Skye Falling was one of my favorite books in 2021 so I was super excited to see that Mia McKenzie had a new book coming out and this one did not disappoint. From early in the book I was so invested in the characters and I loved how she wove together so many social issues seamlessly while still feeling readable and interesting.

This book right here? Whew. These Heathens had me in a chokehold from the first page to the last. Mia McKenzie’s writing is so vivid and real, I felt like I was right there, like I could hear every word, feel every emotion, and breathe in every moment she wrote. It’s like she reached out of the pages, grabbed my hand, and pulled me into the story.

The characters are messy, raw, and unforgettable in the best way. I love how she doesn’t sugarcoat anything. She writes about Blackness, queerness, pain, and rage with so much honesty and power. And the humor? Dark and perfectly timed. I found myself laughing one minute and feeling gut-punched the next.

Mia McKenzie really did her thing with this one. It’s one of those books that lingers long after you finish. Highly, highly recommend.

This was so good! I didn’t go in with any expectations but I think this was a timely read given the current political situation

These Heathens follows 17 year old Doris in 1960 as she travels from her small town to Atlanta seeking an abortion. There she stays with her teacher and her teacher's wealthy friend, Sylvia. Over the course of that weekend while she waits for her procedure, Doris meets political activists, atheists, queer women, and others who challenge the way she has always thought about life. By the end of the weekend, Doris is altogether changed from the girl she was before she left her hometown.

This book was written in such an interesting way. It's a great coming of age tale, but it takes place almost entirely during one weekend of Doris's life. Although the book has male characters, it's mostly focused on the lives of the female characters. It focuses a lot on the choices that women have to make and the ways they find to circumvent the very rigid expectations that are placed on them.

This is a quick read and although it's pretty heavy content, Doris provides a lot of levity with her turns of phrase and witty observations.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

These Heathens by Mia McKenzie offers an interesting mix of experiences during a transformative weekend in Atlanta in the 1960s. The story centers on Doris Steele, a 17-year-old Black girl who is pregnant and determined not to keep the baby. Accompanied by her former teacher, Mrs. Lucas, Doris travels to Atlanta to seek an abortion.

Initially, Doris comes across as narrow-minded and opinionated, firmly rooted in her religious upbringing and unafraid to voice her beliefs, even if they offend others. Her naivety is evident, stemming from her limited exposure to diverse perspectives. However, as the weekend unfolds, Doris encounters individuals with vastly different views and lifestyles, causing her to reassess her notions of right and wrong.

Throughout the story, Doris's journey is marked by significant growth. She moves from making assumptions about the unfamiliar to becoming more tolerant and open-minded. This shift shows the power of experiencing "life" beyond one's comfort zone.

These Heathens delves into themes of racism, the rise of activism in the Jim Crow South, religion, and sexuality. The inclusion of key high society Black figures from the era enriches the story, providing an exciting backdrop to Doris's personal transformation

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

#TheseHeathens, #MiaMcKenzie, #NetGalley, #PenguinRandomHouse

I want to hug this book so hard I absolutely loved it. Set in the 1960s in the deep Jim Crow south, Doris finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, poor and with nowhere to turn.

With the help of an old teacher, she makes her way to Atlanta to have an abortion and while there, had the opportunity to see a whole new world outside of her small, forgettable town. It’s a story of love, loss and opening our eyes to more than what we’ve been taught.

Dnf at 50%. I really liked the start of this novel but it just went into a direction with detail that I lost interest in.

Such an interesting book from a unique perspective - a refreshing change of pace! I loved the setting and the real characters that pop up here and there. I would have loved to know more about what the MC did with her life, but sometimes a little mystery is good.

This book was so good I kept turning the pages and devoured the whole thing in one day. The characters are incredibly endearing and the pacing is perfect. While the subject matter was serious - unwanted pregnancy, racism, misogyny, sexual orientation, and religion - the story was told with a huge dose of humanity and humor. I loved these characters and was totally engrossed in their story. I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced reader copy.

I devoured this in 2 days. I’ve read 26 five-star books so far this year and this is in my top 3! I received a free e-copy from the publisher via NetGalley. I will def re-read via audiobook especially since it’s narrated by Bahni Turpin, who narrated one of my all-time favorites, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. (I’ll also be buying a hard copy to annotate to death.)

This story has important conversations around sexuality, bodily autonomy, race, activism, the patriarchy, and discrimination, delivered in a readable, digestible, and approachable way. Mia McKenzie developed Doris and the rest of her dynamic characters with a voice so original and honest that I couldn’t help but compare the writing to Demon Copperhead or The Goldfinch: all three novels being perfect examples of novels that would only work in 1st person POV.

I’m very excited to explore McKenzie’s backlist.

Really liked this perspective. Thought it was super interesting the weaving of fiction and true story elements.

