Without Merit

Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

 Merit Voss leads a very unconventional life.

She lives in a converted church that her atheist father, Barnaby Voss, purchased from a local pastor with financial woes. In an attempt to make this house of worship look more like a home, he adds a white picket fence, but decides to leave the marquee out front. Every morning, Merit's brother, Utah, updates the sign with bits of trivia that have nothing to do with The Lord. It continues to give the people in this tiny, Northeast Texas town, something to talk about.

Merit's parents are divorced, but her mother still lives in the basement due to a severe case of social anxiety. Added to the mix is twin sister, Honor, who seems to excel at everything while Merit crawls deeper into her hole of isolation, regularly skipping school, collecting cast-off trophies, and giving her family the silent treatment which no one seems to even notice. Then there's stepmother, Victoria, half-brother, Moby, and the mysterious Sagan, who Merit is wildly attracted to after a passionate kiss that turns out to be a case of mistaken identity. Out of nowhere, Victoria's estranged half-brother, Luck, shows up to make this eccentric family complete.

It's just a matter of time before simmering, pent-up secrets come to a boiling point. Festering wounds are exposed for all to see when Merit airs the family's dirty laundry. A near tragedy finally causes this maladjusted family to realize how close they are to losing one another and the love they share.

While entertaining readers with the antics of an offbeat family, this novel also takes a
candid look at the prevalence of mental illness in our society.  "Depression doesn't
 necessarily mean a person is miserable or suicidal all the time. Indifference is also a sign of depression." Just one of many symptoms too often ignored.

A refreshing novel, so easy to read, with just the right amount of humor, sending a message
of hope to those who suffer.

The Blackbird Season

The Blackbird Season by Kate Moretti

There's no explanation for the thousands of dead birds that rain
down from the sky on the baseball field in Mt. Oanoke,
Pennsylvania, a depressed little town still reeling from the
paper mill closing that cost so many people their livelihoods.

Nate Winters is the revered high school baseball coach in Mt. Oanoke.  He and wife, Alecia, seem to be perfectly matched, the ideal couple. Behind closed doors, however, the cracks in the foundation of their marriage are growing deeper. She struggles with the daily needs of their autistic son, Gabe, as her husband spends more and more time away from home. Rumors swirl that Nate is involved with student Lucia Hamm, that white-haired teenager with the ruby red lips. Many believe she's a "witch", responsible for that deluge of blackbirds on this unsuspecting town. When Lucia disappears, colleagues and residents turn on Nate, choosing to believe the gossip and innuendos that paint him as a prime suspect. Bridget, Lucia's creative writing teacher and Alecia's good friend, begins her own investigation, deciphering telltale words in a journal that point to a complicated maze of deception and secrets. What she finds is nothing short of astounding.

This gripping drama has so many layers; a wife consumed with
obligations and insecurities who doesn't quite trust her husband, a teacher overstepping his bounds, teenagers bent on destroying reputations, the ugliness of  social media, and a town on edge, quick to believe the worst about one of their own.

The ending isn't all tied up in a tidy little package. Yes, there's closure, or is there?  Lingering doubts remain about the future of this troubled place with the hypnotic spell.

And that's what makes this novel so very, very good.