Scan barcode
A review by popcorndiva
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
2.0
2.5 stars, rounded down. Spoiler free review
I read through about 7 or 8 pages of reviews on this book. Believe me, I wanted to feel what everyone else felt, I wanted to LOVE this book, but it just didn't work for me. In theory, it should. Ever since I put this book on my to read shelf, I expected to love it. It contains a lot of my favorite things: southern setting (I'm from Tennessee so even better), religious themes, coming of age story line, and a very interesting plot line (or so I thought.) Unfortunately, this just fell flat and did not work for me.
I was very let down by the plot. Or lack of plot. This was very much a character driven novel that centers around one big event in the book. Unfortunately, that big event doesn't happen until the 67% mark. If a book is going to center it's character's growth and development basically on the before and after of one event, there should be a lot of build up before the event to highlight the complexity of all the character's relationships. I feel like I was more just told that everyone was great friends, but there weren't very many exciting, intimate, emotional scenes depicting their friendship. Also, because the event happened so late in the novel, the character growth and development felt rushed, forced, and a little bit unfinished at the end.
I usually love character driven novels, but I didn't enjoy the characters here. I think that had a lot to do with the writing more so than the characters themselves with Lydia as the exception. Travis was my favorite. I felt like his portrayal was the most realistic and the best developed. Dill was okay, but he just didn't move me or feel authentic. Also, the Serpent King backstory just feel flat for me. Again, I think that has more to do with the writing than the backstory itself. Lydia is the one character I hated and ironically enough the character I should have loved and connected to the most. I hated how she kept referring to her friends as "off brand". I understand her wanting to push Dill towards a better life, but every time she tried to do this it just came off condescending, rude, and not understanding of his situation. She just came off terrible to me and never redeemed herself. This isn't to say that every character has to be perfect, but she was the main love interest here, someone we were supposed to like and root for. That was just very hard to do when she was just outright mean sometimes to her friends. Her growth could have been very powerful and meaningful, but I never felt like she changed as a person.
As for the writing style, I think that's what ruined a lot of this book for me. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't poetic; it didn't evoke any emotion from me which is odd because I cry at everything. The few passages that did evoke emotion from me were few and far between. This novel alternates viewpoints between three characters, but I felt like I could never tell whose POV I was reading. There were times I would have to flip back to the start of the chapter to remember who was suppose to be narrating. I think if the viewpoints had been stronger, I would have enjoyed this book so, so, so much more.
Overall, this was just okay but because I've been so excited to read it for such a long time the disappointment in the book hit me harder than maybe it would have if I had just picked this up at random. I do think this would make a fantastic movie though! Despite my low rating, I think if you're a fan of YA you should give it a shot. Especially because soooo many people seem to enjoy it. I'm glad I did read it and I would recommend it to anyone who feels remotely interested. Even if you don't enjoy it, it is easy and quick to read.
I read through about 7 or 8 pages of reviews on this book. Believe me, I wanted to feel what everyone else felt, I wanted to LOVE this book, but it just didn't work for me. In theory, it should. Ever since I put this book on my to read shelf, I expected to love it. It contains a lot of my favorite things: southern setting (I'm from Tennessee so even better), religious themes, coming of age story line, and a very interesting plot line (or so I thought.) Unfortunately, this just fell flat and did not work for me.
I was very let down by the plot. Or lack of plot. This was very much a character driven novel that centers around one big event in the book. Unfortunately, that big event doesn't happen until the 67% mark. If a book is going to center it's character's growth and development basically on the before and after of one event, there should be a lot of build up before the event to highlight the complexity of all the character's relationships. I feel like I was more just told that everyone was great friends, but there weren't very many exciting, intimate, emotional scenes depicting their friendship. Also, because the event happened so late in the novel, the character growth and development felt rushed, forced, and a little bit unfinished at the end.
I usually love character driven novels, but I didn't enjoy the characters here. I think that had a lot to do with the writing more so than the characters themselves with Lydia as the exception. Travis was my favorite. I felt like his portrayal was the most realistic and the best developed. Dill was okay, but he just didn't move me or feel authentic. Also, the Serpent King backstory just feel flat for me. Again, I think that has more to do with the writing than the backstory itself. Lydia is the one character I hated and ironically enough the character I should have loved and connected to the most. I hated how she kept referring to her friends as "off brand". I understand her wanting to push Dill towards a better life, but every time she tried to do this it just came off condescending, rude, and not understanding of his situation. She just came off terrible to me and never redeemed herself. This isn't to say that every character has to be perfect, but she was the main love interest here, someone we were supposed to like and root for. That was just very hard to do when she was just outright mean sometimes to her friends. Her growth could have been very powerful and meaningful, but I never felt like she changed as a person.
As for the writing style, I think that's what ruined a lot of this book for me. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't poetic; it didn't evoke any emotion from me which is odd because I cry at everything. The few passages that did evoke emotion from me were few and far between. This novel alternates viewpoints between three characters, but I felt like I could never tell whose POV I was reading. There were times I would have to flip back to the start of the chapter to remember who was suppose to be narrating. I think if the viewpoints had been stronger, I would have enjoyed this book so, so, so much more.
Overall, this was just okay but because I've been so excited to read it for such a long time the disappointment in the book hit me harder than maybe it would have if I had just picked this up at random. I do think this would make a fantastic movie though! Despite my low rating, I think if you're a fan of YA you should give it a shot. Especially because soooo many people seem to enjoy it. I'm glad I did read it and I would recommend it to anyone who feels remotely interested. Even if you don't enjoy it, it is easy and quick to read.