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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
Really more like 3.5 stars. This was a sweet and sad book about three friends and their last year in high school together. My heart broke for two of the characters (obvs Dill and Travis) and yet I feel like Lydia was just kind of flat. I didn't get her and she wasn't well-developed (now that I think about it she kind of reminded me of Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink but with money and no real angst). Anyway. I have been meaning to read/listen to this book for a long time and finally I found myself in between books (just waiting for holds to come through at the library) and listened to it. I'm glad I did (I don't regret it) but I can't see myself reading it again or recommending it like I seem to do for almost all of Gary Schmidt's YA books.
Long story short - it meandered a lot and I kept waiting for something to happen.
Long story short - it meandered a lot and I kept waiting for something to happen.
I'm not going to lie. I had troubles getting into the story. The writing style felt very detached, especially since it's told from 3 point of views but not in a 1st person narrative. However, I soon became attached to the characters and the story touched my heart. The plot twists were predictable but I really couldn't care less. I did get into this book to be pleasantly surprised and I was - not necessarily by what happens but by what messages the story conveys. And here's 3 things that this book made me tear up about because they hit home.
- You are not your parents
- You have choices in life
- You should be proud of your achievements
Well, 4 actually. Because this book also reminds you that whatever darkness you have inside you, it can just kiss your ass.
Anyway, this book is full of genuine emotions and imperfect characters and important topics and last but not least, it has hope.
- You are not your parents
- You have choices in life
- You should be proud of your achievements
Well, 4 actually. Because this book also reminds you that whatever darkness you have inside you, it can just kiss your ass.
Anyway, this book is full of genuine emotions and imperfect characters and important topics and last but not least, it has hope.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner is a bildungsroman following the lives of Dill, Lydia, and Travis, teenagers living in rural Tennessee. Some of the books main themes are grief, poverty, identity, found family, and resilience. This is dual point of view story and switches perspectives between the three main characters. It begins with the point of view of Dill, who throughout the novel struggles with realizing his identity when so much about him has been associated with his father and grandfather’s history of violent, erratic, and sometimes criminal, behavior. It raises questions about if it possible for someone to transcend troubled histories of their family, which is the major conflict that Dill overcomes by the end of the novel. Travis’s character development has a similar conflict of overcoming (or rather, not overcoming) the negative impact of family member, as Travis’s dad is an alcoholic abuser that is a violent bully towards Travis and his mother. These two stories that demonstrate the results of systemic suffering are then juxtaposed with Lydia, who’s parents are loving parents able to provide completely for all of her needs throughout her identity formation. This gives powerful insight into class differences and the ways in which the idea of “chasing your dreams” that is often tied to adolescence is a privilege that is not easily accessible for people like Dill who face poverty and family debt. In a fight between Lydia and Dill, Dill calls out Lydia’s privilege when she expresses frustration with his life choices, “My choices? It was not my choice to have my dad go to prison and leave my family with a mountain of debt. You love talking about choices, don’t you? Pretty easy when they’re served up on a platter,” (Zentner 159). This difference in economic privilege causes conflict between Dill and Lydia, as Lydia is often unable to comprehend what makes it hard for Dill and Travis to envision a life outside of Forestville.
In a scene with her Dad, he talks to Lydia about how lucky she is to have grown up in Forestville even if it is not somewhere she wants to be most like Manhattan. This then bleeds into a discussion about Travis and how he knows his dad is a mean person who is probably abusing him. This is then where Lydia turns a corner in her ability to empathize and become considerate of her friends and what they experience that she doesn’t have to. Looking at this through a Youth Lens as defined in “The Youth Lens: Analyzing Adolescence/ts In Literary Texts,” the message this says about adolescence is that teenagers need adults to be able to guide them to empathy and recognizing privilege (Petrone 13). There is an “implication of an in-capacity of youth in managing their lives” found in how Lydia overcomes her lack of empathy (Petrone 13).
