The Music of Humanity


Young Adult - Religious Theme
197 Pages
Reviewed on 05/03/2025
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    Book Review

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

The Music of Humanity by Shawn Merritt is a stirring Christian young adult novel chronicling the tumultuous journey of Jeffrey Killingsworth. Haunted by mental illness, addiction, and profound misfortune, Jeffrey stands at the crossroads of despair and redemption. As he reconnects with his childhood love, Natalie, and faces a transformative spiritual reckoning, he is forced to confront the meaning of heroism, faith, and identity. Merritt’s novel asks searing questions about resilience, salvation, and the choices that define us, delivering a moving portrayal of a flawed yet hopeful soul seeking harmony in a broken world.

Author Shawn Merritt has a sense of warmth and security that underpins his writing at every turn, moving toward a compassionate portrait of struggle, faith, and redemption. The author takes readers to deep places in the darkness that torment Jeffrey, making him a deeply complex and relatable anti-hero for modern readers. He has many flaws on display, but still manages to inspire us to hope that he will rise and heal. This ties into the spiritual themes of the story well because we’re constantly searching for the hope that will help Jeffrey out. The way it comes into the story is woven in with sincerity and emotional honesty so that the narrative never ends up feeling preachy. The journey he goes on is also well-paced to feel realistically earned and is a powerful reminder that brokenness doesn’t mean we cannot feel beauty, hope, or heroism again someday. Overall, I would certainly recommend The Music of Humanity to any reader seeking a meaningful and thought-provoking drama to engage with.