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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
I wasn’t particularly excited to read this book because I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. I still can’t decide if I like it or not. In my opinion, we have a lot of serious topics in this book, and I’m not sure if they were handled or discussed in the best way. We have depression, the Syrian refugee situation, suicide, alcohol, and drugs. I think it felt too heavy for me.
This book was interesting but it didn’t grab me. I think the subject matter was important and the story line wasn’t typical. Not my favourite but not horrible either.
emotional
medium-paced
Without Merit, With Merit.
I have only read two Colleen Hoover books, I have not been disappointed one bit. Without Merit and and It Ends With Us both have had such a powerful and strong message shown in such a different way that I wouldn't expect. Colleen Hoover writes as if you know the people in real life, and completely makes you attached to them. A little about some of my favorite characters.
Moby- ahhhh Moby (possibly one of my favorite characters) I will pray and pray for someone like Moby to walk into my life in the next few days. This kid is the funniest/ cutest person I have ever known and probably will know. He draws some gruesome stuff, he names a dog dick and he wants to marry a lego... how could you not love him. (I'm thinking we should get a whole other book just dedicated to him). Through the book I see Moby as the little light in Merits life, even when he is her little brother. He's Moby, I really can't see how you wouldn't love him.
Utah- Utah is not a huge character in the book, yet I feel like he changes the whole book. My love for him didn't come tell I reached more towards the end of the book. I really don't know have a lot to say about him because I can't really explain why love him so much. I feel tho as he ties down the family and just brings them all together, especially the kids in the family.
Luck- I no joke though he was going to kidnap Merit, but luckily everything turned out pretty dang good. Luck just has a way with words that I had no idea was possible, even when most of his words are sarcasm or is said while wearing a kilt. Just like Utah I think he ties people together in the weirdest way.
Merit- Well of course Merit has to be on this list, I do have to say their where a few times I got frustrated with her but she made up for it ;). I can't explain why I loved Merit, but I had to put her on this list.
Sagan- I saved the best of last, Oh my gosh I don't know how I can put this in words. First of all... I FREKIN LOVE SAGAN!!! He pissed me off once or twice but it was all for good reasons. He has a every single person in this book combined into one. He has a little bit of Merit , he has a little part of Merits father (who is also one of my favorite's) a little bit of Utah and on and on. Sagan's art is a huge aspect in his life and it is shown so well in the book and through the stories we find out about him. Most of his drawings have little impacts that then turn into one big story. Also he reads, he writes , he frekin stands up for people, he's over all a beautiful human.
I wish I could go on and on about every single person in this book because I truly love all of them and can't explain (you will understand when you read it). Please read it, it has such an amazing message and goes through a rollercoaster of emotions. Lets just say I cried at the end and hugged the book for a very very long time.
I have only read two Colleen Hoover books, I have not been disappointed one bit. Without Merit and and It Ends With Us both have had such a powerful and strong message shown in such a different way that I wouldn't expect. Colleen Hoover writes as if you know the people in real life, and completely makes you attached to them. A little about some of my favorite characters.
Moby- ahhhh Moby (possibly one of my favorite characters) I will pray and pray for someone like Moby to walk into my life in the next few days. This kid is the funniest/ cutest person I have ever known and probably will know. He draws some gruesome stuff, he names a dog dick and he wants to marry a lego... how could you not love him. (I'm thinking we should get a whole other book just dedicated to him). Through the book I see Moby as the little light in Merits life, even when he is her little brother. He's Moby, I really can't see how you wouldn't love him.
Utah- Utah is not a huge character in the book, yet I feel like he changes the whole book. My love for him didn't come tell I reached more towards the end of the book. I really don't know have a lot to say about him because I can't really explain why love him so much. I feel tho as he ties down the family and just brings them all together, especially the kids in the family.
Luck- I no joke though he was going to kidnap Merit, but luckily everything turned out pretty dang good. Luck just has a way with words that I had no idea was possible, even when most of his words are sarcasm or is said while wearing a kilt. Just like Utah I think he ties people together in the weirdest way.
Merit- Well of course Merit has to be on this list, I do have to say their where a few times I got frustrated with her but she made up for it ;). I can't explain why I loved Merit, but I had to put her on this list.
