Heretics Anonymous audiobook

Heretics Anonymous6/5 Stars. Heretics Anonymous is a fascinating and humorous examination of faith and tolerance. This novel has quickly become an all-time favorite of mine. Check out my non-spoiler video review!: https://t.co/77hRxWGmPDCW: slut shaming, homophobia (both challenged in text), various jokes about religionThe humor in this book is UNREAL. I was crying of laughter almost from the first page. I feel that young adult books have been recently focusing on contemporary novels featuring dark and serious topics, so it was a breath of fresh air to read something so laughable! Michael’s sarcastic narration was the perfect fit for this story and I feel it is one of the most compelling aspects of the novel.I’m smitten with the characters in this novel. Following an atheist, a Colombian catholic, a gay jew, a pagan, and a unitarian (who loves to break the dress code), Michael, Lucy, Avi, Eden, and Max are a flawless band of misfits to stir up some much needed discussion in their conservative school. Michael is wonderfully flawed; He’s rash and obnoxious but still loveable and learning how to be a better person. Lucy has endless layers in the way she proudly presents herself as an intelligent feminist, has to take on additional responsibilities at home, and remains loyal to her faith while also challenging the unjust parts of it. Avi is snarky and confrontational in the best way. Out of all the characters, Eden and Max are the least developed, but they remain enjoyable and valuable participants of the story. I love the dynamic of these friends. They act (mostly – I’m looking at you, Michael) in solidarity but are still able to disagree and challenge the beliefs and motivations of one another. It is a very equal, healthy relationship between them all and such a charming story.Heretics Anonymous follows quite religious themes without infringing on the freedom of it’s characters AND readers. The main message of this story is tolerance. Despite their differences, these friends from all different forms of belief can come together for one purpose and achieve it. There is no “conversion” story. There is no push to follow one belief system. It is about the beauty of coexisting with one another and following what you personally believe in.I would recommend Heretics Anonymous to absolutely anyone. Whether you want to explore different perspectives of organized religion. Whether you want a story following a strong friendship. Or you just want a reason to laugh. I would highly recommend picking up this immensely unique debut and observing how it changes you. This book was sent to me unsolicited and for free by Harper Collins. I had no obligation to review this book and all opinions are my own.

