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chrissyz's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
chrissyz's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
ashtynolive's review against another edition
5.0
READ THIS!
This definitely could join the ranks of iconic YA books assigned in school. I loved it. A new modern classic.
If you grew up with big dreams living in a tinnnny religious town in the mid-west or the south- there’s so much to relate to. I loved the characters and the story.
This definitely could join the ranks of iconic YA books assigned in school. I loved it. A new modern classic.
If you grew up with big dreams living in a tinnnny religious town in the mid-west or the south- there’s so much to relate to. I loved the characters and the story.
mizzlroy's review against another edition
4.0
A hopeless situation turns hopeful. The characters were well rounded and the story was well written. It started out a little slow, but picked up quickly. As with all of Jeff's books, you will cry at least once. Before this book, I had no idea that certain religions handled poisonous snakes because they believed god would protect them. I had no idea some people drank poison to prove their faith to god. It seems insane to me, but I guess to some it is a way of life.
jurassicreads's review against another edition
4.0
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Dill, Lydia, and Travis lead 3 very different lives, but they all intertwine in Forrestville, Tennessee. Dill is the stigmatized son of a preacher serving jail time. Lydia is a fashion blogger running toward a future at NYU to pursue her dreams. Travis is a science fiction junkie who works in his alcoholic father’s lumberyard when he’s not in school. All three have their own pains, although 2 of which clearly have more to worry about. Lydia has the advantage of a slightly upper-middle class family to support her leaving her home town, meanwhile Dill and Travis are standoffish about making much more of their life beyond what they already know.
As someone from a small town in New Hampshire, I can see that Zentner spent quite a bit of town in the rural south that influenced his writing of this novel. He captures the sense of escape there is of getting out, even if it’s just to the mall or a faraway grocery store. There’s something empty about the expanse of time there is when you’re traveling on the highway, and he manages to capture the multitude of thoughts that can cross your mind when you take these trips. In general, the town of Forrestville has been developed beautifully by our author. Sometimes without having to spew out details, the scenes are set up nicely with our 3 main characters.
I did not expect to find myself so emotionally invested in these characters and the sadness that surrounds them. My main genre is science fiction, so I wasn’t 100% thrilled to read a YA fiction… but this blew things out of the water. There is an astounding sense of modernity to the characters in this book – Dill using YouTube, Lydia with her fashion blog – and I appreciated it greatly. In a time when EVERYONE knows about YouTube, and most about blogging, it seemed pretty appropriate that these people are not only aware of these tools, but using them to their advantage.
Zentner does a good job of telling this story from three different points of view while simultaneously keeping a semi-omnipresent POV. These three friends have known each other for years, so although they don’t know every single thought the other has, it is easier for them to infer some things that aren’t said outright, making the different POVs slightly fluid.
This book perfectly captures the sense of loss high school students have around graduating and leaving high school, sometimes to stay a ‘townie’ and sometimes to pursue greater things in other cities. The connection these characters have with one another is very true to life and will pull at your heartstrings (this one definitely had me crying in public).
Dill, Lydia, and Travis lead 3 very different lives, but they all intertwine in Forrestville, Tennessee. Dill is the stigmatized son of a preacher serving jail time. Lydia is a fashion blogger running toward a future at NYU to pursue her dreams. Travis is a science fiction junkie who works in his alcoholic father’s lumberyard when he’s not in school. All three have their own pains, although 2 of which clearly have more to worry about. Lydia has the advantage of a slightly upper-middle class family to support her leaving her home town, meanwhile Dill and Travis are standoffish about making much more of their life beyond what they already know.
As someone from a small town in New Hampshire, I can see that Zentner spent quite a bit of town in the rural south that influenced his writing of this novel. He captures the sense of escape there is of getting out, even if it’s just to the mall or a faraway grocery store. There’s something empty about the expanse of time there is when you’re traveling on the highway, and he manages to capture the multitude of thoughts that can cross your mind when you take these trips. In general, the town of Forrestville has been developed beautifully by our author. Sometimes without having to spew out details, the scenes are set up nicely with our 3 main characters.
I did not expect to find myself so emotionally invested in these characters and the sadness that surrounds them. My main genre is science fiction, so I wasn’t 100% thrilled to read a YA fiction… but this blew things out of the water. There is an astounding sense of modernity to the characters in this book – Dill using YouTube, Lydia with her fashion blog – and I appreciated it greatly. In a time when EVERYONE knows about YouTube, and most about blogging, it seemed pretty appropriate that these people are not only aware of these tools, but using them to their advantage.
Zentner does a good job of telling this story from three different points of view while simultaneously keeping a semi-omnipresent POV. These three friends have known each other for years, so although they don’t know every single thought the other has, it is easier for them to infer some things that aren’t said outright, making the different POVs slightly fluid.
