The Serpent King
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner, published by Listening Library on March 8, 2016, is an unabridged edition that spans 9 pages. This narrative follows Dill, a Southern boy grappling with the complexities of his life as the son of a Pentecostal minister. He faces challenges both at home, where he is urged to handle poisonous snakes, and at school, where he confronts bullying due to his father’s controversial beliefs and public downfall. Alongside his friends, Dill navigates the trials of their senior year, striving to maintain their creative spirits amid the pressures of small-town life.
Readers will find a poignant exploration of friendship, identity, and the struggle for self-acceptance as Dill and his friends confront their diverging futures. The story delves into themes of coming of age and social issues, highlighting the characters’ aspirations and fears as they approach graduation. The edition also includes the song “Birds Fly South,” performed by the author and Elin Palmer, adding a unique element to this contemporary tale.
Official synopsis Publisher
“The Serpent King is a book you won’t be able to resist or forget. The Southern boy in me savored every syllable and the reader in me fell in love with every page.” —John Corey Whaley, National Book Award finalist and Printz Award winner
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.
Includes the song “Birds Fly South,” performed by the author and Elin Palmer.
Praise for The Serpent King:
“Zentner combines the melancholy of being 17 with the melancholy present in the best of Southern fiction and gives us a novel that will fill the infinite space that was left in your chest after you finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” — BookRiot
“The Serpent King gripped me in its coils and kept me turning pages late into the night. A triumph of love and dignity.”–Stephanie Perkins, New York Times bestselling author
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