ABOUT
Title: Heretics Anonymous
Author: Katie Henry
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: August 7th 2018
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.
I received an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Heretics anonymous is one of those rare contemporary books that I've read that isn't fluffy romance. This book follows a group of misfits in a very strict Catholic school in the United States. I became interested in this book since I went to Catholic school myself. Catholic schools in Ontario are a very different beast than it is in the United States. Where catholic schools in the US pertain to private schools and the image of girls in plaid and knee-high socks, in Canada it's almost like public school but with mass, religion class and boring uniforms. When submitting the taxes, people get to choose whether their money will go to public schools or the Catholic schools as they are publicly funded. It all goes back to the formation of Canada as we know it today and the religious politics (namely the Protestants vs. Catholics feud) that the Europeans brought over when they colonized North America.
Anyways, we're getting off topic. The main character of the novel is Michael. As we follow his point of view, we learn that he is an atheist and is unwillingly transplanted into an expensive Catholic private school. However, as he thinks that he'll hate his time in St. Clare's, he meets Lucy and her group of friends -- Heretics Anonymous. They are the misfits of the strict catholic school and don't fit into the "norm". Lucy is a devout catholic who also aspires to be a priest one day. There is Max who is Korean, slightly eccentric and a Unitarian (a kind of offshoot of Catholicism that puts faith in a set of values, with not all believing in God. You can find more info about Unitarianism here) out of convenience. Avi is a gay Jewish boy who is rightfully angry with the hypocrisy of the authority figures at St. Clare. And then there's Eden, a Celtic Reconstructionist Polytheist, whose worship of multiple "pagan" gods would obviously not fit into the Catholic school atmosphere. While their group starts out as a support group for each other, the addition of Michael causes them to turn into an action group, seeking to bring awareness to the hypocrisy of the information and actions of the faculty of St. Clare's.
Every one of the characters is fallible and interesting and imperfect. They don't have everything figured out and clearly make mistakes. They're still forming their opinions and I really enjoyed this bit of the book. Even the "enemies" in the book are sympathetic and no one is really evil. They're all just trying to make sense of the world as best that they can and not everyone is simply one thing. I really enjoyed that about the characters as it showed that they're still learning as teenagers are at that stage in life.
The entire novel is one giant nuanced conversation about religion and Catholicism and how not everyone is all one thing. Of course there are the different sects of Christianity, but throughout the novel it is a conversation in the state of Catholicism as it is today and the way that personal belief can differ from what the institution declares. It was really interesting to see the characters argue and converse about their varying views on religion. I feel like this is a book is a good read for those who are looking for a YA novel that's nuanced about religion.
Another great part of the book is that it shows teenagers putting their beliefs into action. They banded together to stand up for what they believe. It almost reminds me of the Disney Channel movie, Lemonade Mouth, except much less musical and more religious. It shows that standing up for what you believe in is important, but also doesn't romanticize it as the characters know that they will get in trouble, showing the backlash and side effects of their actions.
Overall, this is a really good and thoughtful rumination on religion through the lens of YA and its modern role in society when so much of the values still haven't caught up to the modern day.
Happy Reading!
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