"These Heathens" follows a teenage girl from rural Georgia, Doris, as she travels to Atlanta to seek an abortion in the 1960s. In Atlanta, she meets more affluent African Americans, queer individuals, and professional women who are all involved in various levels of activism. The experiences are lifechanging for Doris, and her hopes and dreams for her own life begin to shift and expand.

I loved the way that the author incorporated so many famous figures, Atlanta neighborhoods, and historical actions (SNCC, sit-ins, etc.) into the book. The witty inner monologues from Doris were so well crafted, and it helped the reader recognize how much Doris was a product of her time and place. This book was absolutely captivating, and I finished this in a day. I just wished this book were ~50 pages longer, so some of the storylines could be further developed.

Set in Atlanta in the 60s, we follow Doris as she discovers the world of black activism all while trying to find an abortion provider. The author put a note at the end that the story was based on the life of her grandmother and I just want to know, which parts? There were so many "behind the scenes" moments that I'm curious to know what was fact and what was fiction. Either way, such a compelling read that really draws you into that world.

Doris Steele hated having to drop out of school when her mother got sick, but who else would take care of her? Her brothers were too young, her father had to work, and despite knowing nearly everyone in their rural Georgia town, everyone has plenty of their own business to tend to. Doris accepted this as part of life, but when she realized she'd gotten pregnant, something had to change.

After asking her favorite teacher, Mrs. Lucas, for help, Doris finds herself swept away to Atlanta for the weekend in hopes of getting an abortion that her hometown wouldn't find out about. For being just a few hours from home, 1960s Atlanta feels like a different world. As Doris reels through a crash course on the civil rights movement, wealthy living, and women who love other women as a semi-open secret, she begins to wonder if there's more for her than her small town can hold.

It's very satisfying to have the focus squarely on women throughout These Heathens, especially as it's so common to center on men in civil rights era stories . McKenzie really nailed Doris' voice; it's honest and immediately recognizable. Doris' growth through the short span of the novel is paced to feel very believable. Doris is very religious, and as she interacts with the titular heathens, McKenzie lets us in on Doris' mind coming to grips with the conflicts of what the Bible says and what is presented in front of her eyes. There are a few fun historical beats that are well place and don't leave a sense of being cheesy or shoehorned in as a lesson.

A stunning look at one young woman’s journey through teen pregnancy. This book is harrowing and thoroughly researched.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of These Heathens by Mia McKenzie. I was hooked from the start. Doris is a vivid, fully developed character whose voice drives the novel with raw honesty. Her choice to get an abortion is handled with care and depth, showing her finding both her voice and her autonomy in a world that offers her little beyond being a housewife.

The other women in this book are equally compelling, with layered, realistic relationships. I loved seeing queer stories in historical fiction, the side of history we so rarely get to read. McKenzie gives these erased voices space and weight, making this a necessary, powerful addition to the genre.

Excellent from beginning to end. *These Heathens* pulled me in within the first pages and held my attention; I didn’t want to stop reading this and stayed up waaaaaay too late one night to just keep turning the pages.

A shorter book that will make you think, this is a coming of age historical fiction set in 1960 in the South and the story addresses civil rights, queer identity, and religion told in the voice of a young Black woman, Doris, who is 17 years old and in need of an abortion.

This was my first time reading Ms McKenzie’s work and I will definitely read more. Strongly recommended.



Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the DRC

My only complaint about this book is that I would have liked to read 200 more pages. There were so many fascinating elements to the story and I haven't read anything like it before. Relevant historical fiction.

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for this advance copy!

This is an incredible novel of a black woman in 1960s Georgia who wants an abortion. Her search for an abortion takes her to Atlanta for a wild weekend, where she ends up in the path of the Kings, the Klan, and a variety of queer people striving to live. I loved how real Doris felt, how unsure she was about her life, but how sure she was about her needs and choices. Doris is handling so much in her life and while she might have been mature in all parts of her life, she shows incredible maturity in knowing what she doesn't want. The other characters float in and out of the story at just the right time. At times it felt like too many characters, but the author does a great job of keeping the story going at a good pace. This novel apologized for nothing and is better for it.

