Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this incredible graphic novel detailing a catholic boys journey of self discovery. As someone who was also raised somewhat religious (not catholic, and certainly not as devout as Mark), it is a difficult journey to finding yourself while also wanting to maintain connection with the spiritual world, especially when the pathways you know won’t support who you are.

Andrew Wheeler does a phenomenal job bringing in catholic and queer history to aide Mark on his self discovery journey. Rye Hickman beautifully illustrates the story to help convey everything through subtle mannerisms, iconography on characters, and really being the story to life. It’s not often I tear up reading a graphic novel, but this one resonated with me in ways I didn’t see coming.

If you also are queer and have any sort of religious connection, this one is a must read. Also to any Catholics or other religious folks wanting to see why the queer community is a great place that should be accepted, this is a good place to start.

This was a sweet and creatively woven graphic novel about a queer Catholic boy coming to terms with the conflict between his identities- as a devout Catholic and as a queer person. I read oodles of novels about queer religious folx and I really appreciated how this one displayed the nuance of the conflict between Church Community (TM) and Queer Community (TM) for newly out people. Most novels tend to take the path of "well, church never loved me anyway" which isn't untrue for all queer people (sadly, it's true for most), but it is a bit dismissive of the largest draw of organized religion- built in community.

I really loved how the pages and panels of this book were set up and the episodic flow of the narrative. The incorporation of church lore and Bible stories was a nice touch, as well, and made the whole book feel like it was an epic being told through stained glass windows in a grand cathedral. I loved all of the artistic choices and had to take multiple breaks just to admire the artwork and clever references.

Unfortunately, I really struggled to connect with Mark on a deeper level and felt a bit like the poor kid was a vessel for the story. I think so much time was spent painting a beautiful and intricate portrait of the world around him that his inner world was a wee bit neglected. This might have been a personal problem versus an issue with the book itself, though. Like I said before, I do read a lot of similar titles so my standards might be a bit high in this respect.

Either way, this book is well worth the read and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a gracefully woven graphic novel with coming-of-age overtures.

From writer Andrew Wheeler (Another Castle, Cat Fight) and artist Rye Hickman (The Harrowing) comes a touching story of religion, desire, and what it means to be yourself no matter how lonely or scared you feel.

Mark is a good Catholic boy who attends church regularly, reads at mass, and was an Alter boy. His equally religious parents couldn't be more proud. But Mark has a secret that is eating him alive.
He has begun to realize he may be gay and he has a crush on his best friend.
These feelings don't jive with what you're taught a good Catholic is, especially in a faith that not only doesn't approve of LGBTQ, they also do not accept them as part of the flock. So how does such a religious boy reconcile what he is with the faith he has?
Add to his growing feelings the struggle of the heavy weight of centuries of shame and judgement and the fear that his parents will no longer love him.
Mark seeks advice from his priest, and also receives unexpected input from key figures in Catholic history and lore, including Joan of Arc, Michelangelo, St. Sebastian, and Savonarola.

The story is both heartbreaking and beautiful. Watching along as Mark finds himself and his place in his faith makes me wish this graphic novel has existed when I was a teen going through a similar struggle.

I would say this should be required reading for all YA's but in this climate we're lucky it can be read at all. But definitely buy and give this to any young person you know who may be questioning themselves and their connection to their faith.

Highly recommended and expected to be published April 15, 2025.
Thanks to @neygalley and Oni Press for allowing me the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for this ARC

A sweet coming of age story about a young boy reconciling his Catholic upbringing with his sexuality. There’s some really great historical detail here from the Bible about queer folks! I think that if I was young and growing up I would find comfort in a story like this.

“The Bible is like a purse, honey. You can take out of it whatever you put into it.”

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

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Hey, Mary, by Andrew Wheeler
★★★★☆
128 Pages



Hey, Mary is an intriguing graphic novel that explores the challenge of how to be gay and Catholic at the same time.