First of all, I’ll preface this review by saying I think that I get to look at this one from a pretty unique angle. I was raised in an extremely religious and strict Christian household, and though it wasn’t Catholicism, there was SO MUCH in this book that I could relate to 100% from my childhood. On the other hand, I don’t follow an organized religion at all now (if anything, I’d say I’m somewhere along the lines of pagan and pantheist), but my journey to get here took me through several years of atheism that looked remarkably similar to Michael’s various thought processes. Basically, my point is: this book was written for me, and I can acknowledge that long enough to say that, if you are committed to an Abrahamic religion and don’t enjoy critiques of said religious, this is probably one that you would want to steer clear of. I don’t know why people assume shit like that. Like being an atheist requires some sort of tragic backstory. While the book never entirely vilifies any one specific religion, there is a lot of criticism of Christianity and the Bible’s contents. The narrator points out a lot of flaws in the theology, and more than anything, a tremendous amount of hypocrisy in the school’s administration that, while not necessarily exclusive to religious private schools, is certainly to be blamed in this scenario on the specific beliefs of the people in charge at St. Clare. “Don’t worry,” she tells me. “There’s room at this school for people like us.” That said, I’d also like to inform you that something I appreciated about the story is the fact that it never feels like a conversion book. This book is not here to convert you to or away from any particular set of beliefs, but to show you the flaws and qualities to many. With such a diverse cast of characters, I felt that we were offered a lovely number of views, between Lucy’s feminist take on Catholicism, Eden’s paganism (Celtic Reconstructionist Polytheists is the exact label), Max’s Unitarianism, or Avi’s experience as a gay Jewish boy. Time and care are taken to tell us a little bit about each of these paths, and even to clear up misconceptions a few times (especially about Eden’s beliefs and rituals). At the end of the day, the message is clear: differences in religious beliefs do not have to cause divides between friends or even love interests. (ETA: I forgot to mention, but Lucy is Columbian and Max is Korean!) “Sister Joseph Marie made me take my earrings off today. Because they have these Celtic spirals on them, and she said that was a pagan symbol so I couldn’t wear it, which is—ugh. Just because it isn’t a cross doesn’t mean it’s evil.” As someone who was raised in a Christian home, there were so many moments that had me either laughing out loud or cringing from secondhand embarrassment, and you can take that as you will. We see depictions of many common problems in Christian youth settings, such as slut-shaming girls for not waiting until marriage to have sex, removing a woman’s right to consent and bodily autonomy regarding her clothing (such as a uniform inspection scene that was actually a bit triggering for me), firing teachers for not following “morality clauses”, public shaming of children as punishment, and mischaracterizing individuals from other religions in sometimes incredibly harmful ways. This is the calmest cannibalization ritual I’ve ever seen. There’s even a scene in which the characters discuss how colonialism is to blame for the wide reaches of Catholicism/Christianity in many countries, and that’s a topic that is not touched upon nearly enough in any setting, so I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of how important it is to accept and address this fact. “You don’t have a monopoly on suffering, okay? Other people get to be mad about their lives. Your broken leg doesn’t make my sprained ankle hurt any less.” All of that aside, there’s more to this story than just a commentary on religion and hypocrisy; there’s also an underlying story of family, friendship, knowing when to follow and when to break rules, and learning how to show forgiveness and empathy for our fellow human beings. We’re shown that there is no “one size fits all” answer, and that religion, despite its flaws, can be a tremendous comfort for many individuals and that’s perfectly acceptable. “You can make mistakes, you can be human, but—you’re still the greatest good I’ve ever known.” The only legitimate complaint I have about this book is the romance, which felt weak and lacking to me most of the time. First of all, with Lucy’s various ideals and goals in life, the relationship didn’t feel to me as though it had the chance for a very solid foundation. Second, I just couldn’t connect to the forming romance enough to root for them or to care much about whether or not they ended up together. Because of this, I’d say this is more of a 4.5/5 rating, but it’s such an important and underrepresented subject matter that it deserves the hype.All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to Katherine Tegen Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!You can find this review and more on my blog, or you can follow me on twitter, bookstagram, or facebook!

Audiobook narrated by Michael Crouch Every once in a while I listen to a voice that I think is so darn good I have to look up the person. Michael Crouch was terrific AS WAS THIS BOOK!A few words about Michael Crouch first ( he is the narrator for the character named Michael, too, in “Heretics Anonymous”). Michael Crouch -specializes in narration that requires youthful sound - (pre-teens to early 30s) — predominately literary fiction, young adult, and middle school. Boy....the guy is a natural!!!!!I just learned that Crouch is also the voice narrator for Patrick Ness’s new young adult book,“Release”,.... so now I know which format I’d like to choose.His voice goes right to your soul.....and I look forward to hearing him read again. ABOUT THE BOOK...( my thoughts)... LOVED IT! I’m a person who watched “The Breakfast Club” a half dozen times....(my kids loved it - their friends- who didn’t like it?)....Well, if they make a movie of “Heretics Anonymous”.....I’m guessing it will be a great hit with both teens and adults This story takes place - primarily at Saint Clares’s Private Catholic High school. The school has many strict policies. Each of the five kids we connect with - follow in this story each come from varied backgrounds. Heretics Anonymous is kinda a support group - a club for people who think a little different. “ people who have beliefs, but not the right kind”. Or..... “ they might believe in God, yet some of the other beliefs might not match up”. At their meetings they discuss unfair policies at the school knowing that they can’t change them... but discussing topics such as sexual beliefs- religious beliefs - family life - personal issues - church rules....and the hypocrisy of many of the staff officials. In time — this group takes more action against the school....think of Breaking and entering......School begins to change - and they begin to change.....Michael is new to the school - the new member —( he has had to move 4 times with his family and we learned that he doesn’t or hasn’t in the past made friends easy). He’s also an atheist. He’s so happy just to be included in a group - have friends - with a crush on Lucy to boot- he’s happy to join the club). Michael is also narrating this story. Lucy is a Catholic...bright - also a feminist who has put her teachers to the test a few times with her sharp mind. Avi is Jewish - semi observant -and Gay Eden - is paganMax - the leading dress code delinquent of the group - doesn’t care about following the dress code: ( think vampire type Cloaks). I don’t want to spoil this story — but it’s really very intelligent - very creative- important messages - very humorous - very thought-provoking - with WONDERFUL CHARACTERS ....and very heartwarming enjoyable!This is an outstanding debut novel by Katie Henry. I look forward to her next book.