These Heathens has a lot going on for a relatively slim book. I'm not sure I was the target audience, and I'm not sure all the ideas worked well for me as one cohesive story- but I liked the attempt. I would hand this to someone interested in the American South during the Civil Rights movement, and for its strong depiction that is still needed today in terms of individual freedom to be and become who we want to be. But there was an awful lot going on in one weekend for our heroine!

This was a super quick read set in Georgia in 1960. Doris is seventeen and dropped out of high school 2 years ago to care for her sick mother. When she learns she is pregnant she asks her former favorite high school teacher to help her get an abortion, and the two take a weekend trip to Atlanta. In these few days, Doris is exposed to several new things that expand her worldview dramatically - wealthy black people, gay people and the civil rights movement in action. She also meets some real figures from history including Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King. This is a very good book, entertaining the whole way through and Doris is a very endearing character. My only criticism is that it is too short. We are cramming A LOT into less than 300 pages and there is barely room to breathe, let alone for Doris to process all these events and experiences. Having said that, it still works. I think in a lesser author’s hand it might seem ridiculous to pack so much in so quickly but the author does a great job and conveys some deep and powerful stuff in a way that never feels heavy-handed. The tone remains light and it is actually frequently funny. I think most readers will be charmed by Doris and enjoy spending this time with her.

This novel broaches heavy topics–abortion, segregation, white supremacy, homophobia–with a sweetness you wouldn’t expect. By offering readers a narrator whose voice is full dry humor, sarcasm, and wit, McKenzie succeeds in striking this difficult balance. I loved it!

I loved this book. These Heathens follows 17-year-old Doris, a sharp, sassy, church-going Black girl in 1960s rural Georgia who rarely gets to make decisions for herself. But when her teacher takes her to Atlanta for an abortion, a weekend away turns into a life-changing experience. Doris starts to see that the world—and her life—can be so much bigger than she thought.

Mia McKenzie does a fantastic job centering women, especially Black women, in a time when their choices were so limited. The characters are deep and real, and the story is funny, bold, and incredibly moving. It dives into civil rights, radical politics, queer Black life, and the power of unlearning what you've always been taught—all without feeling heavy.

There are a few loose ends in the plot that felt a bit frustrating, but honestly, that didn’t take away from how powerful and enjoyable this book is.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC—I feel lucky to have read this one early!

In the summer of 1960, Doris, a 17 year old black girl from a small rural town in Georgia finds herself pregnant. She asks her favorite teacher for help and the two travel to Atlanta for an abortion. There Doris learns about black society, from sexuality to social justice, sit ins to brushes with the KKK. Her path even crosses Reverend and Mrs King on the trip. In one weekend, her eyes are open to the world and all that she can be.

Despite the heavy topics, this is a story of friendship and finding one’s own joy. I really enjoyed the story.

These Heathens by Mia McKenzie

5 stars
272 Pages
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Random House, Random House
Release Date: June 17, 2025

Fiction (Adult), General Fiction (Adult), Historical, 1960s, Civil Rights, Abortion, LGBTQIA+

Doris Steele is 17 years old and pregnant in 1960. She lives in a small town in Georgia and wants more out of life. She asks her former teacher, Katie Lucas, if she can help. Katie plans for the two of them to travel to Atlanta and stay at a friend’s house. When they arrive, Doris notices the tension between Katie and her friend, Sylvia Bouchard. Silva arranged for a doctor to perform the abortion the following morning; however, when morning comes, there are a series of delays. This gives Doris the opportunity to attend a nonviolent conference. While there, she meets Mrs. Coretta Scott King and Dr. martin Luther King.

The story has a steady pace, the characters are well developed, and it is written in the first-person point of view. The author brought the characters to life with the insertion of real historical events. If you like historical fiction around the civil rights movement or reproductive rights, you will enjoy reading this book.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.


This book was an amazing historical fiction story. It took a really tough topic and added depth and made it intriguing.

The FMC entered the story as a very judgemental churchy type person but as the story continues you can see the shift of her person and the growth which I really liked. All in all this was a great story.

I love everything about this book! The characters, the story, the writing style, the humor, the dialog. I’m going to be recommending this book to everyone I know.

4.25 stars: McKenzie managed to introduce us to several multi-dimensional characters, at the same time she introduced her main protagonist Doris to them, in a novel that took place over just a few days. Despite the book covering the very heavy topics of racism, sexism, homophobia, and reproductive rights (before Roe v Wade), it never felt heavy-handed. Intersectionality is not something that a lot of authors can do well, especially in historical fiction, but McKenzie's writing handled it with ease, and in under 300 pages!

I initially thought that the evolution of Doris could have, in no way, happened so quickly, but she is 17 and it was her first experience outside of the little Georgia town and church she was so sheltered in. Her world was cracked open by the women she met on her journey in a way that felt genuine and sincere. I truly appreciated the strong, but nuanced female characters in this story and especially enjoyed the humor with which McKenzie portrayed them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC and for introducing me to a new author that I may have otherwise not picked up!