Book Title:                 The Merit Birds (Standalone)
Author:                         Kelley Powell
Number of pages:   240

Synopsis:

Eighteen-year-old Cam Scott is angry. He’s angry about his absent dad, he’s angry about being angry, and he’s angry that he has had to give up his Ottawa basketball team to follow his mom to her new job in Vientiane, Laos. However, Cam’s anger begins to melt under the Southeast Asian sun as he finds friendship with his neighbour, Somchai, and gradually falls in love with Nok, who teaches him about building merit, or karma, by doing good deeds, such as purchasing caged “merit birds.” Tragedy strikes and Cam finds himself falsely accused of a crime. His freedom depends on a person he’s never met. A person who knows that the only way to restore his merit is to confess. “The Merit Birds” blends action and suspense and humour in a far-off land where things seem so different, yet deep down are so much the same.

(re: Goodreads @ The Merit Birds – Kelley Powell)

Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less review:

— A culturally immersive adventure through Laos; from vibrant communities to dingy living environments; akin to like an all-expense paid trip
— A coming-of-age following three perspectives written in first-and-third person; the intermingling of narrative voices in a short book does dilute character growth
— Long stretches of plotting where nothing really happens. However, this where the resilience of the story shines best—in the little moments of discovery, survival and hope
— Romance errs toward instalust with an undertone of exoticism
— Shortcomings in writing that can suspend genuine poignancy and realism
— Rating: 3.25/5

Initial Thoughts

In truth, I thought this was going to be a lot more CanLit-y than what was portrayed but that’s okay, the merits of alternative diversity made up for the otherwise lacking Canadian side to cultural exploration. I’d also like to give congrats as this is a debut novel for Ms. Powell.

Full disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of The Merit Birds though NetGalley for an honest review. I extend my thanks to Dundurn for providing me the opportunity to review this book.

Disclaimer: Potential spoilers inherent to this review from here onward.

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