In thinking critically about Lydia’s character development, I feel that she illuminates some stereotypes about women and girls. In the last quarter of the novel, a lot of her character begins to revolve around Dill at the same time as their romantic tension is building. The reader knows less and less as the novel progresses about her actual plans for New York and friends there. Instead, what seems to occupy her mind most, along with her grief over Travis, is Dill and making sure he will not commit suicide and still moves forward with his life. She takes on a lot of responsibility in relationship to his health as well as his post high-school plans. Then this romantic tension comes to a head chronologically as a result of her emotional investment in his life, as they kiss after she helps him apply to college. I could see the argument that it was good that she was able to use her privilege to help him, but I think that this type of responsibility she feels for him being what leads to their romantic connection to him contributes to stereotypes about what is expected of women in romantic relationships with men. Because of society’s views of women as primary supporters of men, and the sexist assumption that women are inherently more emotionally intelligently than men, women in relationships are often expected to do the of emotional labor of both partners in the relationship. They are expected to oversee the mental health of their partner as well as their own because of these assumptions about what women are “naturally” good at. This dynamic is shown here when Lydia’s dreams are pushed to aside as she invests more time into helping Dill manage his depression, which then results in a romantic peak.
Wholistically, this book portrays its loveable characters as resilient, which I think is part of why it would apeal to adolescents. Though they all face different hardships and even the grief of the death of a friend, they can get to the other side of their depression because of the potential of their lives ahead of them and their dreams that are coming to fruition. I think adolescents reading this may feel encouraged with a sense of “it gets better” after reading this book.
I would rate this book a B+. I appreciated the valuable insight this book gave on experiences in small rural Southern communities and I felt very connected to the character’s throughout the story. One of my favorite parts was the ending where Lydia and Dill are contemplating their morality in relation to Travis’s death. I think it is common in adolescence to feel overwhelmed with a sense of your own morality when someone close to you dies for the first time (if you have the privilege of this not occurring before adolescence). I thought that feeling was portrayed really accurately by Zentner. However, I felt there were problematic aspects of Lydia’s character and she lacked the depth that I feel the male characters were given. It also lacked any characters of color and there were no queer characters which is disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Classism
This book has been sitting on my shelf since last spring, and though I've been meaning to read it forever, I kept putting it off for one reason or another. But I was between review copies and wanted something in the real world to read, so I picked this one up and finally gave it a go.
I cannot even begin to describe the emotional toll that this book will take on you. It will suck you right in and have you riding that emotional rollercoaster of doom along with all the characters, even though you've long since moved your own life past the challenges of those in the book. I rarely cry in real life, and I never cry when I read, and this book brought me to tears. I had to hide in the bathroom so that my partner wouldn't think I was losing my marbles. Because that is the sort of thing that this book will do to you.
The Good Points of The Serpent King:
I will admit that I was mildly concerned about the talk of religion in the synopsis, but this isn't one of those books where they're preaching or trying to convert you or something. It just is, and it's explained to you, but in relation to how it affects the story. It's beautifully done, and a great way to handle a subject like religion in a book.
The characters in this book are phenomenal. From the first page, they're well developed, unique, endearing, and with distinctive voices. They're perfectly created for a book that relies so heavily on character. Even if you're the complete opposite of them, you can't help but love them just a little.
The writing is to die for. Is this what happens when we let songwriter's take on novels? If so, then this needs to happen more, because this book is beautifully written. It's heavy on the dialogue, which could easily get repetitive and annoying, but Zentner handles it well and only repeats himself as necessary.
I don't think I've ever read a more emotionally charged book. I don't know how Zentner squashed all those feelings in there, but somehow he fit them in between the words and punctuation, and they know the exact moment to jump out and punch you right where it hurts.
The Downsides of The Serpent King:
There are some painfully slow moments in this book. And they end up adding to important things that happen later, but you have to drag yourself through them. It's part of what comes with a character-based book, rather than a plot-based one though, so it's something you expect going into it.
Some issues in this book were incredibly repetitive, and a couple of times, we got a very similar scene a few times before anything got resolved. And sure, that's how it goes in real life, but it makes for dull reading.
It made me cry. Not cool.
All in all, I absolutely loved this book, and can't believe I took so long to actually read it. It's a beautiful coming of age story, and definitely one that should be getting a lot more praise than it already does. I can't wait to get my hands on Zentner's newest book, and see how that one goes.
