These Heathens

A Novel

By: Mia McKenzie

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Hardcover | 17 June 2025

At a Glance

Hardcover
255 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.6 x 14.7 x 2.2

Hardcover

$51.99

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

"Page-turning, timely, and relentlessly entertaining, These Heathens reminds us that life is not only about what happens to you, it's also aboutwhat 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

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.

LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL AND THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE . A CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

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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