I really enjoyed this, but the number of things that happened in such a short amount of time seemed unrealistic.

A delightful, thought-provoking read about a 1960s high school girl who accidentally gets pregnant and travels to the American South with a beloved teacher to get an abortion.

During this weekend, the sheltered, religious main character gets an education in the civil rights movements and how love can look different than she has been taught it should.

The pacing was excellent, and the book is laugh out loud at many points. I enjoyed the supportive relationship between the teen main character and her trusted teacher. Many civil rights leaders are featured as characters in the book, and that gave it a time travel feeling -- readers could be right there as history was being made.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

THESE HEATHENS was a quick romp through a few days in the beginning of the civil rights movement told through the eyes of high schooler Doris Steele (based on the author’s grandmother). Her search for an abortion in the Jim
Crow south leads her to Atlanta with a beloved English teacher and there, she her world widens in many different ways.

I think this would be a really good book for young woman to learn more about this moment in history and what it was like for Black girls in the south in the 1960s. The author made it accessible, authentic and fun to read with great characters (and amazing historical cameos)! I really enjoyed this one.

The story was fine, but way too much was crammed into 48 hours and the plot felt scattered. Heavy on LGBTQ and abortion themes, which overshadowed the main story for me. Not terrible, but definitely not my kind of read.

It took me a while to read this book, but once I finally was able to dig in, I throughly enjoyed it. As someone that grew up religious and had to deconstruct my belief system this really resonated with me and helped me connect to Doris. Watching her shift her mindset over the course of a few days was so inspiring. This was so beautifully written.

I don’t know how to write a review to do this book justice! It had me hooked from the beginning with a combination of humour, intrigue and, honestly, je ne sais quoi! As in Skye Falling (which I am now eager to re-read!), the author makes difficult realities feel, well real! And raises questions about those difficulties in ways that feel smooth and part of the narrative. She does it in a way that makes it all matter of fact. I get why some people see that as being a bit surface level but I found that it felt absolutely authentic to Doris, who I just loved spending time with, right on! I wish I could explain better why I thought this book was so good but I just found myself rapt beginning to end and laughing out loud or gasping semi-regularly. I ended up listening to the audiobook and the narration was excellent.

Wow, this was such an expected surprise! 170 pages, expertly crafted around one wild weekend in Atlanta. I can't even explain why I loved this so much, but it wove in so much life and pain and light - all from the POV of a judgemental yet self-aware and curious main character.

Doris Steele, our narrator, is a 17-year-old churchgoing pregnant girl, traveling with her favorite former teacher to take care of a very important errand. It goes off the rails quickly as we're introduced to the teacher's secret life and eccentric friendships. (One of which is Coretta Scott King who's married to Martin... maybe you've heard of him?)

Just read it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy. (I also just realized I have one of the author's books unread on my office shelf, so I'll be reading it soon too.)

This book is well-written with interesting characters, but I never got hooked. I think this is because the protagonist was the least interesting character to me. I was much more engaged when the story was about the queer women struggling with queerness in the 1960s South, long lost love, and grappling with the choices they had made in their lives. I’d be interested in a novel that dove more into their perspectives. The historical fiction aspect that included the protagonists interactions with MLK and Coretta Scott King never felt authentic to me. I should say to be fair that I am not much of a historical fiction person. Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I do think a lot of people would enjoy it. I think the most important part of this novel is seeing how a Black woman navigates exerting her bodily autonomy in a Pre-Roe Georgia.

How is this book not getting more attention? It is SO good! Mia McKenzie is such a talented writer. I absolutely adored the narrator, Doris Steele, who we meet living in rural Georgia in 1960 at seventeen. She was forced to quit school as a sophomore to help her family. She finds herself pregnant and wants not to be and reaches out to her former teacher.

Her teacher offers to help her and off they go on a whirlwind weekend in Atlanta, where Doris encounters affluent black families and those taking part in the civil rights movement. Having come from a small town, Doris has always felt stifled by the lack of opportunities and the obligations to her family. Despite living in the Jim Crow south, she finally sees a life filled with possibilities for a young woman who is clever and ambitious.

McKenzie has such a way with words. The characters are so alive, crackling with energy and heart. Even ancillary characters in the novel are given backstories and complexity. Though the subject matter was heavy at times, there were so many laugh out loud moments in this book. Doris is so sharp and funny, I was sad for this book to end!

Thank you, Random House, and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. I started reading it, about four chapters in, I stopped and immediately placed an order for this book! I knew, even before I was finished, that this would be one of my favorite books this year.

I love being in Doris's head, hearing her thoughts; she is a hoot! Doris is a religious girl, and sometimes can judge those around her who don't live up to what she believes are good Christian values. But she finds herself pregnant, and goes to her favorite teacher for help. A trip to Atlanta forever changes her life! And changes her view of just who is or is not a heathen!

This book is a page turner, easy to read, and well written. It was enjoyable watching Doris grow. This story is a study on how a change in environment, different perspectives, can lead to growth, tolerance, and finding oneself.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. Glad I bought a copy!
Highly recommended read!
4.75 Stars Overall!

Mia McKenzie has quickly become one of my auto-read queer authors - this book was phenomenal! I am not a big historical fiction person, but I am so glad I picked this up anyway. This story was sharp and important and so immersive, I loved it.