I cannot even begin to describe the emotional toll that this book will take on you. It will suck you right in and have you riding that emotional rollercoaster of doom along with all the characters, even though you've long since moved your own life past the challenges of those in the book. I rarely cry in real life, and I never cry when I read, and this book brought me to tears. I had to hide in the bathroom so that my partner wouldn't think I was losing my marbles. Because that is the sort of thing that this book will do to you.
The Good Points of The Serpent King:
I will admit that I was mildly concerned about the talk of religion in the synopsis, but this isn't one of those books where they're preaching or trying to convert you or something. It just is, and it's explained to you, but in relation to how it affects the story. It's beautifully done, and a great way to handle a subject like religion in a book.
The characters in this book are phenomenal. From the first page, they're well developed, unique, endearing, and with distinctive voices. They're perfectly created for a book that relies so heavily on character. Even if you're the complete opposite of them, you can't help but love them just a little.
The writing is to die for. Is this what happens when we let songwriter's take on novels? If so, then this needs to happen more, because this book is beautifully written. It's heavy on the dialogue, which could easily get repetitive and annoying, but Zentner handles it well and only repeats himself as necessary.
I don't think I've ever read a more emotionally charged book. I don't know how Zentner squashed all those feelings in there, but somehow he fit them in between the words and punctuation, and they know the exact moment to jump out and punch you right where it hurts.
The Downsides of The Serpent King:
There are some painfully slow moments in this book. And they end up adding to important things that happen later, but you have to drag yourself through them. It's part of what comes with a character-based book, rather than a plot-based one though, so it's something you expect going into it.
Some issues in this book were incredibly repetitive, and a couple of times, we got a very similar scene a few times before anything got resolved. And sure, that's how it goes in real life, but it makes for dull reading.
It made me cry. Not cool.
All in all, I absolutely loved this book, and can't believe I took so long to actually read it. It's a beautiful coming of age story, and definitely one that should be getting a lot more praise than it already does. I can't wait to get my hands on Zentner's newest book, and see how that one goes.
2 for 2 on books by this author making me ugly cry. Dill, Lydia, and Travis are a motley crew. Lydia is a lesbian in their small Tennessee town, Travis is a gentle giant who is way more into fantasy novels than football, and Dill unfortunately shard the same name as his father, a Pentecostal snake handler who is in prison for porn involving a minor.
The three have their sights set on a world beyond their hometown, though all in markedly different ways. I would say 4.5 stars for this one.
The three have their sights set on a world beyond their hometown, though all in markedly different ways. I would say 4.5 stars for this one.
So my friends recommended this book to me. At first I was a little McMad about reading it, because it's about Pentecostal Christianity and abusive fathers, both subjects that hit a little close to home for me. And it's a slow burn, so it took me a while to get through it. Lydia and Dill both come off a little annoying at the start, but Travis struck me as the type of kid I went to high school with, so his character at least felt familiar. Dill and Travis both have unstable family lives and darkness within them, balanced out by Lydia's near-perfect existence. But I found the internal struggle the characters go through to be compelling. Much of the story is about the weight of parental and social pressure for the small-town working class. All three characters deal with questions of familial responsibility, college, and charting a path to adulthood, even if it goes against parents' expectations. All in all it's a sad but hopeful read.
This book, guys! This. Book. I can’t believe I left it sitting for so long on my shelf before reading it. Sacrilege of the highest order! I picked this baby up on Sunday evening and refused to go to bed until I had finished it… and finish it I did, at 2:30AM with a work day looming in sight. I went to bed a sobbing, blubbering mess. The Emotional Hangover sat by my bed like a loyal Alsatian waiting for me to wake up for work. Hiiiii *waves to The Emotional Hangover*, nice of you to show up, yo, it’s been a while!
Somewhere I saw someone call this book ‘tragedy porn’. How fitting… So, if this book is tragedy porn, consider me a paying, drooling, fidgety customer! Thanks Book Depository for delivering me tragedy porn.
The characters were far from flat. In fact- Dill, Lydia and Travis have all existed somewhere in the timeline of my life, sometimes in me. Sometimes in the people I knew. Dill, an exhibition of a confused mind, lingering guilt and a victim of childhood brainwashing. He’s lost, even though he has ambition, he wants something more, something better, but his upbringing is like a ton of iron chains around his feet and his family’s history like a double-barrelled shotgun at his temple. His rock bottom was real and familiar, and I always believed that in order to get better you need to hit rock bottom. That said, it sadly doesn’t work out this way for everyone.