I really enjoyed These Heathens. The beginning was a little slow, but once Doris got to Atlanta, things moved more quickly and the pacing settled. Weaving the real people into the plot worked well, and I really enjoyed a side of wealthy Black Atlantans that we don’t read much about. This was a pretty quick read, too. I would recommend!

A short but sweet historical novel that addresses broad social issues of the 1960s while confining itself to the events of a single weekend in the life of Doris, a “nice church girl” from rural Georgia who visits Atlanta in pursuit of an abortion.

When Doris Steele discovers she’s pregnant, she immediately knows she must “get rid of it,” as sinful as that would be. She seeks the help of her favorite teacher Mrs Lucas, though she hasn’t been in school for two years due to family obligations. Doris and Mrs Lucas travel to Atlanta where a friend of Mrs Lucas has promised to use her connections to help Doris receive an abortion.

In Atlanta, confronted with the realities of the civil rights movement, of other Black people living lives very different than her own, of homosexuality, in comparison to her old-fashioned religious upbringing , Doris starts to see the contradictions inherent in the way she was taught that “through god all things are possible.” If that were true, why do her own options feel so limited?

The author uses the contrast between the young activists that Doris meets and the older, rich friends of her teacher to illustrate the different perspectives that came into conflict during the civil rights movement. Because this novel is categorized as “new adult” in genre, I can forgive some of the heavy-handedness in the way the author is conveying this important period of history through the eyes of a naïve teenager, but it did all feel rather conveniently packaged into one very eventful weekend. For instance, Doris just happens to literally bump into Martin Luther King, Jr at a party. However, the novel deftly addresses some of the most important questions of the time— can non-violence effect change or is armed resistance necessary? And what is the role of women in a social movement, in an entire world, dominated by men?

Throughout Doris’s weekend in Atlanta, she encounters so many individuals who expand her worldview and she even receives a job offer, but her unwanted pregnancy looms large. None of the dazzling possibilities the future holds are relevant if she has to go back to her hometown and have this baby.

I think this would be a great book for a younger reader and while I didn’t take quite as much from it as I had hoped, it was a very charming and well-structured coming-of-age novel that offers a unique perspective on an important period of history. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to be an early reader of this title, available now!

"These Heathens" offers a fresh and important perspective on the Civil Rights Movement, told through the eyes of Doris, a teenage Black girl from a poor, rural town in the South. Her weekend trip to Atlanta exposes her to a very different world—one filled with wealthy Black families, queer communities, and political activism.

I appreciated how the novel explores class and cultural differences within the Black community, especially Doris’s discomfort and curiosity as she navigates spaces so different from her own. The story touches on major issues like abortion access, the split between non-violent and combative civil rights strategies, and the hidden lives of queer Black people in the 1960s.

At times, the plot dragged and felt thin, which was frustrating, but the characters and themes were strong enough to keep me engaged. I especially liked how the story centered Black women in all their diversity—young and old, rich and poor, gay and straight.

Overall, this is a unique and thought-provoking read that shines a light on parts of history we don’t often see.

Sometimes, a singular experience can be life-changing. These Heathens is an excellent example of how one weekend can alter the trajectory of a person's life. There was so much to unpack and think about in this novel. On the one hand, it explores somber themes (1960-era abortion, civil rights, Black culture, and lesbian relationships), yet it also features light-hearted, fun moments. I found the book to be well-paced, and I finished it in a couple of days. If you enjoy mid-20th-century period literature, put this book at the top of your pile. I read a lot of this genre, and this book was 100% original.
Book clubs will find a wealth of material to explore. I'll be recommending it to mine.

Many thanks to NetGalley for gifting me an ebook in exchange for a review.

Mia McKenzie doesn’t miss. These Heathens follows Doris, a young Black woman living in 1960s rural Georgia, whose life up until this point has been defined by care-taking for her family, especially an ailing mother. After an unplanned pregnancy and certainty that she does not want to keep it, Doris seeks the help of a former teacher who brings her to Atlanta. Doris is quickly immersed in city life, including the chance to attend a SNCC conference. From political possibilities to learning about the secret queer community of Atlanta’s Black elite, Doris begins to question her beliefs and imagine a life that centers her.

McKenzie does character development so well; I was fully invested in each person in the story, and delighted by the appearance of several historical figures. The opening of Doris’s heart, mind and personal imagination felt true—she works to reshape herself in ways that align with asserting her own power.