Sagan- I saved the best of last, Oh my gosh I don't know how I can put this in words. First of all... I FREKIN LOVE SAGAN!!! He pissed me off once or twice but it was all for good reasons. He has a every single person in this book combined into one. He has a little bit of Merit , he has a little part of Merits father (who is also one of my favorite's) a little bit of Utah and on and on. Sagan's art is a huge aspect in his life and it is shown so well in the book and through the stories we find out about him. Most of his drawings have little impacts that then turn into one big story. Also he reads, he writes , he frekin stands up for people, he's over all a beautiful human.
I wish I could go on and on about every single person in this book because I truly love all of them and can't explain (you will understand when you read it). Please read it, it has such an amazing message and goes through a rollercoaster of emotions. Lets just say I cried at the end and hugged the book for a very very long time.
Изключително хубава,лека и забавна книжка. Героите ми допаднаха изключително много и противно на очакванията ми "Без Мерит" стана една от любимите ми книги. Признавам, че описанието не ме грабна, но определено историята си заслужава.
CW: talk of assault and depression/suide/suicidal thought.
I had a very mixed experience reading this one. I started out not really liking it, but it grew on me as I listened more. I found Merit to be whiny, obsessive, and kind of annoying. And then when I figured out she was 17, I was like "oh, that makes a lot more sense. I was probably just as annoying, whiny, and definitely obsessive/anxious." Not a lot of compassion for her or myself, eh? But I think the things she cares or obsesses about aren't as big of a deal to me at 27 (10 years older! lol) than they were at 17. When I realized that, I then did start to relate to her somewhat. The story starts out pretty superficially to me, but then when the secondary characters are introduced and the family dynamics are explored more in depth, it became a lot more intriguing and complex. This author touches on some really heavy topics like mental illness, suicide, suicidal thoughts, depression, and assault. I actually think she handles it really sensitively and well - realistically from a teenage girl's perspective.
When it's revealed that Merit might have depression, that also made a lot of sense, and the symptoms that Luck describes (actually don't know how to spell his name since i listened to the entire book..) of how his depression manifested, I heavily related. The apathy he felt...it also made me feel even more like a jerk for being so impatient and eye-roll-y with her. I should've recognized that her lashing out is very similar to how i've coped with my own anxiety and depression, especially as a teen and before I recognized the symptoms for what they really were. The sleeping all day/at random times, lack of interest in school, etc...i think the author did a good job with showing and not telling here (until the end).
When she's drunk and impulsively tries to commit suicide, I actually thought the twist of her taking placebo pills was a great way to handle such a serious issue. Because the intention was still there and that's what the book emphasizes and what her family cares about - not the fact that "alls well that ends well". That might sound really obvious that of course her family would care about her dying, but I thought it was a very subtle but important way to resolve that plot point. It's also addressed that while Merit is going through some heavy mental health issues, it's not an excuse for a lot of what she says and does - and her family calls her out on it, especially Honor. Also everyone kind of points out sort of repeatedly how self-absorbed Merit is; and I think it's sort of valid but also when dealing with mental health issues, it's hard not to get sucked in when you're constantly operating on a level of trying to just regulate yourself.
I wish the author had gone more into Utah's backstory. She kind of introduced a huge plot reveal of he assaults Merit because he's confused about his sexual identity but for the most part he remains mostly a background character without a ton of development. Maybe to emphasize the lack of closeness between him and Merit because of the assault?
I also wish there had been more interaction with the biological mother. However, the issues of a family dealing with a matriarch who has mental health issues was also relatable to me on a personal level.
Sagan is a good character as well. I liked that Merit had mostly good platonic relationships with both Luck and Sagan - that it wasn't just a love triangle. Even though she ends up dating Sagan (and tbh the age difference kind of weirded me out? idk maybe i should be more accepting of stuff like that, but at 17 and 20/21? developmentally to me there can be a huge difference there), the majority of the book he's just there for her without pressuring her to "get better". The whole showing her how her feelings for him would cloud her own ability to heal was....idk i had mixed feelings about that. It was effective here, but in real life? idk I feel like maybe someone in denial as much as Merit is about her own mental health issues might not have taken that one incident as an aha moment...but idk maybe. And also that was kind of a dick move on his part? And really risky. That was probably the only time i was like mm maybe not the best choice here Sagan. But i suppose we don't all make the best choices sometimes. I actually think Sagan handled most of Merit's mental health issues pretty well. He's honest and asks her if she's ever considered the fact that she might be depressed, but then drops it when she isn't ready to talk about it. But then also calls her out when she's being inconsistent with her expectations. YES.