Travis- ha! His admirable ability to become disconnected from reality. His wanderings into the fantasy. A gentle giant seems like a fitting description here… I loved his ability to tune out the bullying at school but my heart broke for the way he was being treated by his father… No man, no matter how tame, will forever keep turning the other cheek and I don’t blame Travis for seeing red, the very few times he did. But he had resolve and determination to change things and just when he does… *sigh*
Lydia- A typical young woman, no? Playful, a bit crazy, trying to find her own place and overly ambitious… Sure, I didn’t agree with her comfortably ‘erasing’ her friends from her blog, but wasn’t the whole idea of the book to sample human mistakes? Of making them, admitting them, regretting them? Yes, she gets a bit too arrogant. Yes, she needs to be knocked down a peg. That’s all a process of maturing, testing the boundaries, and lessons from life will not go easy on her..
The book, overall, was a total and utter breeze for me with its easy to follow writing style and good pace. Yes, this is not really a plot driven novel. A good novel doesn’t have to be plot driven. A great novel can be entirely about characters and their 100 mile obstacle marathon. Sure, you need to care for and connect to the characters to not need a multi-world, multi-level, complicated plot. Was the book predictable, shallow and boring? No. It most certainly wasn’t. Not for me. I love the dark- sometimes it presents opportunities to discover more, to be dragged under and to be brought back up again. Sometimes the dark helps us feel as alive as the light can. Sometimes the dark helps us value the light just that much more- *emo alert right here*
5***** from me, anyway.
Somewhere I saw someone call this book ‘tragedy porn’. How fitting… So, if this book is tragedy porn, consider me a paying, drooling, fidgety customer! Thanks Book Depository for delivering me tragedy porn.
The characters were far from flat. In fact- Dill, Lydia and Travis have all existed somewhere in the timeline of my life, sometimes in me. Sometimes in the people I knew. Dill, an exhibition of a confused mind, lingering guilt and a victim of childhood brainwashing. He’s lost, even though he has ambition, he wants something more, something better, but his upbringing is like a ton of iron chains around his feet and his family’s history like a double-barrelled shotgun at his temple. His rock bottom was real and familiar, and I always believed that in order to get better you need to hit rock bottom. That said, it sadly doesn’t work out this way for everyone.
Travis- ha! His admirable ability to become disconnected from reality. His wanderings into the fantasy. A gentle giant seems like a fitting description here… I loved his ability to tune out the bullying at school but my heart broke for the way he was being treated by his father… No man, no matter how tame, will forever keep turning the other cheek and I don’t blame Travis for seeing red, the very few times he did. But he had resolve and determination to change things and just when he does… *sigh*
Lydia- A typical young woman, no? Playful, a bit crazy, trying to find her own place and overly ambitious… Sure, I didn’t agree with her comfortably ‘erasing’ her friends from her blog, but wasn’t the whole idea of the book to sample human mistakes? Of making them, admitting them, regretting them? Yes, she gets a bit too arrogant. Yes, she needs to be knocked down a peg. That’s all a process of maturing, testing the boundaries, and lessons from life will not go easy on her..
The book, overall, was a total and utter breeze for me with its easy to follow writing style and good pace. Yes, this is not really a plot driven novel. A good novel doesn’t have to be plot driven. A great novel can be entirely about characters and their 100 mile obstacle marathon. Sure, you need to care for and connect to the characters to not need a multi-world, multi-level, complicated plot. Was the book predictable, shallow and boring? No. It most certainly wasn’t. Not for me. I love the dark- sometimes it presents opportunities to discover more, to be dragged under and to be brought back up again. Sometimes the dark helps us feel as alive as the light can. Sometimes the dark helps us value the light just that much more- *emo alert right here*
5***** from me, anyway.
I would call this a nice solid entry in the realistic fiction genre of YA. As other Goodreads reviewers have noted, this book is less about Dill's religion, relationship with his father, or snake handling and more about his relationship with his two best friends- especially Lydia. It's told in three perspectives- from each of the three main characters. Overall I liked it. Give it to fans of John Green, Andrew Smith, A.S. King, etc