While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix.
Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she’s never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves.
Hoover does what she does best, write about interesting characters who wriggle under the readers' skin and make an impact with their biting humor, significant and unique world struggles. Merit is uniquely likeable in her own unlikeable way. Readers feel for her but want to shake her at the same time.
Without Merit itself fits as a new adult romance/YA crossover book. I'd recommend it for YA readers transitioning to adulthood but have liked Sarah Dessen, Katie McGarry and other similar writers.
I enjoyed this wacky, dysfunctional family despite the book's imperfections. There's a lot going on here including themes like mental illness, sexuality, suicide, abuse, even the Syrian refugee crisis while meshing it all with a romance plot. Sure, there are imperfections but I found this to be an engrossing, quick read. The audiobook narration by Candace Thaxton was excellent.
Final rating: 4 out of 5 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment