7 June 2016

Review #456: The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner



My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“People think dreams aren't real just because they aren't made of matter, of particles. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes.”


----Neil Gaiman



Jeff Zentner, an American author, pens an engrossing young adult fiction in his debut book, The Serpent King narrates the story of three imperfect high school senior year teenagers who have ended up in a dead end town, and wants desperately to give wings to their dreams except the two boys, who want their friend, with big dreams to live in a big city, to stay in that part of the town and maintain their friendship.


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.



Dill, Lydia and Travis are the misfit high school trio, who are best friends and each other's salvation in a small town in Tennessee. Dill is the guy whose father once went to prison and after his release he turned himself into the preacher of snake gods, thus Dill can't escape the bullies subjected to him because of his father's conviction and his Jesus-believer mother can';t stop blaming her son for her husband's conviction and also wants him to finish school to handle their household financially.
Travis is the guy who has found his solace in the pages of his favorite fantasy series, Bloodfall and he can't stop fangirling about this whole series and to show his apparent love for this book, he even carries a staff and wears a weird dragon necklace, wherever he goes, hence he too is subjected o bullies in school.
Lydia is partly the perfect girl among the shadows of this two imperfect guys, as she belongs from a well-to-do family and with their constant support, she has launched herself as a popular fashion blogger in the internet, and also she can't wait to get over with school and to leave this small weird town to give wings to her big dreams in an NYC college.
But the guys do not want her to leave the town, especially they don't want their friendship to come to an end, but the inevitable is hard to turn around, when more than one heart is bound to break.

This debut author's book is going to surprise a lot of readers with the depth of the story line as well as with the writing style. The book's cover image is really pretty and cool and aptly captures the theme of the story. The story will take the readers to a place called, Forrestville, a rural and poverty-stricken Southern town, where the author has painted the backdrop of the story line vividly by portraying the people of such a town, the culture, the religion, the language, as well as the rugged landscape. The author's portrayal of this town is so striking that it will make the readers visualize the scenes right before their eyes.

The author's writing style is distinct and articulate and is laced with heart-felt and powerful emotions, especially the emotions that a person get when he is trying to brave the unknown on his/her way. The emotions are real and strong which hold a power to make the readers to move and relate with the story. The narrative style and the dialogues are not only inspired by the location but are also quite arresting to hold the readers' attention till the very end. The pacing is quite fast as the story will make the readers sway with its free-flowing form.

The characters are completely flawed and are depicted with realism and authenticity in their demeanor. The main protagonists, the three teenagers behave just like any normal teenager would act, yet they display an unmatched courage and bravery while trying to fight their everyday battles and challenges. Yes they commit mistakes, but how they quickly learn from those mistakes can set an example for many teenagers around the world. The rest of the supporting cast are also quite well-developed and the author really brings out the reality in their demeanor through their portrayal.

The author has incorporated the themes like lasting friendship, bullying, religion, faith among one another and in everything and courage among teenagers effectively and strongly as after the end of the book the readers are bound to think about such themes and how to respect those themes in their own lives. The author has depicted the theme of faith powerfully and strikingly through the main characters as they evolves and along with their evolvement their faiths grew.

In a nutshell, the book is a must read for every teenagers and this compelling and riveting book will surely keep the readers glued to the pages of this book, as they finally find the inevitable climax that is bound to break the hearts of the readers.

Verdict: A powerful story about friendships, dreams and faith.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author's publishers for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book.
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Author Info:
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.
Visit her here



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