Mercy, Unbound

I was so excited to read this book, but it was such a chore to get through. I read so many ED novels, and the idea that an ED could be caused by believing you're an angel is such an original concept! The author did really well there, but I'd argue that's the only place the author did well... Ignoring the poor grammar, misspellings, and far too many incomplete sentences; there is no sense of imagery, and 0 character or plot development. Nothing actually happens in the entirety of this book. By the end I felt like banging my head into a wall. It really felt like reading a tiktok rant transcribed by a 14 year old, and I am stunned an editor signed off on this.

Mercy can't seem to make her parents understand that her refusal to eat isn't anorexia or bulimia, or any other sort of eating disorder. She simply doesn't need to eat. Because only when she stops eating completely will she finally turn into an angel, and can help correct the world's many problems. But when her parents ignore her wishes, despite the fact that Mercy claims to feel her wings, and take her to a treatment center, Mercy becomes frightened. The other girls are really sick, and their thoughts and ideas on food scare her, and when tragedy strikes, Mercy's resolutions and beliefs about her condition will be put to the test. Mercy, Unbound was a peculiar, yet very absorbing read. It neither bashes nor condones eating disorders, but is instead a look at one girl's struggle to overcome the crushing feelings of helplessness as to how to solve the world's many problems. Packed full of pop culture references, allusions to great works of literature, historical facts, and many modern social problems, this is a read for the slightly more mature and well read teen. Despite this fact, story moves fluidly rather than didactically, flitting between Mercy's point of view and her diary entries, making the account of her experience more personal, but also a testament to Antieau's remarkable writing abilities as she seamlessly weaves words together to create a read that will engulf the reader entirely.

This isn't really a book about anorexia, as I expected it to be. Oh, it is that too, as the main character has atypical anorexia, but mainly it is a book about being young and overwhelmed with the world's problems. It is a wonderful story of growth, and of dealing with pain. I read it all in one sitting, and I'm now pushing it at several friends I have. If it had been availiable in translation in my primary language, I can think of even more people who could use a dose of Mercy, Unbound.

This has probably been one of my favorite books that I have read in the past six months. And, mind you, I have read my fair share of books. This particular book happened to catch my eye in the young adult section of the Tenafly Public Library. The blurb (back cover of the book), I found particularly intriguing. And to be honest, I have never read a book anything like it. Which is a good thing. I know I'm not the only one who has picked up a book that was nothing special and then later read something almost exactly like it. I would strongly recommend this book to girls over the age of 14. (Mostly because of all the cursing that is done by some of Mercy's friends.) I certainly enjoyed it.

Mercy is a fifteen year old girl with an eating disorder; she's on the verge of starvation when her parents send her to a treatment facility in New Mexico. But these facts, clearly evident to the reader, allude the patient in question. Kim Antieau has created an incredible novel narrated by Mercy. Seen through her eyes, her warped, diseased perspective, Mercy is not sick. She doesn't need treatment. Her problem? No one believes what she holds to be true. Mercy is an angel-in-disguise whose wings are always days away from sprouting on her back. She feels the wings itching beneath the surface. She sees the world differently. She feels that once she is an angel she can help people...she could help ease some of the world's pain. As a human, she's useles...but as an angel there's endless possibilities for her to change the world. Food just stands in the way of her destiny. Angels don't eat. And she is almost there. If only people wouldn't pressure her, they would see the truth... Mercy's breakthrough from almost-insanity to recovery leads the reader on an exciting, realistic journey of the psychological impact of eating disorders.