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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Oh, Mercy Louis – how I love you. You dribbled your way into my heart and I have so many feelings about you and your journey that I don’t know where to start. I suppose I’ll start with a quick synopsis about this wonderful book by Keija Parssinen. It’s about a small refinery left reeling from an environmental incident and their golden girl basketball star, Mercy Louis. Mercy is the quintessential good girl living – smart, talented, and with an incredible worth ethic. Oh, and she lives with her extremely religious grandmother who is sure the end of the world is only a few months away (cue Y2K panic). But perfection can only last so long and Mercy’s final year of high school brings with it the trials and tribulations of being 17. This is where the book really gains momentum and we get to go along for the ride to witness her unraveling.
It should come as no surprise that a book set in rural Texas would include elements of superstition, especially given Mercy’s grandmother’s reputation, but the undercurrent of religion in this book is both subtle and obvious if you know what to look for. I’m left with the impression that it would take a few re-reads to fully identify the multiple layers that exist, for the true story of Mercy Louis and her hometown of Port Sabine lurks below the surface.
For full review, visit The Book Wheel.
It should come as no surprise that a book set in rural Texas would include elements of superstition, especially given Mercy’s grandmother’s reputation, but the undercurrent of religion in this book is both subtle and obvious if you know what to look for. I’m left with the impression that it would take a few re-reads to fully identify the multiple layers that exist, for the true story of Mercy Louis and her hometown of Port Sabine lurks below the surface.
For full review, visit The Book Wheel.
Not too often, there are books that come around which make you sad when you have finished it. After all this time and emotion I've invested, for it to end and go on to the next book, I feel like I'm abandoning these characters. I want to let it sink in and appreciate the value of it all. This was a good one, but I only rate it 3.5 stars....Here's why:
First we have Mercy, the golden girl and an all-around great kid. She is kind and respectful. She's a typical teenage girl struggling with her body and her thoughts of giving in to everything she works so hard for. As the star of her high school varsity basketball team, these guides are what she tries to live by:
1. Be NOT proud.
2. Stick to the meal plan EVERY day.
3. Be twice as good as other girls.
4. You get out what you put in.
5. NO boy gets the privilege of your flesh until marriage.
6. Get a full D-I scholarship.
7. Live to meet the end without dread.
Yes, number 7: Instilled in her by her Holy Rollin', bible thumpin' religious grandmother Evelia, AKA Maw Maw. The religious tones of this book is what brought it down a half star for me. Sometimes I wanted to spit nails every time a tirade of Maw Maw's came out like a storm cloud and then dumped harshly down upon Mercy or anyone near Maw Maw. Since this book was set in the year 1999, Maw Maw believes the rapture is coming as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Day 2000.
Next we meet Illa (pronounced with a long I as in Lilla) who is just the cutest thing. She is a bit of an outcast, sometimes misunderstood, but has a genuine spirit and is the sole caretaker of her mother Meg, who was injured in an accident years ago. She loves photography, enjoys being the manager of the high school's basketball team. And she loves and idolizes Mercy in her own way.
There's Annie, Mercy's best friend. She's a self-centered little rich girl who's been around the block a few times...or dozen. But I believe she's the way she is due to her father's tyrancy and egotistical ways.
As I sit here with a front-row seat into the lives of these women and girls, I learn how Parssinen has a way with words. They are impactful and engaging. One quote I'd like to mention, during a shared moment between Mercy and Illa: "How do you get back to a feeling? You can't just buy a ticket?" Or this one, between Meg and her long-time friend: "I was mad at your going away. Why would I be mad at you for coming back? Like getting run over by a car twice, no thank you."
There is one major question that remains to this story, and it goes unanswered. I won't give anything away, but that is the other reason for the eliminated last star. If you would have had that Ms. Parssinen, it would have been a slam dunk from me for sure! :)
First we have Mercy, the golden girl and an all-around great kid. She is kind and respectful. She's a typical teenage girl struggling with her body and her thoughts of giving in to everything she works so hard for. As the star of her high school varsity basketball team, these guides are what she tries to live by:
1. Be NOT proud.
2. Stick to the meal plan EVERY day.
3. Be twice as good as other girls.
4. You get out what you put in.
5. NO boy gets the privilege of your flesh until marriage.
6. Get a full D-I scholarship.
7. Live to meet the end without dread.
Yes, number 7: Instilled in her by her Holy Rollin', bible thumpin' religious grandmother Evelia, AKA Maw Maw. The religious tones of this book is what brought it down a half star for me. Sometimes I wanted to spit nails every time a tirade of Maw Maw's came out like a storm cloud and then dumped harshly down upon Mercy or anyone near Maw Maw. Since this book was set in the year 1999, Maw Maw believes the rapture is coming as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Day 2000.
Next we meet Illa (pronounced with a long I as in Lilla) who is just the cutest thing. She is a bit of an outcast, sometimes misunderstood, but has a genuine spirit and is the sole caretaker of her mother Meg, who was injured in an accident years ago. She loves photography, enjoys being the manager of the high school's basketball team. And she loves and idolizes Mercy in her own way.
There's Annie, Mercy's best friend. She's a self-centered little rich girl who's been around the block a few times...or dozen. But I believe she's the way she is due to her father's tyrancy and egotistical ways.
As I sit here with a front-row seat into the lives of these women and girls, I learn how Parssinen has a way with words. They are impactful and engaging. One quote I'd like to mention, during a shared moment between Mercy and Illa: "How do you get back to a feeling? You can't just buy a ticket?" Or this one, between Meg and her long-time friend: "I was mad at your going away. Why would I be mad at you for coming back? Like getting run over by a car twice, no thank you."
There is one major question that remains to this story, and it goes unanswered. I won't give anything away, but that is the other reason for the eliminated last star. If you would have had that Ms. Parssinen, it would have been a slam dunk from me for sure! :)
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2016/06/13/day-916-the-unraveling-of-mercy-louis/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2016/06/13/day-916-the-unraveling-of-mercy-louis/
A really well written book with finely drawn characters and a super rich, satisfying sense of place. Found myself slowly drawn into the world of this novel and was really pleased by the ending. A story of being a young woman in a tiny religious, southern bayou of Texas.
At first I was totally baffled that I found myself reading a book about a teenage basketball star in a refinery town in Texas, but this book turned out to be surprisingly good. A touch of the Southern Gothic still works just fine, even in Texas.
i wanted to like this book a lot. in the end though, i felt like it wasn't quite finished, not quite fully developed. the story was good enough, but the details led nowhere. so many questions left unanswered. it's fine to have questions unanswered if there is a reason to leave the reader wondering, but in this book, it felt unnecessary. maybe the author was trying to bring so many issues to light: sexism, environment, child abuse, religious manipulation...that the lines just didn't quite connect.