This is the most roundabout start to a series. I thought maybe it was going to be a standalone until I got to the last paragraph – coincidentally, that last paragraph is what bumped this from 2 stars to 3 for me.
I’ve been seeing a lot of comparisons to Mean Girls, and I don’t get it. Maybe if Mean Girls was written by Sarah Palin and not Tina Fey. The Merciless isn’t even about mean girls, just religious nutjob girls.
Sofia is new in town and kind of befriends school weirdo, Brooklyn. I’m very into Brooklyn – the cigarettes and hanging out at tattoo places and piercing things and big boots. And maybe skinning cats. I’m less into skinning cats, obviously.
Sofia also gets taken in by the popular girls: Riley (the leader), Grace, and Alexis. These popular girls decide Sofia needs to be “saved” and baptize her in the school bathroom. There is a lot of wine involved. These girls convince Sofia that Brooklyn is bad and to fake friend her to get some dirt (I guess this part is like Mean Girls).
Sofia goes to a party Brooklyn is throwing and sees Brooklyn with Riley’s boyfriend. Sofia runs straight across town to Riley to tell her, even though she was in the middle of kissing a boy she likes? Hoes before bros, girl.
Riley decides they need to perform an exorcism on Brooklyn and kidnaps and tortures her, with little help from the other girls. Even Sofia gets in on it, but she’s trying to help Brooklyn escape at the same time. It’s kind of confusing, and a lot of gross stuff happens, and there’s a lot of wine involved. Do super religious teens in Mississippi really drink this much wine? In non-religious California, we mostly stuck to vodka in plastic jugs, or Jack Daniels…and one New Years a bottle of gin…mixed with off brand Dr. Pepper or Squirt. My point is, I didn’t drink wine until I was over 21, and even then it was only with my mom until I was like 25.
The bulk of The Merciless takes place in one night, at the exorcism/torture sesh. It’s all set up for the next book, but I feel like that night could be more condensed to make room for a little more of the story, or the book could be a little longer and be a standalone. It’s a quick read at 279 pages (according to Goodreads) with lots of short paragraphs. If it had gone the campy route I would have been happier, but it’s a book that’s serious in what it’s about which doesn’t really work for me when this much religion and torture is involved. I thought it would be more witchy, but it looks like that’s coming in the next book.
