Now Carver can't stop blaming himself for the accident and even worse, a powerful judge is pressuring the district attorney to open up a criminal investigation.
Luckily, Carver has some unexpected allies: Eli's girlfriend, the only person to stand by him at school; Dr. Mendez, his new therapist; and Blake's grandmother, who asks Carver to spend a "goodbye day" together to share their memories and say a proper farewell.
Soon the other families are asking for their own goodbye day with Carver--but he's unsure of their motives. Will they all be able to make peace with their losses, or will these goodbye days bring Carver one step closer to a complete breakdown or--even worse--prison?
"Hold on to your heart: this book will wreck you, fix you, and most definitely change you." --Becky Albertalli, Morris Award-winning author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
"Evocative, heartbreaking, and beautifully written." --Buzzfeed
"Masterful." --Teen Vogue
"Tender, honest, moving, and lyrical. Zentner is the real thing." --Benjamin Alire Sáenz, winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and Printz Honor winner
An Indie Next List Selection
"Zentner does an excellent job in creating empathetic characters, especially his protagonist Carver, a budding writer whose first-person account of his plight is artful evidence of his talent."--Booklist, Starred
"Racial tensions, spoiled reputations, and broken homes all play roles in an often raw meditation on grief and the futility of entertaining what-ifs when faced with awful, irreversible events."--Publishers Weekly, Starred
"[E]xquisite and tragic." -Shelf Awareness, Starred
"[A] novel full of wisdom." --Kirkus
"[The] kind of intelligent, intense, and life-affirming tale that will resonate with teens seeking depth and honesty." --SLJ
"An organic, frequently raw narrative." -Horn Book
"Tissues not optional." --The Bulletin
Praise for Jeff Zentner's The Serpent King
A William C. Morris Award Winner
A New York Times Notable Book
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A BuzzFeed Best YA Book of the Year
An Indie Next List Top Ten Selection
A Paste Magazine and Popcrush Most Anticipated YA Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Spring Flying Start
"Move over, John Green; Zentner is coming for you." --The New York Public Library
"Will fill the infinite space that was left in your chest after you finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower." --Book Riot
"A story about friendship, family and forgiveness, it's as funny and witty as it is utterly heartbreaking." --Paste Magazine
"A brutally honest portrayal of teen life . . . [and] a love letter to the South from a man who really understands it." --Mashable
"Zentner's great achievement -- particularly impressive for a first novel -- is to make us believe three such different people could be friends. He also manages to blend a dank, oppressive, Flannery O'Connor-esque sense of place with humor and optimism .... I adored all three of these characters and the way they talked to and loved one another." --New York Times Book Review