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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
When atheist Michael finds his parents moving him to yet another new town, it means another new school. But this time, it's Catholic school. Confronted with a new culture and set of rules, Michael is convinced he won't fit in. In fact, he doesn't want to. Until one girl speaks up in class and what she says makes a whole lot of sense -- even if she is Catholic, too. After finding his people, Michael and the other so-called Heretics Anonymous start taking a stand against the school in -- what else? -- anonymous acts of protest. But then one action goes too far and Michael must consider what it is he really values.
I picked up Heretics Anonymous at a used bookstore, excited to get my hands on another Katie Henry after reading This Will Be Funny Someday (and loving it) a few years back. Though I can say I enjoyed TWBFS slightly more than this one, Heretics Anonymous no doubt hits many of the same funny notes Henry achieves in her latest novel. If you're coming to Henry's novels craving humor, cleverness, wit, and thoughtful -- but not to heavy -- discussions around important issues, you'll find it. Such is the case with Heretics Anonymous, where Henry takes up the tricky task of both condemning and celebrating Catholicism, Christianity, and religion more broadly. She does it to great success, employing characters with different perspectives on religion to illustrate how religion can be weaponized and a tool for healing.
Henry's characters are fun and interesting, but most importantly, they are also flawed. Michael frequently acts and thinks in ways that are objectively unsavory. He can be rather singular-minded and often has trouble imagining others have valid opinions. However, Heretics Anonymous still makes him a sympathetic character who struggles especially with his relationship with his father and who wants to impress a girl and treat her well. Other characters are slightly more exaggerated and caricaturized, likely for the sake of making the points about religion and so on as well as for secondary character simplicity, but not to the extent that their storylines and how they intersect with Michael aren't interesting.
There were some pacing issues that I had especially in terms of the club taking action. This piece of the plot seemed to take too long to arrive and it didn't quite make up as much of the story as I had anticipated given the jacket copy. Fair enough to say this is a failure of the jacket copy and not the book itself overall, though I do think it's also indicative of some pacing issues regardless. Michael's larger emotional story moves along meanwhile but feels a bit unbalanced in terms of how much of the word count it takes up if you enter the book expecting it to focus primarily on school hijinks.
I could have done with a bit more chemistry between Michael and his love interest, as well, though there was something refreshing about the more mature take on relationships even in the context of high school student romance. Michael's love interest plays a vital role in his development independent of the love story, which makes for interesting dynamics, but I think sometimes prevents the chemistry from fully blooming.
But Heretics Anonymous is fun, it's thoughtful, it has the right surprises for this kind of story (making them less of real surprises, but still satisfying). Plus, I really love the design theme across her books. It's subtle yet distinct, absolutely eye-catching, relevant to each novel (how many times have you heard about Jesus's image heated into toast by divine intervention? and the banana peel for a book about stand-up comedy? genius -- I could go on, but I digress) and so very clever. This would make a great book club selection. Read this one if you enjoy a bit of philosophy without getting too complicated.
I picked up Heretics Anonymous at a used bookstore, excited to get my hands on another Katie Henry after reading This Will Be Funny Someday (and loving it) a few years back. Though I can say I enjoyed TWBFS slightly more than this one, Heretics Anonymous no doubt hits many of the same funny notes Henry achieves in her latest novel. If you're coming to Henry's novels craving humor, cleverness, wit, and thoughtful -- but not to heavy -- discussions around important issues, you'll find it. Such is the case with Heretics Anonymous, where Henry takes up the tricky task of both condemning and celebrating Catholicism, Christianity, and religion more broadly. She does it to great success, employing characters with different perspectives on religion to illustrate how religion can be weaponized and a tool for healing.
Henry's characters are fun and interesting, but most importantly, they are also flawed. Michael frequently acts and thinks in ways that are objectively unsavory. He can be rather singular-minded and often has trouble imagining others have valid opinions. However, Heretics Anonymous still makes him a sympathetic character who struggles especially with his relationship with his father and who wants to impress a girl and treat her well. Other characters are slightly more exaggerated and caricaturized, likely for the sake of making the points about religion and so on as well as for secondary character simplicity, but not to the extent that their storylines and how they intersect with Michael aren't interesting.
There were some pacing issues that I had especially in terms of the club taking action. This piece of the plot seemed to take too long to arrive and it didn't quite make up as much of the story as I had anticipated given the jacket copy. Fair enough to say this is a failure of the jacket copy and not the book itself overall, though I do think it's also indicative of some pacing issues regardless. Michael's larger emotional story moves along meanwhile but feels a bit unbalanced in terms of how much of the word count it takes up if you enter the book expecting it to focus primarily on school hijinks.
I could have done with a bit more chemistry between Michael and his love interest, as well, though there was something refreshing about the more mature take on relationships even in the context of high school student romance. Michael's love interest plays a vital role in his development independent of the love story, which makes for interesting dynamics, but I think sometimes prevents the chemistry from fully blooming.
