These Heathens

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.

"This touching coming-of-age story tackles themes like identity, growth, and power with razor-sharp wit and humor."--Harper's Bazaar
"Deliciously Black and queer . . . You will absolutely want to read this."--Roxane Gay
"This touching coming-of-age story tackles themes like identity, growth and power with razor-sharp wit and humor."--Good Housekeeping
"Propulsive [and] smart."--Forbes
"[A] heartfelt romp."--Electric Lit
"A captivating historical novel full of humor and depth."--Ms.
"McKenzie's humorous historical novel reflects on what becomes possible when women can choose for themselves."--The Washington Post
"Cheering Doris on through her life-changing weekend was one of my favorite reading experiences this year. I ate up the voice, the style, the story."--Modern Mrs. Darcy
"Bursting with heart and humor, These Heathens reflects powerfully on choice and chance, while also being endlessly entertaining."--Allison Larkin, author of The People We Keep and Home of the American Circus
"A one-of-a-kind, urgently needed novel about choosing the life you want to lead . . . Set against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement and Atlanta's queer Black community, Mia McKenzie vividly depicts how Black women create circles of trust, freedom, and autonomy with one another."--Leila Mottley, author of Nightcrawling and The Girls Who Grew Big
"Page-turning, timely, and relentlessly entertaining, These Heathens reminds us that life is not only about what happens to you, it's also about what you choose and the people who help you along the way."--Jayne Allen, author of Black Girls Must Die Exhausted and The Most Wonderful Time