The Serpent King

The Serpent King  by Jeff Zentner

Dill has two friends and two problems.

Dill's friends are Travis and Lydia. Travis is big, shy, kind, and so obsessed with his favorite sword-and-sorcery book that he can mostly ignore his lousy home life. Lydia is cute, smart, rich, upwardly mobile, and aimed OUT of the dinky backwater Tennessee town (named for a founding member of the KKK, wahoo!) where they all live.

Dill's problems are his name and his future. His name is Dillard Early, Jr, and he was named for his father, Dillard Early, Sr., (known locally as the Pervert Preacher), and for his papaw, (known locally as the Serpent King).  His future looks a lot like his present day, and that's not good.

Then something happens to make Dill's life unbearable.  The reader knows that something is going to change.  But...what?

If you think you know what will happen to the preacher's kid from "one of those crazy snake churches,"  you are probably wrong.  The journey is not predictable, and yet, it all makes sense. Extra stars for religious extremists who are deeper than the paper on which they are written, and for religious questioning without obvious answers.

You may see this book compared to the works of John Green, and while I understand the comparison, I also don't think this reads like a JG book.  It has some excellent (and some dreadful) parent characters, it has super-tough situations, there is kissing on the page.  But JG rarely touches religion, and I don't know if he could handle (pun intended) a snake church.

And if there's sex, I missed it.  It might have happened off-page.  In fact, I kind of hope it did.

Rivoting read; recommended for readers ages 12 to adult, and it definitely needs to be a movie!

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer  by Lish McBride
College dropout Sam ("Samhain Corvus LaCroix") feels lost in a dead-end burger-flipping job in Seattle's U-District...until a seriously creepy dude called Douglas takes a seriously unhealthy interest in Sam.  The next morning, Sam's smart-alecky girl-buddy's head is delivered to him in a box.

Ooky?   Actually, no:  it's hilarious.

Because Brooke's head is still smart-alecky. 

It turns out that Sam's talent as a necromancer has been disguised all his life, but now the secret is out and there are dead things showing up everywhere.  Including the panda cage at the zoo, and certain high-profile rock bands. 

It also turns out that Seattle isn't just full of dead stuff.  It's also full of werewolves, witches and various other fey creatures, including a bum-kicking hybrid were-hound who looks great in a Batman t-shirt.

And this book?  It's full of awesome.  Think smart-talking slapstick "Ferris Bueller" meets ultra-camp "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Minor cussing, blood, zombies, battlefield violence between the bad guys and an impromptu cavalry of witches and weres, Star Trek sex, and waffles. 

Highly recommended for readers ages 14 to adult.

Blessed

Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith

The 3rd book in the “Tantalize” series returns to Quincie’s story, after taking a wrong turn in the second book, Eternal.

Quincie has struck a bargain with Brad (“the Impaler”) Sanguini, who had turned her into a vampire:  she will suck Kieren’s blood, but  stop in time.  If she does this, Brad will leave.  And although this did happen, Brad is still inside her mind.  Quincie goes to live with Kieren's parents when he leaves to futher his werewolf education, but people pop into her life to help her. In particular Zachary- the guardian angel from Eternal-  arrives to be Quincie's Guardian Angel in an attempt to save her immortal soul.  This is still possible, because she IS only a neophyte.  Remember Quincie P. Morris from Stoker’s Dracula?   There is now great interplay with that original Dracula, as Brad is slowly becoming that “Dracula Prime.”  

Coincidentally, anyone who ate the “baby squirrel” dish from Tantalize has also been “blessed,” and will turn into a vampire in 3 weeks.  Quincie now has to save those folks as well.

This is the “Bella/Jacob” relationship that fans of Twilight wanted, featuring Quincie as a much stronger heroine who still has problems fighting the thrall of Brad.  Clyde, the were-possum, returns to this book as its semi-hero.   Overall the story is improbable, but great fun.  At times pretty gruesome (these are still vampires)  Welcome back, Quincie!

Recommended for readers age 13 and up; kissing, grinding, allusions to sex, but no body-parts on the page.