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lolitasasha's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
hannahk22's review against another edition
4.0
this review is dedicated to the priest who almost ran me and my friend over in his red mazda right before mass. it was a religion affirming experience
i would like to preface this by saying i am not religious at all, but like michael, i go to a catholic school and it was a massive adjustment.
i would like to preface this by saying i am not religious at all, but like michael, i go to a catholic school and it was a massive adjustment.
thebookberrie's review against another edition
2.0
This was fine, I don't know why anyone has called it funny though, it was so much teenage angst and I didn't even chuckle once.
Heretics Anonymous is a boy named Michael who is an atheist and starting at a strict Catholic school. The first thing Michael wants is a friend so when he sees a girl challenge their teacher in class, he thinks he found the perfect friend, and another nonbeliever. Only Lucy is as far from a nonbeliever as it goes- she wants to be a priest. Lucy ends up inviting Michael to a club with a bunch of other St. Clare’s outcasts, a club they call Heretics Anonymous. After an incident, Michael convinces them to become rebels instead of a secret society until he takes it too far and puts them at risk of getting in trouble.
While I didn't hate this book, I'm a bit disappointed because I feel like it had so much potential but it never got there. This is just my personal taste but I don't really like male MCs and the annoying ass guy in this is book really just reminded me of that. Michael is the kind of guy who is the type to go online and rage about any kind of religion, telling people they are stupid and wrong for believing in anything when he doesn't and just all around the toxic atheist culture no one likes. I would consider myself an atheist as well but I'm also a big fan of leaving people alone and not starting arguments because seriously bro? You aren't going to change someone's mind and you just look like an asshole.
Add on to that, I really don't need to hear some annoying dude explain feminism and act outraged by the unfairness at their school, JUST because it was his girlfriend that was getting targeted for a dress code violation. Also ugh. Michael literally annoyed me so much because he spends the first half talking about how hot Lucy is and then when they are together, he spends the rest of the time talking about how horny he is and how she "won't give that part to him" and how he highkey wants to pressure her into sex but oh, he's such a nice guy so he won't!!
Michael is such a disrespectful shit to literally everyone, especially his father and the rest of his family. I know we're supposed to be upset for him with his daddy issues and when his father takes away his electronics but yeah no that whiny ass kid deserved it.
This book has a whole group of friends but unfortunately they were just a couple of quirky things (looking at you kid who wouldn't shut up about wanting to wear a cape) and not much else. Don't ask me what their names are because there was like 4 of them and they were all forgettable.
But this book did go super fast and I was entertained enough by all the angst (while also rolling my eyes and being annoyed because it was so whiny). I think if this book had had a female MC I would have liked it so much but with this boy at the wheel? Bye.
Heretics Anonymous is a boy named Michael who is an atheist and starting at a strict Catholic school. The first thing Michael wants is a friend so when he sees a girl challenge their teacher in class, he thinks he found the perfect friend, and another nonbeliever. Only Lucy is as far from a nonbeliever as it goes- she wants to be a priest. Lucy ends up inviting Michael to a club with a bunch of other St. Clare’s outcasts, a club they call Heretics Anonymous. After an incident, Michael convinces them to become rebels instead of a secret society until he takes it too far and puts them at risk of getting in trouble.
While I didn't hate this book, I'm a bit disappointed because I feel like it had so much potential but it never got there. This is just my personal taste but I don't really like male MCs and the annoying ass guy in this is book really just reminded me of that. Michael is the kind of guy who is the type to go online and rage about any kind of religion, telling people they are stupid and wrong for believing in anything when he doesn't and just all around the toxic atheist culture no one likes. I would consider myself an atheist as well but I'm also a big fan of leaving people alone and not starting arguments because seriously bro? You aren't going to change someone's mind and you just look like an asshole.
Add on to that, I really don't need to hear some annoying dude explain feminism and act outraged by the unfairness at their school, JUST because it was his girlfriend that was getting targeted for a dress code violation. Also ugh. Michael literally annoyed me so much because he spends the first half talking about how hot Lucy is and then when they are together, he spends the rest of the time talking about how horny he is and how she "won't give that part to him" and how he highkey wants to pressure her into sex but oh, he's such a nice guy so he won't!!
Michael is such a disrespectful shit to literally everyone, especially his father and the rest of his family. I know we're supposed to be upset for him with his daddy issues and when his father takes away his electronics but yeah no that whiny ass kid deserved it.
