Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

Description

Merit Voss, who is twenty-four, feels like a ghost in her own home. Merit is the youngest of four siblings in the picture-perfect Voss family. She feels the weight of unsaid expectations. Their big suburban house looks like a happy, prosperous place, but it hides serious cracks that might break up any relationship within. Merit’s father is a well-known person in the neighborhood who drives patients to rehab in his Mercedes. Her mother spends her days volunteering and running bake sales. Her sister Mia is the perfect child: a cheerleader, an honor student, and a loving daughter. And in this setting that seems perfect, Merit blends into the background, believing that she will never be good enough.

Merit has made two versions of herself to deal with it. There is her public face, the “Merit” who is kind and helpful, gives homeless people change, bakes brownies for her roommates, and laughs at every joke someone makes. And then there’s the private Merit, the one she writes down in a black notebook called Without Merit. In it, she lets out all of her fury, disappointment, and terror that no one else would think she felt. She can get through each day by writing down her reality in private, but it doesn’t make her feel less alone.

When Sagan, her new neighbor, comes into her life, everything changes. Sagan is a modest artist with a shock of colorful hair and a look that seems to see right through lies. He likes Merit because she is nice and has a secret sense of humor. Their relationship rapidly becomes into something none of them imagined. Merit starts to question the Voss family’s tightly controlled story after Sagan agrees with her: Why did Mia abruptly stop going to college? What was the real reason her mother gave up a brilliant career in music? And what terrible thing from Merit’s own childhood have her parents refused to talk about?

As Merit begins to uncover the Vosses’ hidden wounds, she learns the awful truth that everyone has tried so hard to ignore: People thought Mia was a carefree star, but she wasn’t. Underneath her sister’s happy face was a strong need for approval that led to a crisis. And Merit, who used to be the family’s scapegoat, discovers that she’s been hiding her own scars, which need to be acknowledged before they can heal.

Hoover skillfully combines moments of quiet discovery with heart-stopping confession, leading readers through kitchen-table confrontations, letters stained with tears, and the shaky first steps of forgiveness. Merit’s journey shows her the strength of being open: by accepting her sorrow, she can get her voice back, question the roles she’s been given, and expect honesty from the people she loves.

Without Merit shows that families aren’t characterized by how flawless they look, but by how brave they are to face their flaws together. It does this by mixing genuine emotion, humor, and sisterly banter. Merit learns that you don’t have to work for love; you just have to allow it in. And by doing this, she finally finds her place in a world she felt had no room for her.

About the Author

Colleen Hoover is a #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her emotionally charged novels that explore the complexity of love, family, and personal resilience. Since her debut in 2012, she has garnered millions of devoted readers worldwide with titles such as It Ends with Us and Verity. Hoover’s work is celebrated for its blend of heart-wrenching drama, moments of levity, and deeply human characters. She lives in Texas with her family.

Product Details

• Title: Without Merit 
• Author: Colleen Hoover 
• ISBN-13: 9781501170621 
• Publisher: Atria Books 
• Published: September 27, 2016 
• Pages: 320 
• Binding: Paperpack