4.5 starsThis is one of the most heartwarming and delightful books I've read in a long time. It's another shameful episode of "I know I'm going to love this book, but I'll still wait years to pick it up", why do I do this to myself? But I'm glad I read it now.I know this book is not for everyone, religion is a very controversial and delicate topic, especially if looked at from the perspective of an atheist main character. I'm very lucky to be able to say that for me that's one of the reasons why I loved this book. I grew up in a very Catholic family and right now I find it very unjust that I was forced to believe in something right after my birth, without my consent, and that I had to continue to practice that belief when I barely had the age to understand what I was getting into. I spent all my high school time trying to secretly reject everything that was taught to me about Catholicism. I vividly remember asking my religion teacher in front of the entire class, why shouldn't I believe in Zeus and believe in god instead? If one is fake, how can you say the other one isn't as well? I kind of regret putting her in that position, but also not really lol. After a while I stopped going to her class altogether, but my parents had no idea. I've been an atheist for many years now, and while my parents are not that strict as before, I still have to fake with the rest of my family. All that to make you understand how much I related to this book.Micheal and Lucy's relationship was the most cute and authentic ever. The friend group was special. They believe in different things, but the fact that they understand each other no matter what made my day. My heart was so warm and cozy after that ending, I didn't want to resurface from the book anymore. This book is literally what my life philosophy would look like in book form. Let people believe in what they want, let people choose what they want to do with their life.I love that this book was narrated by Micheal, he was both incredibly funny and a breath of fresh air after all the YA I've read with a female pov. Every page made me laugh out loud, and I really needed that. The audiobook definitely made me love Micheal more, the narrator was fantastic and had the perfect voice for his character. I completely identified with Micheal and if that's not a win I don't know what is.While this book is super funny, it also tackles a lot of issues at the same time, but in a lighthearted way and it WORKS.If you decide to read this book, I will tell you, the cutest thing you'll ever encounter is Max and his cape. Me the first time he appeared:

Entertaining and engaging from the start! I loved the characters and their relationships and particularly enjoyed the dialogue throughout. Religion was part of the novel and I learnt a few things. However to me the novel was more about belonging and friendship, which the author portrayed beautifully.

This has restored my faith in YA contemporary. Full RTC!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and very enjoyable.As someone who is studying a Religion minor, this book was very informative. There were things that I haven't learnt yet but they were discussed in here. I do highly recommend you read this

this was SO GOOD that I feel like it’s unfair to any other YA books about religion, you know? because it gets it. it reminds you that educating yourself about religion and understanding it is different than actually believing in it. it pushes this message that we are all capable of loving each other, because that’s the core of every religion.we *can* get along. and im so...like, this makes so much sense to me. the entire part where he tells Lucy that his church is her? that hit me in such a real way. because when i pray to the portraits of the Hindu gods in my home, I don’t do it because I believe in them. I do it because I believe in my mother and the amount of faith she has in them. so I pray to her, for her, more than anything.god I JUST LOVED THIS BOOK PLEASE READ IT

Yes yes yes! Five stars!I'm an atheist, but I don't look down on religion. This book spoke to my soul! Every person can believe, or not believe, as they wish. As long as you do no harm, carry on!

(Full disclosure, I taught the author for 2-1/2 of her four years in high school. I am mentioned in the acknowledgements. Neither of these factors have determined my rating of this book. It's really really good.)There is so much to enjoy in this book, whether one is a drifted Catholic such as myself or not. Henry writes a novel about community and friendship and, well, what it means to be Catholic (or to subscribe to any faith) in this day and age. Don't let the YA appellation fool you. HA for everyone who either is a teenager or who remembers what it was to be a teenager.That, and ANY book that references Judges 19 is a book worthy of reading.I do have a theory about the end of the novel. I have told the author I have a theory about the end of the novel. But I will not divulge it here. Just know - HA is a keeper.