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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
I knew I was going to love this book, but I didn’t realize how much I was going to love this book until I got to the very middle and said “yep, I can keep reading this for all time).
It especially hits if you’ve been in Catholic School or have gone to a Catholic Church during your youth, but it’s not imperative: you’ll love the characters and the amazing writing. Everything is funny, and when it’s not, it hits you like a brick.
Pick it up. Consume it. Feel it. Love it.
It especially hits if you’ve been in Catholic School or have gone to a Catholic Church during your youth, but it’s not imperative: you’ll love the characters and the amazing writing. Everything is funny, and when it’s not, it hits you like a brick.
Pick it up. Consume it. Feel it. Love it.
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS BOOK! Probably one of my new all time favorites😍😍
I love that the main character of the book is an atheist and the way this book opens up a lot of important conversations. Also, I love the representation of people with different belief systems as well as the ongoing theme of looking beyond the surface of people. For me the book is not a full 5 stars because the ending was just a bit wobbly and doesn’t seem to drive everything home the way I wanted it to. Overall, an amazing book!
I’m so disappointed, I don’t think I’ve ever been so disappointed considering how much I was anticipating this book last year and how excited I was finally getting round to it!
Things I liked:
- Michaels internal monologue during the assembly and during the scene him and Alex get high because it was hilarious.
- the writing style was enjoyable and flowed well making it a really quick read!
- there was so much representation for different religious groups and there was some LGBT+ rep in there too!
Things I wasn’t a fan of:
- books about religion make me slightly uncomfortable as it is because of my sexuality which I knew going in and I was doing okay until the thing with Ms Simon happened and why they fired her, nothing about that was okay and it made me feel so uncomfortable and made me want to DNF the book honestly! Just how the school as a whole treated everyone made me so uncomfortable and I hated it tbh.
- the book didn’t really have a climax. Yes, something happens at the end that could be counted as a big event and it improves Michael character development but was it a climax? Not really.
- I found most of the characters annoying. Especially Michael in the beginning when he had an unhealthy obsession with Lucy, it was kind of gross and I just found him so annoying most of the time honestly. I also kind of found Lucy annoying a lot.
- the humour just kind of stopped. After the parts I mentioned, I didn’t really find anything else funny and considering everyone hyped this up as one of the funniest books, I was disappointed.
So, unfortunately, overall I was just really underwhelmed by this book which I’m so sad about because I wanted to love it! But, I am open to reading more of the authors books in the future!!
Things I liked:
- Michaels internal monologue during the assembly and during the scene him and Alex get high because it was hilarious.
- the writing style was enjoyable and flowed well making it a really quick read!
- there was so much representation for different religious groups and there was some LGBT+ rep in there too!
Things I wasn’t a fan of:
- books about religion make me slightly uncomfortable as it is because of my sexuality which I knew going in and I was doing okay until the thing with Ms Simon happened and why they fired her, nothing about that was okay and it made me feel so uncomfortable and made me want to DNF the book honestly! Just how the school as a whole treated everyone made me so uncomfortable and I hated it tbh.
- the book didn’t really have a climax. Yes, something happens at the end that could be counted as a big event and it improves Michael character development but was it a climax? Not really.
- I found most of the characters annoying. Especially Michael in the beginning when he had an unhealthy obsession with Lucy, it was kind of gross and I just found him so annoying most of the time honestly. I also kind of found Lucy annoying a lot.
- the humour just kind of stopped. After the parts I mentioned, I didn’t really find anything else funny and considering everyone hyped this up as one of the funniest books, I was disappointed.
So, unfortunately, overall I was just really underwhelmed by this book which I’m so sad about because I wanted to love it! But, I am open to reading more of the authors books in the future!!
I wish there was a way to give a book more than five stars because Heretics Anonymous was amazing! I read this book in three days and I can say that is was hands-down my favorite read of the year and maybe even all-time.
One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was the humor. Michael's narration had me laughing out loud from the first chapter. I just loved how sarcastic and witty he was. Michael's character was so interesting to me because he was undoubtedly flawed, but so lovable all the same. There were times when he said things that maybe weren't appropriate or made mistakes that got him in trouble but I found it impossible to dislike him.
Another thing I loved about this book was the other members of Heretics Anonymous and their friendship dynamic. Their characters were so diverse and I loved how they all came from different beliefs and religious backgrounds yet were still able to coexist and respect each other's differences. Lucy, who was definitely one of my favorites in this book, was such a complex character and at the same time as being smart and funny I feel that she also taught me a lot about Catholicism and religion in general, and that just adds to another reason I love her character. I really liked Avi and his friendship with Michael and Lucy but at the end of the book I didn't like him as much as I had at the beginning. I still think he is a great character but I didn't agree with some of his actions in the end. Max and Eden did not play as big as a role as the others, but Max was funny and lighthearted, and Eden said some things that I thought were brilliant. The characters in this book were just so diverse and interesting and I loved them all!!
Heretics Anonymous, in addition to being a fantastically funny and heartwarming story, taught me a lot about different religions, beliefs, and how people with different outlooks on those things can get along and respect each others opinions. This book was so amazing and I will for sure be reading it again!