Mark is struggling. His best friend, Luka, has come out as gay at their Catholic school and to his parents, putting a strain on their relationship. Mark is confused about the church's teaching about being gay and that applies to his friend, but also confused about his own feelings – not just towards Luka in general, but the fearful thought that he's also gay!

Mark has always prayed and found an affinity for the Virgin Mary, but after a fight with Luka during a school trip to an art gallery, historical figures from the paintings start coming to life to talk to him. All of the historical figures are two things: queer and Catholic! They talk Mark through the teachings of the bible, the expansive queer history of famous Christian figures and even explore real world issues that Mark encounters throughout his days.

Mark confides in friends, a priest, and eventually speaks to his family. This way, we see how each part of his life differs from the others; unfailingly supportive friends, a wise and kind priest, well-meaning but conservative parents who don't understand.

The story is sweet but hard hitting in places. It could be a great resource for questioning kids or parents of teens who are struggling with coming out, giving them a look at the many connections between gay Christian history and modern living, which often counters the original teachings.

However...it could be too dark and depressing for some younger kids. I'd definitely say there are heavy chunks of sadness, fear and anxiety in Mark's story and it can feel a bit oppressing, which could be triggering for some kids. I also feel like it's very heavy handed with the pro-religion aspect, and gets quite preachy at points. There are counter points to nearly every argument, but for someone who is deeply religious it definitely sways towards using historical stories and teachings to overrule or discount modern teachings. I'm not religious at all, but that's definitely how it felt to me, and I wonder if someone who is as devout as Mark would feel differently.

Overall, I'd say this is a great resource for religious but questioning queer kids, with some supportive adult guidance, to talk through the stories, teachings and messages contained within. The ending is also very happy and easily resolved, which doesn't feel realistic, so that may also give a rose-tinted view to readers who don't know any better.

First off, many thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this graphic as an ARC! I greatly appreciate it!

Another graphic novel, this one even better than the last! The start is really intriguing, with Mark's visualizations of religious figures, and there's a kind of welcoming warmth among the dread of this poor kid coming to terms with who he is. I'm an atheist, but wow, this story is gorgeous. I literally cried!

Five stars out of five for Hey, Mary!

*Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!*

I wanted to start this review by saying that I don't think I'm quite the intended audience, but the more I sit with it, the more I realize that maybe I am exactly the target audience. While I didn't grow in such an intensely religious environment, I was raised under God and all the associated beliefs.

I think Wheeler does an excellent job at capturing that juxtaposition between both sides of the religion argument/debate. The way that Mark struggles to reconcile his blooming emotions with his beliefs is heartbreaking and all too relatable. That being said, there is a balance here, with Wheeler neither condemning believer nor non-believer, instead making arguments for both sides. It's obvious that this graphic novel was created with a lot of care. 3.5 Stars

I loved this graphic novel about the conflict between faith and identity. Mark is a devout Catholic. He is also gay. With the help of his communities (both religious and queer) he learns to accept both parts of himself. Humorous, informative, and honest, this is a great book for all teens (and adults!).

Deftly threads the needle of not just exploring religious trauma but what it means to be religious and queer and that it's not necessary to abandon one for the other. Also, makes no excuses for the wrongs done in the name of Christianity.

I don't think I'm the target audience, given how extremely atheist I am, but I think for the right reader this book will be life-changing. Most grateful to NetGalley for the beautiful advance reader copy!

This is a 3.5 star rating rounded up to 4. C'mon, Goodreads, give us some half stars!

Hey Mary! is a good (albeit formulaic) look at a gay teen who is struggling with reconciling his sexuality with his Catholic faith. Mark spends the book learning about the history of LGBTQ+ and the Catholic Church. He experiences a series of encounters with individuals who give him ideas to think about and challenge him to reflect on his relationship to his faith.

There are times when Hey Mary! feels more like a lecture than a story. But there are also times with genuine emotion and complex ideas.

