Without Merit: A Novel

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I love that every character had a purpose, and every character had a hand in helping Merit to start her journey in treating her depression. I love that these secrets she keeps, and watching her confront them, isn't glossed over. That each one is hard, and painful, and we see her work through them anyways. I love that she isn't miraculously "cured" in the end... but truly starting her journey with the help of a professional. I'm not sure how strong of a resolution this story has, because I'm still left with some questions or concerns. Add in the fact that yes, even though we get explanations for all of the secrets, lies and deceits, it still didn't change my perception of some of these characters. Her dad for instance, I think is a major DB and I don't think saying something along the lines of "you have no idea how hard it's been / I may be an adult but that doesn't mean I have my life together" is a viable excuse for his actions time and time again. Even the reasoning for Honor's issues, I didn't find that this absolved her of everything put into the readers mind based on Merit's thoughts. I didn't like either of these characters come the end of the book. Hell, I don't even know how much I liked Merit come the end of the book either. I liked Sagan, so that's a bonus, but I don't even know exactly where he came from in the first place. So would I say this story is resolved? Definitely not. I sigh. Fallen is an understatement. It was more like collapsed. Plummeted. Crumpled at his feet. Anything but fallen”

Merit begins drinking from a tequila bottle and writes an open letter to all inhabitants of Dollar Voss. It includes all of her family’s darkest secrets plus her darkest secret of all: Utah forced her to kiss him when she was 12. Merit then copies and distributes her letter to every member of the family to read. Merit is a unique character. I think she will be relatable to a lot of teenagers, and even adults. We all go through things. We all have familial relationships that aren’t 100% healthy, family members that are a tad bit crazy, and we all have hard times. I would like to say a lot about her story, but it would do a huge disservice to the reader. I loved that Colleen surprised me with this one. There were so many secrets and parts of the story I didn’t see coming, and that’s always a good feeling while reading. International and #1 New York Times bestselling author of romance, YA, thriller, women's fiction and paranormal romance. En conclusión: Without Merit es una historia de drama adolescente, que nos deja ver de una forma realista, triste y complicada lo que es vivir con una enfermedad mental. Merit lives in a small Texas town and is certain her family is the most dysfunctional family ever.... and she may not be all that wrong, from the fact that they live in a renovated church with the marquee still on the lawn to the fact that both her stepmother and mother live in the same house..... Merit was such a fantastically developed character.... even if you couldn’t completely relate to her, you sure did want everything to work out for her.... she made me really think about the negative and positive side to having an identical twin (she had an identical twin Honor).... she also made me think about the burden of family secrets....Bearded, bad-boy barber Knox prefers to live his life the way he takes his coffee: Alone. Unless you count his basset hound, Waylon. This story has many layers to it and they build. Like I said, it's the butterfly effect many times over. The writing is brilliant. And it builds so quietly that you don't even notice that a storm is brewing until the moment where everything just explodes. Implodes. Everything is turned on its end and as the reader you're RIGHT THERE with it.

En este caso, vemos la historia desde la perspectiva de Merit, y no es una perspectiva en la que podamos confiar definitivamente, desde el inicio se notaba su bias, la manera en la que se expresa de su hermana se burla de ella a pesar de que su hermana pasa por una tragedia que la cambio mucho.I’m still rounding up 2.5 stars to 3 because I’m not powerful enough to give any Colho books less than three stars and the opening of the story was still promising! Once I hit that mark, the story really took off and I read the remainder in a single sitting. I found I couldn’t tear myself away from the quirky, sad bunch of characters who managed to still make me feel hopeful that things would turn around for them. Hoover has brought together a cast that shows what it truly means to be human; the vulnerability of each and every one of us is felt through these realistic people and I think that is one of Colleen’s major talents which results in bringing repeat readers to her new books. Not in the style of It Ends With Us necessarily, but in its own way. As I got more and more invested in the story, I teared up quite a few times. I also want to make one thing clear, this book is unlike anything else Hoover has written. She’s said so herself, but I think it merited reminding < ---- see what I did there? And I love that about Hoover. She never delivers the same thing twice, she continues to evolve and grow as a writer. As a reader, I really appreciate this, because it means I never know what to expect. And in a way, when she brings us something new it’s her way of respecting the reader, knowing that we will grow with her. It'll change your life." He hands me the cookie and I take a bite. And then another. It really is the best cookie I've ever eaten, but he exaggerated.

Todo inicia cuando Merit una chica de 17 años decide ya no ir a la escuela, no por nada trágico o especifico, ella simplemente tiene el sentimiento de ser invisible. Vive en una casa que solía ser una iglesia y toda la historia sobre cómo termino viviendo ahí es muy peculiar y ridícula, cuando leí esa parte no entendí porque la autora le daría tanta importancia a eso, pero por supuesto como en todo libro de CoHo, cada detalle tiene un papel importante. Merit Voss comes from a very interesting and dysfunctional family (which I think most of us do have some dysfunctionality in our families whether you choose to admit it or not). This book touched on many difficult subjects.... but it was all done very subtly using all these wonderful characters who slowly reveal their secrets to us through Merit.... I also appreciated that there weren’t any clear answers given as to what everybody “needed“ To do to fix themselves..... The fix just simply began with letting go of secrets and learning to communicate..... this family has a ways to go, but I truly believe there is hopeWhen I reached the end of the book, I felt like there wasnt any real conclusion to the book. Everyone’s issues where still there at the surface. Nothing was really resolved. There was only a bandage put on top of everything that would eventually fall off. This quirky, complex, and frustrating heroine will win hearts and challenge assumptions about family dysfunction and mental illness in a life-affirming story that redefines what’s normal. It annoys me when people try to convince other people that their anger or stress isn't warranted if someone else in the world is worse off than them. It's bull. Your emotions and reactions are valid, Merit. Don't let anyone tell you any different. You're the only one who feels them." Am I the only one felt like this? I think I am because this book also won Goodreads choice awards from romance category!