“Not every mistake deserves a consequence. Sometimes the only thing it deserves is forgiveness.”

“WITHOUT MERIT”  is the newest novel released by COLLEEN HOOVER. It’s not a romantic novel; rather it’s a book of self-discovery. It is a coming-of-age tale.

The story is told through the eyes of Merit Voss, a teenager struggling to cope up with life. Her family is irritatingly perfect. She collects trophies she hasn’t earned, bares the darkest secrets of her loved ones. But Merit is not perfect. She is equally dysfunctional as her family. Merit always felt being unwanted and was treated as an outsider in her family and is convinced that she’s living in a madhouse. She has a love/hate relationship with her twin sister. She’s been skipping her school for weeks, which is not even noticed by anyone in the family. And this is how Merit lives. “Don’t make your presence known. Make your absence felt.”

It was fate when Merit met Sagan. Sagan saves her from the dark, from herself. Merit finds her feelings conflicting towards Sagan. But are the feelings mutual? Is it Sagan who she really loves? He is the only one who notices Merit’s isolation thoughts. As the story advances, we see Merit's life becoming darker and darker to the point where she considers suicide. Can she save herself from the darkness? Can Sagan make her realize that life is not fair and we have to accept our situations and try to move on with it?

Though I was a bit skeptical at the beginning, the story was so interesting that I couldn't put the book down. This book's genre can be called as contemporary-romance, but it has more to it. It speaks about mental health. It reminded me how important it is to love yourself first. To speak to the people you love and how fast it can go in the wrong direction if you do not take care of yourself.

So I would definitely recommend this book to one and all. Happy reading!

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