Heretics Anonymous

by Katie Henry

A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year!

Put an atheist in a strict Catholic school? Expect comedy, chaos, and an Inquisition. The Breakfast Club meets Saved! in debut author Katie Henry’s hilarious novel about a band of misfits who set out to challenge their school, one nun at a time. Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Robyn Schneider.

When Michael walks through the doors of Catholic school, 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 atheist at that. Only this girl, Lucy, isn’t just Catholic . . . she wants to be a priest.

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.

Michael encourages the Heretics to go from secret society to rebels intent on exposing the school’s hypocrisies one stunt at a time. But 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.

• ISBN10: 0062698877
• ISBN13: 9780062698872
• Publish Date: 20 September 2018 (first published 7 August 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 22 August 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[bookperson]

The hype was real, but this book is honestly worth it.
I wish we saw more of HA friendships and dynamics between not only between Michael and Lucy but with Eden, Max and Avi. I want to know what happens with Michael's sister and Theresa, and with Jenny.

My only pet peeve with this book (and with many of YA books) - there are no adults outside school (besides Michael's dad), they are either not there or have no character at all. I understand that the book isn't about adults but still, sometimes it takes one sentence to flesh out the character.

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

I really liked the book and I'm all worried to talk about it, because I'm waiting for someone to pop out of the woodwork and tell me I'm a blasphemous sinner and that I'm going to Hell.

Seriously. I'm jumpy. I wrote a really long version of this review for my blog on 10/22, and half of it was trying to explain my perspective and why I feel the way I do about this book and for people to please not yell at me. Religion is complicated like that - or maybe it was just the corner of religion where I was raised.

Heretics Anonymous is a slice of life in Catholic School where, on the edges of social cliques, five not-perfect Catholics build a support group. Lucy is a staunch Catholic, but she wants to be a priest. Eden is a Celtic Reconstructionist. Avi is both Jewish and gay. Max I ... is Max, not quite fitting in with the strict rules and traditions. And in comes Michael the atheist. Michael mixes everything up - not because he's an atheist (because I want to make that SO clear - Michael’s actions in this book are so emotionally driven and not related to religion or lack thereof) but because he's angry. Michael is angry at his family and the stupid tie he has to wear and his LIFE. In general. And because of that, he makes some stupid choices.

I think given the plot of this book, Katie Henry was pretty respectful to the religions she chose to represent, and it's refreshing to see so many in one place. I think it's really important to have these varied perspectives out there, and we should be able to talk about our beliefs without judging one another. The themes and content of Heretics Anonymous are really refreshing.

The overall plot, which I'm just going to summarize as “Michael falls and love and learns (the hard way) how to express himself" is not overly impressive, but I'm willing to forgive it because I like the place where it is set and all the little subplots. Most the characters are fantastic - Michael is a jerk, frankly, but you can't love every protagonist. And I think Max was a bit of a flat character at times, as well as Theresa (there was a moment where she ALMOST had depth, but basically she became Marianne in Easy A. But GENERALLY, I thought they were a good group that rounded out one another, and I really liked the side characters of Father Peter and Jenny.

I really, really want to encourage people to give this book a chance, and to do so with an open mind. I think it's interesting and it's SO IMPORTANT to get some religious discussion and diversity out there. I really hope people give it a fair shot.

[luddite]

A book the fledgling apostate/heretic in me would've enjoyed just as much as I did now. It offers a light touch on the tensions and questions that stem from being the sole/isolated non-believer in a community of believers.

A light, fun read as advertised, and I absolutely loved the Dead-Poets-Society-meets-Catholicism premise.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Michael was not happy that his father up and moved his family yet again, and to make matters worse, he was making him attend a Catholic school. Michael had already written the place off before he even walked through the door, but then he met Lucy, and she introduced him to Heretics Anonymous, and well, things were looking up.

We believe in one fundamental truth:
That all people, regardless of what they worship, who they love, and what they think
Have a right to exist, and a right to be heard.

• Pro: From the excerpt from the Heretics Anonymous manifesto, you can see that there was a theme that EVERYBODY matters, and that's something I can get 100% behind.

• Pro: The first half of the book was jam packed with humor. I was able to relate to a lot of things in the book too, because I am Catholic and went to a Catholic school.

• Pro: I always get a little nervous when religion is part of a book, since many in the entertainment industry hold very negative views of organized religion. Henry did point out the flaws, but she also offered alternate points of view, and showed how there are some positive things to religion as well.

• Pro: Diversity was present in many forms in this book. There were characters from different races, with different sexual orientations, and with different religious beliefs represented.

• Pro: The exploration of faith and religion was quite interesting. The idea that you can be part of a religion, while not subscribing to every tenet was touched upon. Lucy was very devout, but she didn't hide the fact that she thought the church needed to evolve and change. It was still a place she loved and found comfort, but she also wanted to see it change as society changed.

• Pro: I really, really enjoyed the last part of the book. It was the part, where Michael underwent his big growth phase. I was really proud of the conclusions he came to regarding his family, friends, and the idea of faith.

Overall: What do you get when you send an atheist to Catholic School? You get a pretty amusing, heartwarming, and compelling coming of age story.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

3.5*

Story time! I loved high school. Like, a lot. Which is probably not the typical reaction, but there it is. Also, fun fact: I went to a Catholic high school. I, personally, am not nor ever was Catholic. It was... an experience. The main character in Heretics Anonymous is also not Catholic in a Catholic school, though I feel confident in saying that's where our similarities end. But there's a woeful underabundance of "non-Catholic in a Catholic school" books out there, probably because I'm the only person clamoring for such a thing? Regardless, it's a fun story.

It deals with religion a lot, as you can imagine. But I thought that the conversations it brought up were quite important. Like respecting other people's beliefs, or lack thereof. Michael, our main character, irked me a bit in the beginning because he was so dismissive of Catholic traditions and beliefs. And look- I get it. I brought turkey sandwiches on Fridays and watched the nuns balk, but not to be a jerk, I just always ate turkey? He kind of made a bit of a mockery of some of their traditions at first, which... rubbed me the wrong way. I don't really believe in much of anything, but that is why I was respectful enough not to participate in those things. Michael... was just going ahead and grabbing holy water and such.

But, Michael makes some friends, and they have a bunch of different beliefs, and some don't have any, and it's such a great group of people honestly. They teach Michael so much about just like... life and other humans honestly. And they were way more fun than Michael. Is that wrong? And the group (Heretics Anonymous, of course) started to take some stands against some of the Catholic church's more offensive teachings. And look- it was wholly unbelievable that this would catch on so swiftly, but it was still a good message. They weren't, at this point, attacking religion- they were just attacking homophobic, sexist, sex-shaming stuff. Which should be a part of zero religions, let's be real.

Basically, Michael says a lot of crappy stuff and makes some awful choices, but he grows a lot during the course of the book, so it's nice to see. And I loved loved loved that so many of the protagonists actually liked their Catholic high school- because I loved mine, and it's refreshing to see it not trashed completely, while still pointing out the definite problematic aspects in an honest, yet respectful way.

Bottom Line: Loved the story, the messages, and the supporting characters. I do wish I'd felt a little more connected to Michael, the main character, but overall it was a win!