Overall, I think I'd give this a 3.5, but I rounded down because even though I liked Merit more by the end of the book, I didn't particularly like her throughout and I liked the other characters a lot more.
I had a very mixed experience reading this one. I started out not really liking it, but it grew on me as I listened more. I found Merit to be whiny, obsessive, and kind of annoying. And then when I figured out she was 17, I was like "oh, that makes a lot more sense. I was probably just as annoying, whiny, and definitely obsessive/anxious." Not a lot of compassion for her or myself, eh? But I think the things she cares or obsesses about aren't as big of a deal to me at 27 (10 years older! lol) than they were at 17. When I realized that, I then did start to relate to her somewhat. The story starts out pretty superficially to me, but then when the secondary characters are introduced and the family dynamics are explored more in depth, it became a lot more intriguing and complex. This author touches on some really heavy topics like mental illness, suicide, suicidal thoughts, depression, and assault. I actually think she handles it really sensitively and well - realistically from a teenage girl's perspective.
When it's revealed that Merit might have depression, that also made a lot of sense, and the symptoms that Luck describes (actually don't know how to spell his name since i listened to the entire book..) of how his depression manifested, I heavily related. The apathy he felt...it also made me feel even more like a jerk for being so impatient and eye-roll-y with her. I should've recognized that her lashing out is very similar to how i've coped with my own anxiety and depression, especially as a teen and before I recognized the symptoms for what they really were. The sleeping all day/at random times, lack of interest in school, etc...i think the author did a good job with showing and not telling here (until the end).
When she's drunk and impulsively tries to commit suicide, I actually thought the twist of her taking placebo pills was a great way to handle such a serious issue. Because the intention was still there and that's what the book emphasizes and what her family cares about - not the fact that "alls well that ends well". That might sound really obvious that of course her family would care about her dying, but I thought it was a very subtle but important way to resolve that plot point. It's also addressed that while Merit is going through some heavy mental health issues, it's not an excuse for a lot of what she says and does - and her family calls her out on it, especially Honor. Also everyone kind of points out sort of repeatedly how self-absorbed Merit is; and I think it's sort of valid but also when dealing with mental health issues, it's hard not to get sucked in when you're constantly operating on a level of trying to just regulate yourself.
I wish the author had gone more into Utah's backstory. She kind of introduced a huge plot reveal of he assaults Merit because he's confused about his sexual identity but for the most part he remains mostly a background character without a ton of development. Maybe to emphasize the lack of closeness between him and Merit because of the assault?
I also wish there had been more interaction with the biological mother. However, the issues of a family dealing with a matriarch who has mental health issues was also relatable to me on a personal level.
Sagan is a good character as well. I liked that Merit had mostly good platonic relationships with both Luck and Sagan - that it wasn't just a love triangle. Even though she ends up dating Sagan (and tbh the age difference kind of weirded me out? idk maybe i should be more accepting of stuff like that, but at 17 and 20/21? developmentally to me there can be a huge difference there), the majority of the book he's just there for her without pressuring her to "get better". The whole showing her how her feelings for him would cloud her own ability to heal was....idk i had mixed feelings about that. It was effective here, but in real life? idk I feel like maybe someone in denial as much as Merit is about her own mental health issues might not have taken that one incident as an aha moment...but idk maybe. And also that was kind of a dick move on his part? And really risky. That was probably the only time i was like mm maybe not the best choice here Sagan. But i suppose we don't all make the best choices sometimes. I actually think Sagan handled most of Merit's mental health issues pretty well. He's honest and asks her if she's ever considered the fact that she might be depressed, but then drops it when she isn't ready to talk about it. But then also calls her out when she's being inconsistent with her expectations. YES.
Overall, I think I'd give this a 3.5, but I rounded down because even though I liked Merit more by the end of the book, I didn't particularly like her throughout and I liked the other characters a lot more.