The Serpent King

Books

Dillard Early Jr., Travis Bohannon, and Lydia Blankenship are three friends who have one thing in common: none of them fit the mold in tiny Forrestville, Tennessee. Dill, a talented musician, grew up in a Pentecostal snakehandling church, playing in the praise band. During his freshman year, his father went to prison for a heinous crime, leaving Dill and his mother impoverished. Travis is a gentle giant who works at his family's lumberyard and is obsessed with a Game of Thrones-like fantasy series, much to his abusive, alcoholic father's displeasure. Lydia comes from a loving upper-middle-class family and runs a popular fashion blog that's part Tavi Gevinson, part Angela Chase, and part Dolly Parton. She's actively plotting her escape from rural Tennessee for bigger and better things, to capitalize on her Internet fame. This will mean leaving behind Dill-whose feelings for her run deep. But that's not Dill's only problem. He has a cursed name. His grandfather, Dillard Early, became consumed with ...