Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - Without Merit

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.

Content Warnings

h0eforb00ks's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

Content Warnings

missrosymaplemoth's review against another edition

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3.0

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evie_dora's review against another edition

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Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

i cannot put into words how messed up this whole book was.

Spoiler

we find out that Merit’s mum has an illness and lives in the basement of the house, while the rest of the family - including the mother’s carer who Merit’s father now has a child with - lives in the upper levels of the house. we later discover that merit’s mother actually suffers from a mental illness which makes her believe she suffers from a purely physical illness. the mother is repeatedly portrayed as villainous for her behaviour - and while i am not denying mentally ill parents can have a negative effect on their children, i do not like how the mother was treated because of her illness. merit almost loses her virginity to her step-uncle. she also kisses a guy who she believes to her twin sister’s boyfriend. when merit attempts su!c!de (for which there were NO content warnings that i could find) she writes letters to everyone living in the house outing all their secrets. this includes her brother’s - he sexually assaulted her when she was younger, and in turn, she outs him as gay to her entire family. all in all, this book was horrific.

Content Warnings