the plot twists...

The strongest part of the story, though, was its characters. We follow three main characters: Dill, Lydia, and Travis. (Also, excuse me if the spelling of some names are off. Again, I listened to the audiobook, which I really enjoyed because there were three different narrators--one for each lead--and their voices were like perfectly cast in my opinion and they had great accidents and I loved it.) I felt so attached to these characters and could really see myself in them too, even though their situations were so different than my own.

Dill is like the main character of the main characters. His family is a mess: He is the son of a Pentecostal minister (Dill Sr.) who took the words of the Bible in a super extreme light, leading a fiercely loyal congregation to hold serpents and drink their venom by saying that God wouldn't let them die of the poison if they were truly devout. And Dill Sr. was arrested for having kiddie porn, leaving his family in heaps of debt. [MINOR SPOILER HERE] Not to mention Dill's grandfather (Dill the original...seriously, every generation of their family has named their son Dill) who was consumed by grief after his daughter was killed by a serpent and spent the rest of his life killing every snake he found and eventually wearing their skin as clothing--deemed "The Serpent King" by society. [MINOR SPOILER OVER]

So Dill is just trying to escape all the baggage of his family, but it has left him with a lousy reputation that has him ostracized at school and forced him to live in essentially poverty with his mother. His escape is his love for music and spending time with his two best friends, Lydia and Travis, who mean the world to him.

Lydia is the creator of the popular blog Dollywood--her ticket out of small town Forrestville, TN and into her dream school NYU. She is ambitious, intelligent, loves fashion (and her friends), and has a very supportive, affectionate family.

Travis is the social outcast. He is a big guy (I think it said something like 6'6"?) and works in the lumberyard to help out his parents--his dad who is a macho bigot and his sweet, docile mother. His passion is fantasy novels. He is basically the ultimate fanboy, bringing a staff around with him because it makes him feel like his favorite characters and contributing to online forums for his favorite series. He even starts up a conversation with a girl on these forums, which just might lead to something more...

Overall, I think this was a fantastic debut for Jeff Zentner and I'm looking forward to his next book. Great for fans of John Corey Whaley (Where Things Come Back) and Jennifer Niven (All the Bright Places)

The Serpent King is a sensitive, moving story of three teenaged friends in rural Middle Tennessee. Dill, Lydia, and Travis are outsiders in the social order at their high school. Each of the three young people has their own story. Lydia has a popular fashion blog and big plans for attending NYU next year, and she cannot wait to leave the small town of Forrestville. Travis has a horrific family life and escapes his grim reality by reading and re-reading a series of fantasy books. But at the heart of the story is Dill, the son of the local "signs following" (snake-handling) preacher who was publicly exposed for possessing child pornography and is now in prison. Dill is a smart, talented young man who knows he will never leave Forrestville because his devoutly religious mother needs his financial help to get their family out of debt. But Dill also loves Lydia, and he has no idea how he will survive once she leaves him behind to go to New York.

This is a great read, very appropriate for young adults and older fans of YA literature. If you enjoy John Corey Whaley's work, you will probably enjoy The Serpent King.

I am not a voracious reader of contemporary YA stories but I'd heard so many good things about The Serpent King that I decided to go for it. Wow, am I glad I did. This was a remarkably well told story of three friends who are more family than most of their families are. Its at times funny and wistful and dumb teenagery but when it gets real it gets seriously real. I am not ashamed to admit I was crying as I read certain parts. I am now an advocate for this story as others were for me. Go Read This Book.

This book has honestly been the best contemporary I have read in a long time. It's too beautiful for words, but I will try. The story is about three friends - Dill, Lydia and Travis, who have been friends since Dill's father was prosecuted for a crime. Dill has had a very religious upbringing, and his parents are so stuck on their faith that they will drag him down to their level. Lydia, a fashion blogger, is an internet sensation and aspires for greater things in NYC. Travis escapes his terrible abuse at home through his fantasy novels. As the story progresses, I genuinely became so attached to the characters that it was heartbreaking to see their sorrows and uplifting to see their little joys. The author did a marvelous job of rendering them in all their facets.

Though it is a multiple perspective, Dill is predominantly the focus of the story, being the grandson of the 'Serpent King', a terrible legacy bestowed upon him by his name. He fears anywhere he goes, people will only see his name first, and him second. Lydia and Travis are supportive to him so much, but there is a loneliness only he can get through. When the incident happened and the aftermath, I sobbed so much - like ugly snot-nosed crying, the likes of which I haven't done since maybe TFIOS. It was a sad story yes, but towards the ending delivers such an inspiring and heartwarming message, of making your own path, and following your dreams. I know it sounds simplistic when I boil it down to two phrases, but this book is a emotional journey you have to experience for yourself. Kudos for great writing, and soulful existentialism.

Received a free galley from Penguin Random House UK Children’s, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This is a perfect example why you should not allow labels like YA deter you from reading any book.

Dillard Early, Travis Bohannon, and their snarky sweet friend Lydia Blankenship have been friends for years. The book begins just before the beginning of their senior year of high school. These three are are not members of the so called "IN" crowd, or any clique aside from their own. They are all more mature than their fellow classmates for various reasons.

Lydia writes a blog called Dollywould and has a lot of followers there as well as on other social media. She is quirky and kind. Dillard, called Dill in the story is the son of a preacher. Not your typical preacher, but he's one of the ones you hear about who handle snakes and speak in tongues. Dill does not follow in his fathers footsteps, which is just as well. His father is in prison. And Travis is a sweet guy who finds escape in fantasy novels, particularly those of a particular author. He imagines himself in that world, because his own is hard, his father is cruel.

What happens during their senior year, will make you smile, it will make you cheer and it may even make you cry. But whether you cry from joy or sadness is what you will find out in this extraordinary story of three friends who have each others backs. They embody the meaning of friendship. We could learn a lot from them. I cannot imagine anyone not loving these young people, or reretting the time spent reading this book. It will be on my re-read shelf for sure.

Recommended.

When I first heard about this novel by Jeff Zentner, I had actually somehow mistaken it for a fantasy story (probably because of the title)… But it is actually a very powerful contemporary fiction read I sure wish I would have read sooner. I can definitely understand why so many people seem to love The Serpent King now! This novel is without doubt exceptionally well written with an intriguing plot and well developed, interesting and highly likeable main characters. I loved all three friends, but especially Lydia and Travis stood out for me. As for the plot, I was a little worried about the amount of religious talk included when I first started it, but that soon went to the background. Beautifully written, realistic and basically an emotional rollercoaster… Warning: The Serpent King will mess with your heart, so make sure to have your tissues ready! It doesn’t happen often that a book is able to make me laugh and cry at the same time, and I’m sure this story is going to stay with me for a long time. More than recommended for fans of the genre!

Jeff Zentner has some powerful writing ability. I was so wrapped up in the story that I actually felt heart-pounding anger several times; other times tears were flowing and my heart was breaking.

Because the thing is, this is fiction yet it isn't. Things that happen in this novel are not just made up, they are real things, happening every day in homes across this country. Kids are treated badly by their parents, their life choices are restricted by harsh and punitive theology, or they are trapped in economic circumstances that they are powerless to change -- and they face the rest of their lives with little hope of anything better.

It's a sobering story that has me wondering how many times I've failed to pick up on subtle signs that would have told me, "hey, this kid needs a friend."

Awesome work, Mr. Zentner.