Title: The Serpent King
Expected Publication Date: March 8, 2016
SYNOPSIS
Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life—at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace.
He and his fellow outcast friends must try to make it through their senior year of high school without letting the small-town culture destroy their creative spirits and sense of self. Graduation will lead to new beginnings for Lydia, whose edgy fashion blog is her ticket out of their rural Tennessee town. And Travis is content where he is thanks to his obsession with an epic book series and the fangirl turning his reality into real-life fantasy.
Their diverging paths could mean the end of their friendship. But not before Dill confronts his dark legacy to attempt to find a way into the light of a future worth living.
Lasting Friendships until the sun sets, a life of burdens and challenges.
READ MORE FOR THE ACTUAL REVIEW
"That wouldn't be a bad way to die, giving off light for million years after you're gone."
The book is all about grief, sorrow, pain, mourning and every sad adjectives you could ever think. No, seriously, this book just gave me a heartache that I think will last for the mean time. I just finished it earlier with my eyes and heart still intact to where it should be.
I was prepared when I started reading it because of the foreword. But well, he's a good writer and he really got me into the situation where there is no escape and the only thing you could do is to deal with it.
The Serpent King is a Young Adult Contemporary novel that is set on a rural town in Tennessee. This novel focuses on three friends: Dill, Travis and Lydia. The book has three distinct parts (I guess you know who are those three) and it was told through their different perspectives in 3rd person.
The night after I received the ARC of this book I immediately read it with full force because I'm really determined to finish a book in the month of January. At first I was just reading it for the sake of my blog and not the essence of the story. So guess what happened? I almost gave up on it. But I didn't and I kept my promise to finish this book.
So I read it again, but with a different perspective. I will read it for the story and alas! I didn't regret it. Every ounce of time that I spent reading this gem is worth it! His writing flowed neatly and in place. The characters he made were genuine as his writing is. You can relate to their story and their ambitions (or likes maybe). As I got deeper in reading this novel, I noticed that each of them has their own selfish desires; desires that can lead them to their downfall. In which you can really see in real life. We do some things-- horrible things just to quench our thirst.
Usually when you read a book you will come up with your favorite character, it seems odd but I don't have any. I just don't want to be biased with this book because I see myself on our three protagonists. They are somehow my other persons. If they were real, I will just hug the three of them so tight so they will know that they are not the only ones who feel stuck, that there will be someone who will be there even if they are far away or worst case scenario-- not a fictional character.
This book has a lot of quotable words! I can just print them all and post it on my wall, but it would be stealing so never mind. And I have a lot of favorite scenes, for example is, the Trio's winding up by watching the trains passing by, when Dr. Blankenship told Dill that if he were his son, he would be proud of him and when Travis met his favorite author of Bloodfall series. There are just good times in the middle of the bad ones, make sure you remember them.
Also one of the best things about this book is it transported me directly to Tennessee, I can really see the surroundings more vividly because of his delivery. That's a special thing because I'm a foreign to that place, never been there and doesn't even have the gut to search the place. So I depended on how he will describe everything.
Since I don't want to spoil the fun, I will just advice you to read it when it comes out. If you will risk your time for this book, risk it all.
Reading The Serpent King gave me a considerable number of sentiments that I, as a reader really savored. Some books are compared to a roller coaster ride but this? This is something different, this is way beyond a roller coaster. This is much simpler and real. Riding a bus is more favorable since it has a lot of bus stops, but eventually it will still go forward no matter what.
It reminded me that things are supposed to happen so you will be the person you are now. There will be people leaving you and there are hopeless circumstances that will drag you down. Yet it also prompted the idea that the time will never stop and the clock will keep on ticking. We just need to take delight with the moments that is happening because you will never know how long it will last. Those glorious moments that will define your worth in this world. Though they are just a fragment of your life, it will leave you with big ambitions and huge purpose to seek another adventure.
Jeff Zentner is valiant on his first novel for writing this exceptional story. He's not afraid to write about issues, he's very bold and audible on what he wants to show on his novel. I can see him being one of the legends soon in writing fiction. This is my first five star rating for a book, well it deserves that rating.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jeff Zentner lives in Nashville, Tennessee. He came to writing through music, starting his creative life as a guitarist and eventually becoming a songwriter. He’s released five albums and appeared on recordings with Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Thurston Moore, Debbie Harry, Mark Lanegan, and Lydia Lunch, among others.