Gritty, visceral, and deeply personal. McKenzie pulls no punches in a novel that challenges and provokes. The voice is fierce and unforgettable, though the nonlinear structure may challenge some readers. A raw, unforgettable experience.

Mia McKenzie created such a rich world to live in with These Heathens. Dorris offered the reader such a poignant window into a specific slice of life that managed to capture the mood of the early 60s with precision. Despite only following Dorris story over the course of a weekend, McKenzie managed to create a kind of magic portal to a particular moment of history and filled that space with beautiful, complex characters. From Dorris to Cate; Julia to Sylvia; Dexter to Erik to Pearl, I fell in love with each character we met. I flew through this book, and if I had one critique, it would be that I fell in love with the world McKenzie created and was sad to leave it at the end of the novel. I would love to live in this universe longer and perhaps see this world through other character's eyes.

This was a quick and entertaining read that I finished in a few hours.
A well written story that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
The characters draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.
The characters were all realistic and very well developed.
I really enjoyed the writing style. I found myself hooked, turning the pages.

There is a lot to like about this one! Smart, very Black and queer and set during a fascinating time. And it wasn’t just centered on Black hardships (though they are mentioned, obviously). I thought the storyline was a little thin in areas but I also really loved what the author had to say. A really thought provoking story.

This is a great coming of age story that follows Doris and her journey in Atlanta doing one weekend. I enjoyed this as it was very thought provoking and explores racism, sexism, sexuality and a host of other things. This is a new to me author and I’m glad I was able to check this one out.

These Heathens is a masterful, hilarious story about religion, self discovery, and making the best choice for yourself even when you've been conditioned to distrust your mind, intuition, and desires. When 17 year old Doris becomes pregnant in 1960s small town Georgia, her journey to Atlanta for a safe place to get an abortion results in a weekend spent learning about the world outside of her sheltered existence. Among the quietly-guarded yet publicly-facing civil rights activists, speakers, and thought leaders of that time hides a thriving queer community in plain sight. They live artistic, full lives, free from the burden that religion has placed on Doris' shoulders her entire life, and among this band of "heathens" she begins to see her situation less as a sin that she should be forever shamed for, and more as an opportunity to learn to live life on her terms.

One of my favorite parts of this story was Doris' narrative voice. Even though she is still a child, she has been parentified by her parents and siblings, after stepping up after her mother falls ill. It felt like she was participating in adult experiences but through a childlike gaze, rarely having agency over herself, her body, or actions. Like many other girls in this era, she's been conditioned to believe that she exists for the benefit of her family, and, eventually, to be second to a man for the rest of her life. Even though Doris was immature, she slowly becomes a woman over this extended weekend, daring to do things she'd never do back home. Under the supervision of her favorite and most trusted teacher from high school, Doris encounters a lively queer community Doris had no idea her beloved teacher was part of.

I really love historical fiction that folds important icons and figures from Black history into the narrative, but something about the way the Kings were written here felt authentic to how they are always depicted in media and uniquely beautiful at the same time. Here we get to hear about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King's true progressivism that isn't part of the mainstream historical recounting of their existence, especially as it pertains to reproductive choice and maintaining close relationships with queer members of society.

This was beautifully-written, and though the pacing lagged in the third quarter of the novel, the end more than made up for it.

4.75 ⭐️s

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!

What a wonderful, important book. This book is a coming-of-age novel about Doris Steele, a young Black teenager living in Georgia in 1960. She gets pregnant and knows that she does not want and is not able to take care of a child. Her favorite teacher tries to help her go to Atlanta to get an abortion. While there, Doris meets all sorts of interesting people, including Martin Luther King Jr. While struggling to actually get her abortion, she learns a great deal about the civil rights movement. Doris has a wonderful and funny voice, which prevents the book from becoming too difficult to read, while bringing forward many social issues, not just the civil rights movement, abortion rights and gender rights. Moreover, the ultimate discussion centers on this, which applies to every single human being without exception: what do we need to do for other people and what do we owe to ourselves and what happens when those things intersect. I am torn between reading the other two novels this author has written and leaving well enough alone because it is hard for me to think that they are better.
Thanks to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my unbiased opinion.