ARC Review: Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry
10:00
Series: None
Author: Katie Henry
Published August 7th 2018 by Katherine Tegen Books
Goodreads Synopsis
Michael is an atheist. So as he walks through the doors at St. Clare’s—a strict Catholic school—sporting a plaid tie, things can’t get much worse. His dad has just made the family move again, and Michael needs a friend. When a girl challenges their teacher in class, Michael thinks he might have found one, and a fellow nonbeliever at that. Only this girl, Lucy, is not just Catholic . . . she wants to be a priest.
But Lucy introduces Michael to other St. Clare’s outcasts, and he officially joins Heretics Anonymous, where he can be an atheist, Lucy can be an outspoken feminist, Avi can be Jewish and gay, Max can wear whatever he wants, and Eden can practice paganism. After an incident in theology class, Michael encourages the Heretics to go from secret society to rebels intent on exposing the school’s hypocrisies. When Michael takes one mission too far—putting the other Heretics at risk—he must decide whether to fight for his own freedom, or rely on faith, whatever that means, in God, his friends, or himself.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
I honestly hadn't heard anything about this book before it landed on my doorstep, and I'm glad I went in blind, because books with a religious theme aren't usually ones I enjoy, but this book just blew me away! Michael is being sent to St Clare's, an ultra-strict catholic school, when he is a staunch atheist. His very first friend at school is Lucy, who he thinks is just like him, an atheist in a catholic setting, but he soon discovers that couldn't be further from the truth - she actually wants to be a priest one day. However, she is part of this group of misfits, known as the Heretics Anonymous, where everyone can be themselves, no matter of their religion, sexual orientation, or anything else. As the group embrace Michael as one of their own, they start to push boundaries, denouncing the hypocrisies of the school, but are they going too far. What could they be risking?
Like I said, if I had known was this book was about, I probably wouldn't have picked it up. That being said, I did really enjoy it, even with the religious undertones. The characters were all fantastic, from Michael's dry wit, to Lucy's feminism, to Avi's snark. The funniness and humour is there from the get go, and I can't remember the last time I laughed like this at a book before. The book was so inclusive and diverse, with prejudices challenged on page, and all the characters seemed real, and not forced at all. Nobody was trying to get anyone to be someone they weren't, all they wanted was to show others that it was alright being individual, and not having to follow the status quo, just because that's what is expected from you.
The only reason this book isn't a five star for me was some of the decisions Michael made later on really got on my nerves, and I felt like it was sort of put in there to automatically add tension. However, I felt this was an excellent debut, and I look forward to reading more from Katie in future.
Dates Read:
August 9-10, 2018Rating
4 Stars
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