Now he writes novels for young adults. He became interested in writing for young adults after volunteering at the Tennessee Teen Rock Camp and Southern Girls Rock Camp. As a kid, his parents would take him to the library and drop him off, where he would read until closing time. He worked at various bookstores through high school and college.
He speaks fluent Portuguese, having lived in the Amazon region of Brazil for two years.
Follow him on twitter!
Visit him on his website.
I was prepared when I started reading it because of the foreword. But well, he's a good writer and he really got me into the situation where there is no escape and the only thing you could do is to deal with it.
The Serpent King is a Young Adult Contemporary novel that is set on a rural town in Tennessee. This novel focuses on three friends: Dill, Travis and Lydia. The book has three distinct parts (I guess you know who are those three) and it was told through their different perspectives in 3rd person.
The night after I received the ARC of this book I immediately read it with full force because I'm really determined to finish a book in the month of January. At first I was just reading it for the sake of my blog and not the essence of the story. So guess what happened? I almost gave up on it. But I didn't and I kept my promise to finish this book.
So I read it again, but with a different perspective. I will read it for the story and alas! I didn't regret it. Every ounce of time that I spent reading this gem is worth it! His writing flowed neatly and in place. The characters he made were genuine as his writing is. You can relate to their story and their ambitions (or likes maybe). As I got deeper in reading this novel, I noticed that each of them has their own selfish desires; desires that can lead them to their downfall. In which you can really see in real life. We do some things-- horrible things just to quench our thirst.
Usually when you read a book you will come up with your favorite character, it seems odd but I don't have any. I just don't want to be biased with this book because I see myself on our three protagonists. They are somehow my other persons. If they were real, I will just hug the three of them so tight so they will know that they are not the only ones who feel stuck, that there will be someone who will be there even if they are far away or worst case scenario-- not a fictional character.
This book has a lot of quotable words! I can just print them all and post it on my wall, but it would be stealing so never mind. And I have a lot of favorite scenes, for example is, the Trio's winding up by watching the trains passing by, when Dr. Blankenship told Dill that if he were his son, he would be proud of him and when Travis met his favorite author of Bloodfall series. There are just good times in the middle of the bad ones, make sure you remember them.
Also one of the best things about this book is it transported me directly to Tennessee, I can really see the surroundings more vividly because of his delivery. That's a special thing because I'm a foreign to that place, never been there and doesn't even have the gut to search the place. So I depended on how he will describe everything.
Since I don't want to spoil the fun, I will just advice you to read it when it comes out. If you will risk your time for this book, risk it all.
Reading The Serpent King gave me a considerable number of sentiments that I, as a reader really savored. Some books are compared to a roller coaster ride but this? This is something different, this is way beyond a roller coaster. This is much simpler and real. Riding a bus is more favorable since it has a lot of bus stops, but eventually it will still go forward no matter what.
It reminded me that things are supposed to happen so you will be the person you are now. There will be people leaving you and there are hopeless circumstances that will drag you down. Yet it also prompted the idea that the time will never stop and the clock will keep on ticking. We just need to take delight with the moments that is happening because you will never know how long it will last. Those glorious moments that will define your worth in this world. Though they are just a fragment of your life, it will leave you with big ambitions and huge purpose to seek another adventure.
Jeff Zentner is valiant on his first novel for writing this exceptional story. He's not afraid to write about issues, he's very bold and audible on what he wants to show on his novel. I can see him being one of the legends soon in writing fiction. This is my first five star rating for a book, well it deserves that rating.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Now he writes novels for young adults. He became interested in writing for young adults after volunteering at the Tennessee Teen Rock Camp and Southern Girls Rock Camp. As a kid, his parents would take him to the library and drop him off, where he would read until closing time. He worked at various bookstores through high school and college.
He speaks fluent Portuguese, having lived in the Amazon region of Brazil for two years.
Follow him on twitter!
Visit him on his website.
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