But Heretics Anonymous is fun, it's thoughtful, it has the right surprises for this kind of story (making them less of real surprises, but still satisfying). Plus, I really love the design theme across her books. It's subtle yet distinct, absolutely eye-catching, relevant to each novel (how many times have you heard about Jesus's image heated into toast by divine intervention? and the banana peel for a book about stand-up comedy? genius -- I could go on, but I digress) and so very clever. This would make a great book club selection. Read this one if you enjoy a bit of philosophy without getting too complicated.
This is a book I would love to re-read. Not enough YA novels focus on faith, which I appreciated about this book. As a debut, I am excited to see what she does next!
DNF @ pg 102
This book is hilarious sometimes, but it’s also just not for me. I find that as I grow older, I am less inclined to read these YA contemporary stories. So it’s best to purge them from my shelves to save both myself time as well as get this into the hands of someone who actually wants to read this.
This book is hilarious sometimes, but it’s also just not for me. I find that as I grow older, I am less inclined to read these YA contemporary stories. So it’s best to purge them from my shelves to save both myself time as well as get this into the hands of someone who actually wants to read this.
Really enjoyed this book, in fact it was so realistic for me and I genuinely felt like I was back in my Studies of Religion class (honestly did Katie Henry attend my classes?). Although the book is about faith and tolerance of all faiths and I really enjoyed the representation, I can see how it may come across in the wrong way to some. The “conflict” towards the end (if you would call it that) was a bit typical and one of my all time most hated conflicts (like just make up already we all know you will... or maybe I’m just too hard on contemporary books.... like let’s get to the battling and the unveiling of the main character being the long lost royal who no one realised looked exactly like her, with the same age and birthday puh-lease!) I did find this book funny at times but some of the speech was a bit awkward and clunky (although it may have been the narrators interpretation of the words that I didn’t like as I did listen to this on audiobook). Overall it was a quick, fun, humorous read and I was left feeling quite happy but personally I don’t believe it needs to jump to the top of your TBR pile.
I had a good reading experience up until about 50% of the book. It wasn't an excellent read or anything like that but it was pleasant and interesting if a bit boring at times. I didn't really find it funny but, overall, it was ok. And then the last third hit and it became the most frustrating thing in the world. The conflict was dumb, Michael's so-called friends turned out to be a bunch of jerks and hypocrites, and the overall message was that a person should just tolerate the shitty things in their religion because?? the priests or the bible or whatever say so???
Yes, tolerance is important and it is the core message of the book but I hated how the story villanized Michael. He did a stupid, impulsive thing but tbh he was right to air the LITERAL CRIMES of some of the teachers. Like, why the hell should I be angry with him when they have LITERAL PEDOPHILES working at the school and no one seems to care? Michael's behavior was rash but I am so damn confused as to why facts like one of the teachers harassing female students are mentioned and brushed aside. Why is this not a big deal? Why don't they want to let the general student body know about this? Why would anyone think spreading the information would be a bad thing?
I also hated how Lucy acted towards the end. She was a fine character till a point but then I couldn't handle her behavior, and how she basically commanded others to behave in a certain way. I disliked her conversations with Michael about his dad, too. Yes, she was right about some of the stuff but that doesn't mean he isn't allowed to be pissed with his own father, his reasons are completely justifiable and he was right to call her out on her pity party. I also can't help but think that as much as she says she's ok with Michael being an atheist she still holds a conviction she'll be able to convert him. She tricked him into getting blessed, gave him a bible, and demanded he attends mass with her. Maybe it's my own resentment jumping out but I can definitely see her enforcing plenty of religious stuff on him in the future.
Overall, I am bitter as hell.
Yes, tolerance is important and it is the core message of the book but I hated how the story villanized Michael. He did a stupid, impulsive thing but tbh he was right to air the LITERAL CRIMES of some of the teachers. Like, why the hell should I be angry with him when they have LITERAL PEDOPHILES working at the school and no one seems to care? Michael's behavior was rash but I am so damn confused as to why facts like one of the teachers harassing female students are mentioned and brushed aside. Why is this not a big deal? Why don't they want to let the general student body know about this? Why would anyone think spreading the information would be a bad thing?
I also hated how Lucy acted towards the end. She was a fine character till a point but then I couldn't handle her behavior, and how she basically commanded others to behave in a certain way. I disliked her conversations with Michael about his dad, too. Yes, she was right about some of the stuff but that doesn't mean he isn't allowed to be pissed with his own father, his reasons are completely justifiable and he was right to call her out on her pity party. I also can't help but think that as much as she says she's ok with Michael being an atheist she still holds a conviction she'll be able to convert him. She tricked him into getting blessed, gave him a bible, and demanded he attends mass with her. Maybe it's my own resentment jumping out but I can definitely see her enforcing plenty of religious stuff on him in the future.
Overall, I am bitter as hell.
this was a really, really smart YA that shows a variety of teens struggling with the complexities of their religious identities (or lack thereof, in the case of the narrator) that still somehow manages to be really funny throughout!
hmmm....
I'm not entirely sure what to say about this book, mostly because of my impartiality. As a Catholic, I can't help but feel slightly distraught by this book. Sure it's not meant to be a conversion story, but is it bad that I feel like it slightly does?
