A review by chrstnareads
Copperhead by Alexi Zentner
3.0
I really liked the main character in this book. Jessup is a teen who is starting to gain awareness of the world around him and beginning to form opinions of his own that are diametrically opposed to (what he thinks are) his family's and (what are very much) his church's — which he's stopped going to, thank you very much. You see, the church, run by his step uncle, is The Blessed Church of the White America. It's about the conflict of loving your family while also hating the things they seem to stand for and believe in. It's about Jessup's desire to completely distance himself from everyone, but still being compelled by the love he has for his sweet younger sister, his mother who has worked tirelessly to raise him well, his stepfather who has been the only father he's ever known, who taught him to work hard at school, to live up to his potential, the man who would put himself before everything to save his family. It's about the struggle of reconciling this family full of love with this community of hate.
That's not to say Jessup is a saint. He messes up BIG TIME. And I was kind of annoyed that you don't really find out much about the outcome of that until the epilogue. The book was more about the fracture. Which was great. But I felt there was SO much in the epilogue that was dealt with very quickly and felt a little glossed over. Which was... almost a little anti-climactic? I don't know.
I thought the tension was built really well otherwise, though. I thought the Big Scene that IS the climax of the book was really well done. The comedown is what felt like could have used a little more... oomph. The characters were really well developed though, especially Jessup and his stepfather David John. I thought their relationship was really interesting and very realistic. Jessup's internal monologue fighting himself about his stepdad (never dad; he's not his dad, okay?!) was really well done. The relationship dynamics were really well done. Jessup is very much a teenage boy.
I think I'd give this a 3.5/5. It was a difficult read, but I liked it.
That's not to say Jessup is a saint. He messes up BIG TIME. And I was kind of annoyed that you don't really find out much about the outcome of that until the epilogue. The book was more about the fracture. Which was great. But I felt there was SO much in the epilogue that was dealt with very quickly and felt a little glossed over. Which was... almost a little anti-climactic? I don't know.
I thought the tension was built really well otherwise, though. I thought the Big Scene that IS the climax of the book was really well done. The comedown is what felt like could have used a little more... oomph. The characters were really well developed though, especially Jessup and his stepfather David John. I thought their relationship was really interesting and very realistic. Jessup's internal monologue fighting himself about his stepdad (never dad; he's not his dad, okay?!) was really well done. The relationship dynamics were really well done. Jessup is very much a teenage boy.
I think I'd give this a 3.5/5. It was a difficult read, but I liked it.