Without Merit Review

“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 then them. It’s bullshit. Your emotions and reactions are valid, Merit. Don’t let anyone tell you any different”

The Voss family is far from normal. They live in an old church. The ex wife, a cancer survivor, lives in the basement of the home and suffers from severe anxieties. She hasn’t left the home in years. The new wife is the ex-wife’s former nurse. The youngest is a half brother who isn’t allowed to do anything fun and the older siblings are perfect but also have their own secrets. Enter Merit who feels she doesn’t belong and also has her own quirks. She collects trophies. One day while browsing at a store she meets Sagan who she thinks is everything she’s been looking for until she finds out he’s her sisters boyfriend. One day Merit gets tired of her family and decides to share all their deepest darkest secrets and then she must live with the consequences.

Colleen Hoover is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. She really knows how to craft her stories beautifully. She makes you feel connected to the characters in such a impactful way that when the story ends you wish you could live inside their world a little longer. She makes me laugh and cry. I went into this story blind, meaning I did not read the synopsis. Most of Colleen Hoover’s stories are more romance so that was what I was expecting. Instead I got a story about a young girl, Merit, who suffers from depression only she didn’t know it. Colleen Hoover illustrates how it can sneak up on you and even if you don’t really have a reason to be sad, you can still suffer from depression. There were many great messages in this book and highly recommend it.