I'm very clearly in the minority here so I'm not going to take up too much space because objectively, I think this is an important book and I would still recommend it - listen to the positive reviews, kids! - so I'll keep it short n sweet:

This wasn't for me. At all. The only positive for me was the rep and the art, but everything else didn't work. I was bored, I did not care about any of the Bible-inspired stories albeit they were narrated through interesting forms and media each time, and I thought the ending was INCREDIBLY rushed. The conversation that was the most important to me was quick and convenient and I did not like it.

A Catholic teen is struggling with accepting his sexuality, torn between his very religious parents, his sense of belonging in the community, and a classmate who has an axe to grind. What works really well here is the divergent approaches to Catholicism--the wholesale rejection vs the mining the Bible and Saint traditions for queer stories and guidance. Reconciling Christians will be familiar with most of the arguments here, but for a teen audience grappling with these questions, this is a solid (only slightly preachy) coverage of the options. The art is assured and clear though does not wow particularly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for the e-ARC of Hey, Mary!

Catholic guilt meets self love and gay awakenings in Hey, Mary! The graphic novel has an adorable and appealing art style and explores the intersections of queer identity, religion, and community in a very digestible and careful way.

Thanks to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

The art style was kind of inconsistent at times. It's not a bad story, but not for me. I didn't grow up in a religious household so I couldn't really relate and I was getting a bit bored of the history lectures...of which there were many.

When I saw the cover for Hey, Mary! I knew this was going to be a book for me. Mark, a young Catholic boy, struggles with the realization that he is gay. This book was heavy on the Catholicism journey Mark went on and took a nice look at history and translations of the Bible. I think this one will be really huge to a lot of younger readers struggling with something similar. Though I am not Catholic, it was nice to see a book about this journey that ends with the main character still embracing their faith but seeing it a bit differently than before. The priest who helped Mark was a wonderful touch as well. I really enjoyed this one.

The art was beautiful, the characters were beautiful, the bible references were beautiful. I went to a catholic school from age 5 to 17 and I'm sure many many queer kids stuck there will benefit from reading this. I know past me would have, even though by high school I wasn't religious anymore. Present me wants to bang her head against the wall until the brains scatter all the way to Australia though.

Graphic novel about a closeted gay Catholic teenager coming to terms with both his faith and his own queerness. There's a great deal of information about queer or potentially queer saints of the past, some of whom are likely to be new to readers. While the book is critical of the Catholic Church generally, there's far more censure for evangelicals and Christians in general than specifically for the Church itself. The critiques are fair, although the vitriol one of the characters expresses towards the Church seems at times as hateful and unyielding as the past behaviors of the Church that the character criticizes (which may be the point, although this aspect isn't fully explored). As a lapsed Catholic myself, I struggled to identify with the MC's passion for the Church and his level of concern about the censure of both his community his god. Overall I think it was a good book that depicts a variety of ways in which people participate (or choose not to participate) with their Catholic faith, but the amount of despair that the MC feels about this conflict might be a barrier to some. Other characters are, however, much more accessible for those of us who do not have passionate feelings about the Church. We will certainly purchase this for our library collection.

received an e-ARC from NetGalley and am giving my honest review!

This was incredible. I did not grow up Catholic, but I went to Catholic School for a time. This was just amazing. The way that the story not only consistently reiterated that God will not hate you for being gay, nor is it a sin, but it also gave reasons. It gave historical evidence to support, and to show that people in the Bible were queer, saints were queer! It wasn’t just telling you that being gay isn’t a sin, it was showing how it’s just wrong via factual evidence of large figures of the Bible and history. This was very good and a very nice reminder of how religion should never be spread with hatred, because that’s not what religion is about

Really heavy read, honestly. It's a coming of age story about a catholic boy in denial of his queerness. The book itself is good and needs to exist, but this was a sore subject I would have rather not engaged with. Very important conversation to have though for anyone questioning.