One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was the humor. Michael's narration had me laughing out loud from the first chapter. I just loved how sarcastic and witty he was. Michael's character was so interesting to me because he was undoubtedly flawed, but so lovable all the same. There were times when he said things that maybe weren't appropriate or made mistakes that got him in trouble but I found it impossible to dislike him.
Another thing I loved about this book was the other members of Heretics Anonymous and their friendship dynamic. Their characters were so diverse and I loved how they all came from different beliefs and religious backgrounds yet were still able to coexist and respect each other's differences. Lucy, who was definitely one of my favorites in this book, was such a complex character and at the same time as being smart and funny I feel that she also taught me a lot about Catholicism and religion in general, and that just adds to another reason I love her character. I really liked Avi and his friendship with Michael and Lucy but at the end of the book I didn't like him as much as I had at the beginning. I still think he is a great character but I didn't agree with some of his actions in the end. Max and Eden did not play as big as a role as the others, but Max was funny and lighthearted, and Eden said some things that I thought were brilliant. The characters in this book were just so diverse and interesting and I loved them all!!
Heretics Anonymous, in addition to being a fantastically funny and heartwarming story, taught me a lot about different religions, beliefs, and how people with different outlooks on those things can get along and respect each others opinions. This book was so amazing and I will for sure be reading it again!
This was delightful! I knew absolutely nothing about Heretics Anonymous prior to reading it and I was pleasantly surprised! This is a book filled to the brim with humor, heartwarming moments and teenagers who want to make a difference.
Heretics Anonymous follows our main character, Michael, as his life is upturned when his family moves to a new town. Michael is enrolled into a Catholic school, and he is certainly not Catholic. Understandably, one of the large themes in the novel is religion. I liked that it raised certain conversations, including respecting the beliefs of others and how important it is to do so, and that is is okay if you don't identify with the religion you've always been expected to follow.
Honestly, I just love the characters so dang much. Our crew consists of Michael (an atheist), Lucy (a Colombian Catholic), Avi (a gay Jew), Eden (a Pagan) and Max (a Unitarian). They were brilliant! The diversity was fantastic and it made me so happy. I particularly adore Lucy, who challenges the failings of her Church whilst still acknowledging that, for her, it is her home. She knows she can love something and acknowledge that sometimes, it might be wrong. She's a beautiful feminist badass, and I love her.
Katie Henry writes teenagers really well. Michael and his friends and peers felt real and I could genuinely feel their passion for each thing that they believed in coming off of the pages. Michael was not a bad person, but I do appreciate how Henry wrote him as so headstrong that he struggled to see past his own opinion to realise that everything that his family was doing, was actually for him. It reminded me a bit of myself when I was younger, if I'm honest! Michael grew a lot over the course of the book, and it was really great to see his development - it felt organic.
Heretics Anonymous was just so darn great. It was inclusive and respectful of everyone's beliefs and opinions. I genuinely think this is a book that everyone can enjoy!
Heretics Anonymous follows our main character, Michael, as his life is upturned when his family moves to a new town. Michael is enrolled into a Catholic school, and he is certainly not Catholic. Understandably, one of the large themes in the novel is religion. I liked that it raised certain conversations, including respecting the beliefs of others and how important it is to do so, and that is is okay if you don't identify with the religion you've always been expected to follow.
Honestly, I just love the characters so dang much. Our crew consists of Michael (an atheist), Lucy (a Colombian Catholic), Avi (a gay Jew), Eden (a Pagan) and Max (a Unitarian). They were brilliant! The diversity was fantastic and it made me so happy. I particularly adore Lucy, who challenges the failings of her Church whilst still acknowledging that, for her, it is her home. She knows she can love something and acknowledge that sometimes, it might be wrong. She's a beautiful feminist badass, and I love her.
Katie Henry writes teenagers really well. Michael and his friends and peers felt real and I could genuinely feel their passion for each thing that they believed in coming off of the pages. Michael was not a bad person, but I do appreciate how Henry wrote him as so headstrong that he struggled to see past his own opinion to realise that everything that his family was doing, was actually for him. It reminded me a bit of myself when I was younger, if I'm honest! Michael grew a lot over the course of the book, and it was really great to see his development - it felt organic.
Heretics Anonymous was just so darn great. It was inclusive and respectful of everyone's beliefs and opinions. I genuinely think this is a book that everyone can enjoy!
Kände verkligen ingenting för karaktärerna, historien och absolut inte kärlekshistorien
Gillade ingen i boken och tyckte typ inte att några av deras handlingar hade nån logik överhuvudtaget och asså AVI vill jag bara dö av att tänka på för tråkigare karaktär är jävla svårt att hitta
Gillade ingen i boken och tyckte typ inte att några av deras handlingar hade nån logik överhuvudtaget och asså AVI vill jag bara dö av att tänka på för tråkigare karaktär är jävla svårt att hitta
medium-paced
this book couldve been really great and interesting if michael wasnt in it. hes such a dick and not at all in a likeable way. all my homies hate michael.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia
Minor: Ableism, Pedophilia, Rape