I think it's mostly because of the fact that my life as a Catholic is extremely different from this book. I was born and raised Catholic and though through thoughts of "Is this who I truly want to be?" I've decided that it's not simply something I was born into, but something I enjoy being. I attended Catholic school for two years before prioritizing my french language education over my Catholic one, and further convincing my parents to send me to a public high school so that I could remain with my friends.
Though Catholic, I wasn't raised that strictly. I was expected to live modestly and I went to church a few times of the year. I have NEVER hated or judged someone for something that falls outside the scope of my religion such as being queer, polyamorous, sexually active regardless of their religion. The importance of religion to me was the lessons that I was able to learn from God. Jesus is in everyone, therefore it means everyone has good intentions and should be treated as such. To have faith in the Lord when times get tough because He has a plan for you which has helped me immensely through my mental illness, and even my childhood priest was well-known for having joined priesthood to battle his crippling alcoholism.
Catholicism is more than just homophobia and strict ideals, and I think that was told through this story, that religion or even the lack thereof is not inherently bad. This story was about acceptance and tolerance and I think the message was broadcasted but with all the "good guys" having some sort of problem with the Catholic ideals it was hard to feel but slightly downtrodden by the story and feel misrepresented. I felt Lucy misrepresented how it felt to be Catholic and her character seemed messy with conflicting ideals, and fit the strict Catholic stereotype a little too well. Sure, maybe my experience with it was different from most, but isn't that what we're trying to preach these days; that religion and it's people are not all the same?
Overall, this book was worthwhile to explore a new perspective on religion, and it tackled such subject with both care and delightful humour, but I can't help to feel this book was still somewhat anti-Catholicism and I'm still slightly disappointed in that
I'm not entirely sure what to say about this book, mostly because of my impartiality. As a Catholic, I can't help but feel slightly distraught by this book. Sure it's not meant to be a conversion story, but is it bad that I feel like it slightly does?
I think it's mostly because of the fact that my life as a Catholic is extremely different from this book. I was born and raised Catholic and though through thoughts of "Is this who I truly want to be?" I've decided that it's not simply something I was born into, but something I enjoy being. I attended Catholic school for two years before prioritizing my french language education over my Catholic one, and further convincing my parents to send me to a public high school so that I could remain with my friends.
Though Catholic, I wasn't raised that strictly. I was expected to live modestly and I went to church a few times of the year. I have NEVER hated or judged someone for something that falls outside the scope of my religion such as being queer, polyamorous, sexually active regardless of their religion. The importance of religion to me was the lessons that I was able to learn from God. Jesus is in everyone, therefore it means everyone has good intentions and should be treated as such. To have faith in the Lord when times get tough because He has a plan for you which has helped me immensely through my mental illness, and even my childhood priest was well-known for having joined priesthood to battle his crippling alcoholism.
Catholicism is more than just homophobia and strict ideals, and I think that was told through this story, that religion or even the lack thereof is not inherently bad. This story was about acceptance and tolerance and I think the message was broadcasted but with all the "good guys" having some sort of problem with the Catholic ideals it was hard to feel but slightly downtrodden by the story and feel misrepresented. I felt Lucy misrepresented how it felt to be Catholic and her character seemed messy with conflicting ideals, and fit the strict Catholic stereotype a little too well. Sure, maybe my experience with it was different from most, but isn't that what we're trying to preach these days; that religion and it's people are not all the same?
Overall, this book was worthwhile to explore a new perspective on religion, and it tackled such subject with both care and delightful humour, but I can't help to feel this book was still somewhat anti-Catholicism and I'm still slightly disappointed in that
This book was so so so good!
it honestly took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did.
It had me laughing out loud, and crying, and just wanting warm hugs. It tackles multiple faiths and non believers and how things can get misconstrued and misinterpreted and radicalized throughout all forms of belief. And how one thing one decision can snow ball and effect so many other than just yourself.
I recommend this book so much. its fun, funny, light hearted, and insightful all wrapped into one.
it honestly took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did.
It had me laughing out loud, and crying, and just wanting warm hugs. It tackles multiple faiths and non believers and how things can get misconstrued and misinterpreted and radicalized throughout all forms of belief. And how one thing one decision can snow ball and effect so many other than just yourself.
I recommend this book so much. its fun, funny, light hearted, and insightful all wrapped into one.
4.7
I have a lot of religious trauma so I was hesitant about this one at first, but I really really enjoyed it, enough to almost bring me to tears. I have a very catholic family and for once I actually understood what they had been touting since I can remember. The story flowed super well, it was fun, funny and never felt cringey or awkward. The .3 dock was because the ending was so abrupt I didn't understand what was happening. It was a sweet ending, don't get me wrong. I just read the last word and turned to see I had finished the book. It was unexpected and I didn't like that.
I have a lot of religious trauma so I was hesitant about this one at first, but I really really enjoyed it, enough to almost bring me to tears. I have a very catholic family and for once I actually understood what they had been touting since I can remember. The story flowed super well, it was fun, funny and never felt cringey or awkward. The .3 dock was because the ending was so abrupt I didn't understand what was happening. It was a sweet ending, don't get me wrong. I just read the last word and turned to see I had finished the book. It was unexpected and I didn't like that.
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes