Reviews with content warning for Chronic illness - Without Merit

Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

12 reviews

bbrewer14's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Without Merit is a fast read and should honestly be classified as a YA novel based on the reading level. If not for the content (sexual, drug/alcohol, sexuality, mental illness, major dysfunction in family unit), I would definitely have thought I picked up a book in the wrong section of the library.

Colleen Hoover’s books are enjoyable to me, but despite how much I enjoyed this book, I will consider it a guilty pleasure since it was kind of poorly written and juvenile. The character names were over the top and despite the decent character development, the ending was so succinct and tidy that it left me wanting. The idea that life in a world as dysfunctional as the one of the characters presented in this book can be wrapped up with a tidy little bow was why I rated the book in the 3’s. It leaves you wanting more from the characters and the author.

The book’s focus is on the Voss family. Twin sisters Merit and Honor, older brother Utah, the father, the mother (Victoria), the stepmother (also Victoria), the young half-sibling Moby, the step-uncle Luck and a family friend Sagan make up the main characters. All of these people live in a remodeled church in a small TX town. The mother lives downstairs and suffers from a multitude of health issues. The father, the kids, the stepparent and stepuncle and friend all live upstairs. The main character, Merit, feels alienated and unwanted. The book explores her journey within her family and other relationships as she discovers the importance of listening, communicating, putting forth the truth, learning to forgive and navigating her teen years. Merit struggles as the self-proclaimed outcast of the family and goes on a journey to discover how to be a part of her family or if she even wants to remain in this world to do so.

It is a good book and is a decent choice to pass the time, but it definitely needed more time to become what it could have been if the author gave it more effort.

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lakshita64's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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kat_rowlen's review against another edition

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challenging emotional lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Would make for a good beach read! Will this book win any literary awards? Probably not. Will it keep you entertained? Definitely! The chapters were too long, but I didn’t mind it as much as I normally would because I’d get so lost in the story.

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pippamillerxoxo_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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graff_fuller's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

My daughter, Mathilde sent me this book to read. So, when that happens...you read it.

We have a connection with books. We don't always agree with each other, but usually we "get" each other.

This book is about a dysfunctional family (Married with Children level) that don't communicate with each other. That's us in a way, but I have to say...we are NOT this bad. Promise.

They live in a church...which is divided into four partitions. Father/new wife, older son, Merit and Honor. Their's an office in there, too.

I liked the twin sisters storyline (Merit/Honor). They are are polar opposites in personality, Older brother that is aloof, Father/husband that seems spiteful and careless. His new wife lives on the first floor with their youngest son (and the rest of the family), while his ex-wife lives in the basement (but never comes up). Then add to the mix a friend named Sagan and a drifter who arrives at the house unannounced named Luck.

Also, the names in this book are very exotic. Utah, Merit, Honour, Moby, Barnaby, Victoria (twice), Sagan and Luck. Really? This is a menagerie of names. Not one that seems real.

The story deals with depression, and the struggles with a family that doesn't communicate, which complicates EVERYONEof their lives in individual ways..

This was FAST read. I immediately loved the protagonist, Merit. I knew that the title of the book would have significance (and it did). Also a great reveal towards the end of the book, well played.

I enjoyed the dynamic of the family, though it seemed a little TOO cartoonish, but by the middle of the book...I had been sucked in.

Odd characters would enter this familys orbit, but then find a home there...not just in the house, but they became intrical parts of the story.

By the end...a poingant story had been told. The problems with miscommunication and how dangerous that can be. AND that we need to find a friend...that will always have our back.

THis was an odd story, but i enjoyed it. Thanks Mathilde.

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