It took me awhile to get into the story, but once I did I found the story engaging. These Heathens is set in the 1960's where segregation is a way of life in Millen, GA and the South in general. Doris Steele is 17 years old, pregnant and desperate to NOT be pregnant. With few options, she turns to her favourite teacher for help. She ends up spending 48 hours in Atlanta learning a whole lot about life, love and the KKK that doesn't mesh with her religious upbringing. This book is at times hilarious and disturbing but always thought provoking. A recommended read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Published: June 17, 2025
#TheseHeathens
#NetGalley

The narrator’s voice grabs hold immediately, and what a tale she has to tell! In small-town Georgia in 1960, Doris Steele, a Black seventeen-year-old, had dropped out of school two years ago to care for her family after her Ma got sick. She’s pregnant and can’t support a baby, but the local midwives who perform abortions know her parents, so she turns to her former teacher, Mrs. Lucas, for help. Mrs. Lucas has a rich childhood friend in Atlanta who offers to arrange for the procedure, and what Doris sees there takes this Bible-raised teenager way out of her comfort zone. At Mrs. Sylvia Broussard’s home, Doris hardly knows what to think. Mrs. Broussard wears pants and red lipstick and talks frankly about sex. She’s also an atheist. Mrs. Lucas appears to be a non-believer, too, which Doris can’t fathom; Doris knows she goes to church!

Speaking with honesty and cheeky humor – she crafts witty phrases she jots in a notebook – Doris is irresistibly appealing. She’s not wholly innocent, but not worldly either, and over the course of one whirlwind weekend, she socializes with Mrs. Broussard’s friends (including Coretta Scott King and her cousin Julia, a famous singer) and attends a student workshop on nonviolent activism. With her medical appointment weighing on her mind, Doris gets introduced to a secret community of queer women, and although she’s not gay, she has many curious questions about how that all works. She also starts pondering her relationship with God, who created a more interesting world than she ever realized, and how much she owes to her upbringing versus her own desires. With its well-crafted historical atmosphere that emphasizes Black women’s choices in the Civil Rights-era South and the importance of joyful spaces in a repressive world, this is a winning coming-of-age story full of personality and zing.

Published in the Historical Novels Review, August 2025.

These Heathens is a vibrant, funny, feminist coming-of-age story. This book tells the story of Doris and her journey to claim her autonomy as a black teenager in the 1960’s south. Full of heart and humor, These Heathens is a page-turner that will not leave you disappointed.

Who knew one of my favorite (if not favorite) books of the year would be historical fiction?? Not me!!

These Heathens follows Doris, a seventeen-year-old taking care of her family in 1960s rural Georgia who travels alongside her favorite teacher to Atlanta to get an abortion and finds herself wrapped up in the civil rights movement and the Black queer community.

Doris is such an exciting main character - she is bold- not afraid to question her beliefs as well as others; she is hilarious- her prayers and comments made me laugh out loud; and she is a dreamer- hoping for something more from her life. At 27 years old, I still found myself thinking wow, I want to be like her one day. She learns to not feel guilty about what she wants from life and that, even if she has obligations thrust upon her, it's what she wants most that matters in the end.

The complicated relationships and drama between Mrs. Lucas, Miss Julia, and Mrs. Broussard as queer Black women in the 1960s was beautifully done. I cannot express how much I loved their dynamic. On top of this, the dichotomy between Dexter's nonviolent/upfront and Erik's violent/discreet approach to the civil rights movement was very eye opening not just for Doris but for me as a reader. I felt it was fascinating for the character of Doris to see both sides during her time in Atlanta and to use that knowledge to further her understanding of her place in the world.

I truly am not a fan of historical fiction, so this took me by surprise! Reading about Doris's introduction to not only the Black queer communities of the 1960s but also the civil rights movement from both the violent and nonviolent perspective meant that I just couldn't put it down. When I wasn't reading These Heathens, I was thinking about reading it. Or telling my friends to add it to their TBR lol.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC. I am so grateful! 5/5 stars!!

I received this one as an ARC (Thanks Random House & Net Galley!), but I picked the audiobook up through the library.

This book was just fantastic. There was so much: history, adventure, coming-of-age… I love the main character. I could not put this one down!

I’m a huge fan of historical fiction, and I was absolutely blown away by my first book by this author. The story is set in the 1960s and follows the life of 17-year-old Doris, a high school dropout living in a small southern town. After her mom gets sick, Doris has to drop out of school to help raise her siblings and take care of the house.

Doris ends up pregnant but doesn’t want to keep the baby. The book never tells us who the father is, which makes it even more mysterious. Doris decides to get an abortion in Atlanta, where she discovers a whole new world. She meets people who are gay, racist, and sexist, but she also finds people who accept her for who she is.

The book talks about religion a bit, but it’s all part of the story. It’s funny, smart, and really thought provoking. I loved the book and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of the book. The opinions in this review are my own.

Mia McKenzie packs So Much into this book; it's amazing! She weaves together numerous events and famous (and lesser known) people and groups from the Civil Rights movement alongside her main character, and packs the action into a matter of a few days. Her characters are real and compelling, fascinating and infuriating. Her sense of place is impeccable, and she contrasts 1960s Atlanta and "the rest of Georgia" beautifully. The book felt a bit jarring at times due to the sheer scope of everything McKenzie managed to fit in this book, but for the most part it flows well.

3.5 stars. These Heathens has a lot to offer. Set in 1960 Atlanta, it tells a story that centers Black women and Black queer women when the reality was the exact opposite. This coming of age story brings 17-year old Doris to Atlanta to get an abortion and weaves throughout, with humor, history and commentary about race, gender, class and religion. The things that worked for me about this really did. In particular, I loved how she made SNCC and Julia Avery come alive. There were enough things that felt a bit forced and took me out of the story, especially in the middle, for it to not completely be successful as a reading experience but I look forward to keeping an eye out for other books by this author in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for an advanced reader’s copy.

These Heathens by Mia McKenzie just might be the best book iI’ve read this year. It is a tale of a whirlwind weekend of Doris, a bright, but sheltered, pregnant teenager and the people she meets when she ventures to Atlanta in search of a solution to her problem.