Zentner, Jeff.  
THE SERPENT KING
New York: Crown Books for Young Readers, 2016. 
IL YA
ISBN 055352402X

(3 booktalks)

Booktalk #1

Dill is the son of a preacher man, a Pentecostal minister who handles snakes and is currently residing in prison.  To label Dill an outcast would be an understatement.  He is bullied because of his family but also because of his best friends, Travis and Lydia.

Travis is a bigger-than-life teen who lives in the fantasy world of his favorite novels.  Fashionista Lydia can’t wait to get out of small-town dullsville and move to a fashion forward big city.  The threesome help each other through the perils of backwoods Tennessee bigotry, bullies, and hardships.  But as their senior year draws to an end, they each face their own insecurities and fears.  

But nothing can prepare them for the tragedy that will change their lives and friendships forever.

The Serpent King eloquently describes the heartache and joy of friendship and family while reminding us that with great joy often comes devastating sadness but through it all we can persevere with grace and dignity.  (Oklahoma High School Sequoyah Award, 2018)

Booktalk #2

For fans of John Green and Stephen Chbosky, Jeff Zentner’s debut novel, The Serpent King, provides a close look at the life of three friends in rural Tennessee. Dill, Travis, and Lydia are all very different, but bound together by the strength of their friendship. Dill’s family scandal is on display for the entire town when his father ends up in jail. His friends are his lifeline, but graduation is coming; will it set them free from the constricts of small-town life or cause their close-knit friendship to splinter? This beautiful, funny, yet sometimes heartbreaking book endears the characters to the heart of every reader and provides a realistic glimpse into what it truly means to be a friend. (Florida Teens Read (FTR) 2017-2018)

Booktalk #3

Dill, Travis and Lydia are a strangely-matched trio. Dill is the son of a disgraced, serpent-handling pastor, Travis is a plus-sized, dragon-pendant wearing, wizard-staff-carrying fantasy fan, and Lydia has a whip-sharp tongue and fashion blog, counting down the days till she goes off to school in New York. Yet, their confirmed outsider status only bonds them closer together, especially when tragedy strikes. Dill worries about his friends leaving him behind as they fan out on their college adventures, Travis struggles with an abusive father, and Lydia sarcastically obsesses over her fashion blog. Jeff Zentner’s debut novel is a masterpiece of rawness, with every reader able to place themselves in this very realistic novel, even if one has never traveled to the deep South. --Michael Fleming Librarian, Pacific Cascade Middle School  Evergreen Book Award Nominees 2018-19