YA book review: The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner 
Dill has a lot of experience with snakes -- both the reptile and the human varieties. At school, Dill has to fight off the bullies who mock Dill for his father’s extreme faith, snake charming, and very public fall from grace. Even though Dill's father is in prison, he puts a great deal of pressure on his son to handle venemous snakes to prove his worth. 
To escape these stresses, Dill hangs out with his two best friends -- and fellow outcasts -- Travis and Lydia. Dill has a secret crush on Lydia, but is too scared to share his feelings, and he’s certain that her ambitions will take her far from the poverty of rural Tennessee. Despite being an outcast at Forrestville High School, Lydia has a huge following on her fashion blog. Travis, meanwhile, is a gentle giant happy to escape into his fantasy book realm of Bloodfall (think Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings). Travis carries his Bloodfall staff with him at all times. The novel alternates chapters in third person between the three friends, so we get a peek at all of their thoughts, their dreams, fears, and darkest secrets. 
Zentner is best when laying open the flaws and doubts of each character, and by alternating viewpoints we see that despite how one character might be having a crisis of conscious in their heads, the other characters don't see very far past the facade. In addition, the novel might introduce some readers to rural poverty that isn't often discussed.