Synopsis

From the “razor-sharp and outrageously funny” (Taylor Jenkins Reid) mind of Mia McKenzie comes a vibrant novel exploring how one weekend can change your whole life.

Dear Lord, please forgive me for the sins I’ve committed. And for the one I’m still planning to commit tomorrow. Amen.

Where do you get an abortion in 1960 Georgia, especially if your small town’s midwife goes to the same church as your parents? For seventeen-year-old Doris Steele, the answer is Atlanta, where her favorite teacher, Mrs. Lucas, calls upon her brash, wealthy childhood best friend, Sylvia, for help. While waiting to hear from the doctor who has agreed to do the procedure, Doris spends the weekend scandalized by, but drawn to, the people who move in and out of Sylvia’s orbit: celebrities whom Doris has seen in the pages of Jet and Ebony, civil rights leaders such as Coretta Scott King and Diane Nash, women who dance close together, boys who flirt too hard and talk too much, atheists! And even more shocking? Mrs. Lucas seems right at home.

From the guests at a queer kickback to the student activists at a SNCC conference, Doris suddenly finds herself surrounded by so many people who seem to know exactly who or what they want. Doris knows she doesn’t want a baby, but what does she want? Will this trip help her find out?

These Heathens is a funny, poignant story about Black women’s obligations and ambitions, what we owe to ourselves, and the transformative power of leaving your bubble, even for just one chaotic weekend.

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Review

This novel has many moving parts and brings to life the LGBTQ and Civil Rights movement in the 1960s.

I found Doris to be an intriguing character. She is seventeen and pregnant. However, there is no mention of the father, and while he isn’t crucial to the story, I wondered if she really was pregnant based on comments throughout the book. She came across as naive, as if she didn’t know how babies were made. I kept waiting for someone to examine her and let her know she wasn’t pregnant.

Given her home life, I appreciated that her former English teacher was a safe haven for her. Mrs. Lucas steps up and takes her to Atlanta to obtain an abortion, but also introduces her to a different group of people. There are influential and famous people, and a small group of women who have found safety in numbers. Meeting some of these people opened Doris’s eyes to a larger world than she knew in Millen. I do feel like this weekend only scratched the surface of diving into the Civil Rights movement and the LGBTQ world.

The writing and characters felt authentic, and I pictured myself during this time and how I would have approached each issue or event if I were in Doris’s shoes.

I enjoyed delving into the past and this time period, and we give it 3 1/2 paws up.

About the Author

Mia McKenzie is the award-winning author of The Summer We Got Free and the creator of Black Girl Dangerous Media, an independent media and education project that centers queer Black women and girls. She lives with her parenting partner and two children in the Happy Valley of Western Massachusetts.

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