Jeff Zentner

"Colton Gentry is riding high. His first hit in nearly a decade has caught fire, he's opening for country megastar Brant Lucas, and he's married to one of the hottest acts in the country. But he's hurting. Only a few weeks earlier, his best friend Duane was murdered onstage by a mass shooter at a country music festival. One night, with his trauma festering and Jim Beam flowing through his veins, Colton stands before a sold-out arena crowd of country...

Named to ten BEST OF THE YEAR lists and selected as a William C. Morris Award Winner,The Serpent King is the critically acclaimed, much-beloved story of three teens who find themselves—and each other—while on the cusp of graduating from high school with hopes of leaving their small-town behind. Perfect for fans of John Green's Turtles All the Way Down.
"Move over, John Green; Zentner is coming for you." —The...

Cash lost his mother to an opioid addiction and his Papaw is dying slowly from emphysema. Dodging drug dealers and watching out for his best friend (and person of his heart), Delaney, is second nature. When Delaney makes a scientific discovery that gets them both full rides at an elite prep school in Connecticut, Cash has to make a choice. Will he go with her to Connecticut, or stay in Tennessee with the grandparents who saved him? -- adapted from...

For many, the Raritan River High School Battle of the Bands is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform onstage for their peers and maybe win a real recording session. For others it is a too-loud obligation or a chaotic test of their technological and organizational know-how. But for all it is a chance to live a different kind of life from the one they usually live... if only for one night, if only for one song. -- adapted from jacket