No, it didn’t have the same cathartic punch that the other novels do, but there was something heartwarming about it which made me feel closer to my own family. I really loved the way this book made me feel. The focus was more on Merit’s mental health struggles, the dysfunctionality of her family and how they can overcome their difficulties to come together when necessary. Without Merit was completely different in that respect. I find her books cathartic – I read them and spend the day crying from the heartbreak before she slowly stitches my heart back together. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it was just so different to what I was used to from CoHo. However, I felt like the romance was very much a sideline in this book. Hell, the Voss’ lack of communication to each other what so much like mine, it scared me a little. Everything revolves around family and I really connected with that. This dysfunctional family, proclaimed by Merit’s own words as “an atheist, a home wrecker, an ex-wife suffering from agoraphobia, and a teenage girl whose weird obsession borders on necrophilia,” is both the problem and resolution of the story. It tells the story of the Voss family, specifically following Merit, an identical twin, and her feelings towards her siblings, parents and step-mother. Without Merit is a return to Colleen Hoover’s YA roots, much like that of Hopeless and Slammed.

KEY WORDS: Dysfunctional family, Mental health, Love at first sight. 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. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix.įed 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. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her-until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. Sometimes the only thing it deserves is forgiveness. Not every mistake deserves a consequence.

Without merit colleen hoover review