Scan barcode
A review by jwinchell
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
4.0
Dill Early is one of my boys-- a select group of fictional YA characters who are so wounded, so unique, so resilient, so beautifully wrought; I vow to always protect him.
And I vow to always hand sell this fantastic novel! Dill is the driving force and his stories are wooooweeee captivating. A PK with a dad whose penchant for snakes and kiddie porn landed him in prison. An angsty loner who may be falling for his kooky and hard-to-get best friend. Lydia is totally a Tavi Gevinson character--a talented, well-supported, ambitious fashion blogger who is ready to make it big. And Travis: this sweet guy... I loved that fantasy escapism (reading, fandom, online friends) was portrayed--it's a very real part of life for many.
There's a twist I didn't see coming that kept me turning pages late into the night. And I cried! Several times.
But I left this at 4 stars because I felt like Zentner's male perspective was too dominant through both Lydia and Dill. Their portrayals felt unbalanced even though they were very authentic: Lydia fell short for me.
This is one of those realistic fiction page-turners that navigates in the romance and the ugly sides of life. It's about trauma and love. It's totally chaste, FWIW. It's southern fiction, of the TN variety, and it sheds light on experiences we don't often see enough in fiction (or media). This will resonate especially well with lovers of John Green and Gayle Foreman and Rainbow Rowell.
And I vow to always hand sell this fantastic novel! Dill is the driving force and his stories are wooooweeee captivating. A PK with a dad whose penchant for snakes and kiddie porn landed him in prison. An angsty loner who may be falling for his kooky and hard-to-get best friend. Lydia is totally a Tavi Gevinson character--a talented, well-supported, ambitious fashion blogger who is ready to make it big. And Travis: this sweet guy... I loved that fantasy escapism (reading, fandom, online friends) was portrayed--it's a very real part of life for many.
There's a twist I didn't see coming that kept me turning pages late into the night. And I cried! Several times.
But I left this at 4 stars because I felt like Zentner's male perspective was too dominant through both Lydia and Dill. Their portrayals felt unbalanced even though they were very authentic: Lydia fell short for me.
This is one of those realistic fiction page-turners that navigates in the romance and the ugly sides of life. It's about trauma and love. It's totally chaste, FWIW. It's southern fiction, of the TN variety, and it sheds light on experiences we don't often see enough in fiction (or media). This will resonate especially well with lovers of John Green and Gayle Foreman and Rainbow Rowell.