This book perfectly captures the sense of loss high school students have around graduating and leaving high school, sometimes to stay a ‘townie’ and sometimes to pursue greater things in other cities. The connection these characters have with one another is very true to life and will pull at your heartstrings (this one definitely had me crying in public).
shannontay's review against another edition
5.0
Great book about teenage friendship. I got through this very quickly!
sincerelyhadley's review against another edition
3.0
So many feelings with this book! It started off slow for me. I didn't really get into it until 3/4 of the way through. It captured me and broke me and then the ending was just kind of...meh. I like the message the book tries to convey, and it has a few noteworthy quotes but in the end it fell just short of favorite status. Still an enjoyable read!
lis_allenwalker's review against another edition
4.0
Me, to myself: "Repeat after me: You are not the intended audience for this book. It is not for you. You are no longer a teenager and the more you read YA and not like it the more you are reaffirming this fact."
4 stars, because it made me cry really hard and it truly was so so so well done for YA and made me very excited for his adult novel.
4 stars, because it made me cry really hard and it truly was so so so well done for YA and made me very excited for his adult novel.
yesrachishere's review against another edition
2.0
The Serpent King follows three characters who are going into their senior year of high school. Dill is having a hard time because his father, who was a preacher, is in prison for child pornography and the kids at school will never let him forget who he is. He shares his name with his father, who is known for handling poisonous snakes during church sermons. Now, he carries the burden of his family's debts and his mom wants him to drop out of school to work full time. When he mentions going to college to get a better paying job, his mom absolutely refuses. He also has a crush on his best friend Lydia. Lydia is a popular fashion blogger with over 100,000 followers on her Twitter and Instagram. She wants to get out of Forrestville, TN and attend school at NYU. But she's determined to convince Dill to get out of their home town and do something with his life. Travis is their other best friend and he has a rough home life. His dad wants him to try out for football and make him proud but Travis isn't into that. He loves fantasy novels and he engages in online forums, where fans talk about these books. He meets a girl, Amelia, on these forums and they text quite a bit. The three of them are best friends and when a tragedy hits them, they must learn to keep their heads up and continue with their goals.
I didn't absolutely hate this book, but I didn't like it. Lydia is my least favorite character. She comes across as selfish and snobby. She can't wait to leave their home town and she tells Dill and Travis all the time. She has a popular blog but she never once mentions her two best friends on there. In fact, she writes that she has no friends at all. Dill reads her blog and when he sees that he gets frustrated and confronts her. She basically tells him that he needs to get over it. She is just not the ideal friend, in my opinion. Also, Dill confronts several times about leaving for NYU. He wants her to stay which is completely normal since they are best friends, and Lydia just handles it wrong. She doesn't sympathize with him and I think she should try to look at the situation from his point of view. She says she's leaving and she doesn't want to consider staying at all. And again, I understand that she wants to leave, but c'mon! He's your best friend, try to be nice about it at least. Travis was my favorite character from the story. He was actually the only character that I enjoyed reading about. I picture him as this big huggable teddy bear who is also a nerd. And that's not a bad thing. Something happens in the story that a lot of reviewers have said made them cry, but not for me. My eyes may have glossed over, but no tears were shed. I guess I just didn't care for the story or the characters enough. Dill has such a hard life with his father in prison and his parents blame him for it. I grew up in Pentecostal churches and reading about this was not at all how I grew up. I had no idea about the snakes and I actually had to google if that was a real thing. And it is! It's a rare and century old practice so maybe that's why I never heard of it but I was expecting to connect with this story and I did the complete opposite.
I have the unpopular opinion here because most of the reviews on Goodreads are raving, so maybe just pick this one up for yourself and decide. I get the message that book is trying to perceive and I think it is a great message but the story line wasn't strong enough. It wasn't for me, unfortunately.
I didn't absolutely hate this book, but I didn't like it. Lydia is my least favorite character. She comes across as selfish and snobby. She can't wait to leave their home town and she tells Dill and Travis all the time. She has a popular blog but she never once mentions her two best friends on there. In fact, she writes that she has no friends at all. Dill reads her blog and when he sees that he gets frustrated and confronts her. She basically tells him that he needs to get over it. She is just not the ideal friend, in my opinion. Also, Dill confronts several times about leaving for NYU. He wants her to stay which is completely normal since they are best friends, and Lydia just handles it wrong. She doesn't sympathize with him and I think she should try to look at the situation from his point of view. She says she's leaving and she doesn't want to consider staying at all. And again, I understand that she wants to leave, but c'mon! He's your best friend, try to be nice about it at least. Travis was my favorite character from the story. He was actually the only character that I enjoyed reading about. I picture him as this big huggable teddy bear who is also a nerd. And that's not a bad thing. Something happens in the story that a lot of reviewers have said made them cry, but not for me. My eyes may have glossed over, but no tears were shed. I guess I just didn't care for the story or the characters enough. Dill has such a hard life with his father in prison and his parents blame him for it. I grew up in Pentecostal churches and reading about this was not at all how I grew up. I had no idea about the snakes and I actually had to google if that was a real thing. And it is! It's a rare and century old practice so maybe that's why I never heard of it but I was expecting to connect with this story and I did the complete opposite.
I have the unpopular opinion here because most of the reviews on Goodreads are raving, so maybe just pick this one up for yourself and decide. I get the message that book is trying to perceive and I think it is a great message but the story line wasn't strong enough. It wasn't for me, unfortunately.