This book has a whole group of friends but unfortunately they were just a couple of quirky things (looking at you kid who wouldn't shut up about wanting to wear a cape) and not much else. Don't ask me what their names are because there was like 4 of them and they were all forgettable.
But this book did go super fast and I was entertained enough by all the angst (while also rolling my eyes and being annoyed because it was so whiny). I think if this book had had a female MC I would have liked it so much but with this boy at the wheel? Bye.
cornmaven's review against another edition
4.0
HSchoolers in a Catholic HS bond as a result of their individual theological beliefs that run mostly counter to the prevailing doctrines in school. Atheist Michael gets thrown into the group and as a typical high school kid whose executive functions aren't fully developed, causes lots of problems for the rest, but learning along the way.
Told in Michael's voice, it felt true. Funny and serious at the same time it moves quickly. A good discussion about various belief systems. And you can tell the author went to a Catholic school.
Told in Michael's voice, it felt true. Funny and serious at the same time it moves quickly. A good discussion about various belief systems. And you can tell the author went to a Catholic school.
flutter_lwits's review against another edition
3.0
a lot of religious talk but otherwise it was okay
genevieve_eggleston's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I liked this book enough, but it didn’t stand out to me as anything special. The book did most things okay, but all in all, I’ve read books that did pretty much every focus and component better than this one did.
siannaz's review against another edition
3.0
“aren't most wonderful things a little bit strange?”
i really enjoyed this book - it was lighthearted and funny and i found the cast of characters to be quite unique. i love how they are all heretics in their own right, and seeing them form a sort of found family (there's a reason why i loved six of crows!). i also love how they were set on exposing the hypocrisies of the church, because it is an issue that needs to be spoken about more.
i really enjoyed reading about lucy as well, and seeing how she balanced her faith with her own beliefs - this is something else that we need to be talking more about as well. as a christian that doesn't necessarily agree with everything in the bible, it was a nice to see a character like that.
my only complaints are that, at the beginning, we didn't see enough of michael becoming friends with the rest of the heretics - it was more like: 'oh you've joined our club! we're going to treat you like we've known you for years!' no. no. life doesn't work that easily.
also, it feels sort of...juvenile? like, i get that that is the point of the book, but i still kinda didn't really like that? if i watched a movie version of this (and there should DEFINETLY be a movie - it would be awesome) then it would be okay but it just feels like a novel adaptation of a movie. it wasn't bad just...not great.
buttttt i loved this anyway, and it was just the lighthearted comedy i was looking for!
>> 3.5 stars
i really enjoyed this book - it was lighthearted and funny and i found the cast of characters to be quite unique. i love how they are all heretics in their own right, and seeing them form a sort of found family (there's a reason why i loved six of crows!). i also love how they were set on exposing the hypocrisies of the church, because it is an issue that needs to be spoken about more.
i really enjoyed reading about lucy as well, and seeing how she balanced her faith with her own beliefs - this is something else that we need to be talking more about as well. as a christian that doesn't necessarily agree with everything in the bible, it was a nice to see a character like that.
my only complaints are that, at the beginning, we didn't see enough of michael becoming friends with the rest of the heretics - it was more like: 'oh you've joined our club! we're going to treat you like we've known you for years!' no. no. life doesn't work that easily.
also, it feels sort of...juvenile? like, i get that that is the point of the book, but i still kinda didn't really like that? if i watched a movie version of this (and there should DEFINETLY be a movie - it would be awesome) then it would be okay but it just feels like a novel adaptation of a movie. it wasn't bad just...not great.
buttttt i loved this anyway, and it was just the lighthearted comedy i was looking for!
>> 3.5 stars
florencewakana's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really liked the beginning and believed it would be a funny book about a catholic school doing a one eighty and evolving. But the ending was kind of disappointing, it became more about the individuals than the system. And less funny. But overall I liked the tone, the characters, the pacing. But many issues are left unresolved.
rachel_ls_gebauer's review against another edition
5.0
I got this book through the SyncAudio program. So I had no idea about it before I read it. The premise looked interesting, atheist kid in a Catholic school. But it turned out to be about a lot more. I loved the characters, it may sound like the setup for a joke---- an atheist, a Catholic, a Jew, a pantheist, and a Unitarian walk into a school---- but, the author presented all the characters true to themselves and with love. This may be one of the very few books I've read that deals with religious tolerance that does not show one group as the bad or lesser in their belief or unbelief. I found it inspiring. Another win for YA.