BOOK REVIEW⎜ Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

He takes a step closer to me and it suddenly feels like I’ve swallowed his heart because I have all these extra beats in my chest.

Thought provoking is how I would best describe Without Merit. Coming close would be engaging and oddly charming. Emphasis on odd. No, emphasis on charming!

A coming of age story set in a finest eccentric family makes for the most unconventional yet touching tale I’ve been given to read this year!

In Without Merit, Colleen Hoover sets the parameters of teenaged self acceptance and incertitude with keen sensitivity, delivering a powerful and deep-felt message without overwhelming the reader with gloomy thoughts. Quite the opposite actually.
The outcome? Beautifully up-lifting and heartfelt, what a performance!

I had no idea what I was going to find in this book, I didn’t even read the blurb. I just trusted Colleen Hoover to take me on an adventure and hoped to meet her peculiar brand of characters.

And peculiar I’ve been served! From page one, I was seduced by Merit’s voice, her quirkiness, her snark and cynicism made of this young girl someone I could identify myself to instantly.

And isn’t that the way into a reader’s heart? Being able to make us connect with a character in a blink of an eye? I felt concerned by Merit’s point of view and it had barely just started. Without Merit started full of promises and never wavered.

The feeling is confusing to say the least, It felt like being coerced into Merit’s story, the narration so on point, heartfelt and genuine, it had the ensnaring effect to make me read through the night, eager to know what would happen to her. I couldn’t look away!

The real and astute descriptions of a dysfunctional family hitting a little close to home, I was already involved and I found myself relate too much too quickly to the heroine’s situation. 

Is it normal for a person to hate their own family this much?

The angst, the incertitudes and insecurities of being a growing young adult, all of which I remember loving reading in Miss Hoover’s first books, was a treat to read about through Merit’s voice. Her depiction of each family member captivating and entertaining, the portrayal of each character through Merit’s eyes, a delight of cynicism and acrimony. Merit is every teenager you know of—surly and testy. She actually reminded me a lot of myself as a teenager!

Her version of the facts largely colored by her own emotions, the world through Merit’s glasses is not what it seems to be.

Our family of seven includes an atheist, a home wrecker, an ex-wife suffering from severe case of agoraphobia, and a teenage girl whose weird obsession borders on necrophilia.

It would be much too complicated and  probably ruin your reading experience to even try telling you what this book is about exactly. I won’t tell you about all the entanglements, I won’t give you much really as in my opinion it’s best to dive in blind.

Stares shouldn’t have weight, but knowing his eyes are on me makes my steps feel heavier.

If you are looking for some romance, the answer is yes, there is a romance within the pages of this story, it’s woven tightly into a much serious theme and it’s also filled with little surprises and odd little gems. The romance is sparse but written like a life line, I know it hooked me through the whole story, wanting to know what would result of that life altering kiss.

I can’t think of a single instance where I’ve ever been looked at like he’s looking at me right now. Like I fascinate him.

I can’t recommend this book enough, it was a pleasure to read, a pleasure to experience, a pleasure to feel and a pleasure to reflect on a matter that affects so many and can be often kept silent or ignored until too late.

Colleen Hoover cleverly addressed a heavy theme with discerning astuteness and perceptive manner, and I’ve no doubts this story will be eye-opening to many, inviting reflection and discussion between readers.

Peace doesn’t come to everyone in the same form.

Grab this book, enjoy it, and talk about it with someone! Feel free to drop by and talk to me about it, I’d be delighted to!

I’ll say it again in case none of you are getting it.
I. Don’t. Care. Sincerely, Without Merit.