The Serpent King Audiobook By Jeff Zentner cover art

The Serpent King

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Serpent King

By: Jeff Zentner
Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Ariadne Meyers, Ethan Sawyer
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.50

Buy for $22.50

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award for Young Adult winner

Morris Award winner

Connecticut Nutmeg Children's Book Award nominee

Green Mountain Book Award nominee

Louisiana Young Reader's Choice Award nominee

Oklahoma Sequoyah Young Adult Book Award nominee

Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading Book Award nominee

Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award nominee

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.

©2016 Jeff Zentner (P)2016 Listening Library
Coming of Age Difficult Situations Family & Relationships Friendship Literature & Fiction Romance Heartfelt Tearjerking
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup

Critic reviews

"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

"A triumph of love and dignity."–Stephanie Perkins, New York Times bestselling author

"Move over, John Green; Zentner is coming for you."–The New York Public Library

Beautiful Prose • Engaging Characters • Stunning Performances • Emotional Depth • Authentic Storytelling
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
This is the story about three young people who find a family in each other, at one of the most pivotal times of life. It is also a story about believing that we are all born with a gift. We can either chose to bravely accept it, or fearfully ignore it. It is a story about respecting the life that was given to you, and not being afraid to live it.

Southern Honesty

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This is a well crafted story with emotional twists and entertaining turns. Zentner and The Serpent King portray relevant trials of high school seniors and beautifies life's fleeting moments.

Fantastic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Has the whole roller coaster of emotions, wonderful voice actors. Story is rich, real, and raw.

profoundly moving.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

It only took me a few days to read this one, Every other chapter had me in tears, such a great story.

Cry much?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Great story that dives into high school, emotions, fears, loss, parents, friendships, and more. Zentner is a wonderful story writer who makes his audience believe him: believe he knows what he is talking about and that the words and feelings are true. We are not the whispers behind our backs. Those whispers do not define us.

Sweetly raw

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This book was absolutely amazing. It had me in tears. I felt so connected to these characters. Definitely read this book!

Just wow

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

No one had better captured life in the South, on the cusp of the adulthood and adult decisions more beautifully. This book made me swoon and broke my heart and kept me thinking about it for days after I finished. I highly recommend listening on audible, amazing performances that capture the palpable emotions of this story.

Sits with you...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Love how this author writes teenage girls where it's easy to make it seem stereotypical he writes with depth. Cared for all the characters - it was bit wordy but I loved it

Enjoyable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Great story of survival. Recommend this story to anyone who wants a hero that overcomes the demons of mistakes made and fear of failure that haunt so many of us. For in this story, there are three such heroes to admire.

Heroism Hidden

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This is a beautiful story by Zentner and a stunning performance by the narrators. I've lived in the places the novel touches on, and it is an excellent commentary on place and identity intersecting. It's also a rare commentary on a rural setting that doesn't reduce it to pastoral beauty or backwater antics. It's truly a delight to read/listen to.

A Rare Representation of Rurality

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews