This was a really good graphic novel. I really liked the story and I can definitely see this helping other other queer kids who grew up religious. I will say I don't know a ton about the catholic faith so I don't know how accurate any of that is.
I also really liked the art in this. Wheeler has a really beautiful art style that really appeals to a lot of people. Its bright and the character are so expressive. This is definitely one I would recommend.

This is amazing! I enjoyed the art style immensely, as well as the creative and fun way it portrays the different queer readings of bible stories. Told with warmth, compassion and clarity.

I don’t know how to explain how I feel about this. It’s such an important topic that everyone has big feelings about which is well demonstrated in the book. The story felt true to a lot of queer people’s lived experiences but I still felt like something was missing. I just can’t put my finger on what.

I enjoyed reading about historical artists and religious figures who were prossibly/probably queer. I do wish the author had delved into the possibility that Paul could have been asexual. I truly loved how Father Teo handled Mark’s coming out. Explaining the official position of the church and condemning it was so necessary. JoJo also did such a good job in supporting Mark.

What really made me cringe was Luka. I know his character was meant to be intense but he was being deeply hypocritical by trying to force Mark to feel a certain way about religion because the church tries to force people to feel a certain way about queerness. I wish Mark would’ve been more firm in the end when Luka really skirted the boundary Mark was setting regarding his faith and relationship with the church being his own choice.

Obviously the parents made me cringe too but we don’t need to talk about them.

“Love is all that God is”

A reflection on homosexuality and Catholicism through time. A boy and his struggle to combine his faith, his upbringing and his identity.

“We are who we are, right? No matter what people try to make us.”

I enjoyed the art style, but other than that this isn’t meant for me. I’m not religious and I’m not a teenage boy struggling with his sexuality.
I thought the ‘Gay walk through time’ was educational and fun, and for those this piece is meant for this could be a deeply impactful and eye-opening read.

Even though I couldn’t really connect to this story on a personal level, I still found it interesting and emotionally compelling.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

A lot of a good religious exploration book. I also love how books are explaining to a younger audience about religion and being queer. This was a very blighting graphic novel!

"Hey, Mary!" is a YA graphic novel about a teenager, Mark, who is Catholic and trying to come to grips with the fact that he is gay. Mark finds solace in some parts of the church and considers it part of his identity, but he is terrified of the ways that the church has been used against queer people, women, minorities, etc. An interesting and quick read that will likely resonate more with readers who had a religious upbringing, but still very poignant. A recommended purchase for YA GN collections, especially where LGBTQIA+ graphic novels are popular.

"Hey, Mary!" is a powerful story of identity. The protagonist is Catholic and religion steers the story. I especially enjoyed the historic references interspersed and the drag brunch!

Aunque no soy una persona religiosa, hubo algo muy sanador en leer las historias de los muchos santos potencialmente queer y poder entender mejor cómo las enseñanzas de la Biblia han sido distorsionadas y malinterpretadas para promover narrativas llenas de prejuicio. Creo que para cualquiera, joven o adulto, que esté luchando por aceptar su queeridad debido a su fe o la fe de quienes lo rodean, este libro ofrecerá un espacio para procesar y sentirse comprendido en esos sentimientos. Disfruté mucho de la lectura y definitivamente lo recomendaría tanto a personas queer como a quienes no lo son, pero que les gustaría comprender mejor este aspecto de la experiencia queer.

Y, dado que es una novela gráfica, no podría dejar de mencionar lo atractivas que eran las ilustraciones. Funcionaron muy bien con la historia, sumando al mensaje que se presentaba sin opacarlo de ninguna manera.

A moving and poignant coming of age story about a Catholic school student who questions whether he is gay and whether his queerness has a place in his life and in his religion. Our main character Mark is prompted to address his sexuality when he is reunited with his now out gay friend Luka. Mark envisions art and historical figures coming to life to teach him about queerness in religion as he interacts with church leaders and queer people in his community. There were a lot of examples of queer characters throughout history and how their queerness is told (or not told) in the Bible, so it felt a bit educational / non-fictionish at times.

As someone who grew up in church (Lutheran), there were many parts of this that I really related to. As a 34 year old now, I could see my younger self in Mark and in his questioning of himself, of God, and of religion. I'm not a religious person now, but I can appreciate that this book did not condemn religion but argued that someone can be equally gay and religious under the philosophy that all that God is is love.

I think to have an appreciation of this, though, you have to have knowledge of or experience with religion and it's anti-gay rhetoric (Christianity but maybe others). If my young adult self had read this, I would have felt so seen and heard. I'd recommend this to the queer community, the queer religious and ex-religious community, but also to the more open religious community to understand how gay/queer teens may be impacted by certain religious rhetoric.

I really enjoyed the characters, the compassionate look at queerness and religion, and the colorful art style.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this graphic novel about a teenager exploring his religion and sexuality. He worries that his church and family won't accept him for being gay. Some of his LGBT+ friends are very against the church. By the end of the book, he has explored Catholic history and found people in his present who accept both his sexual orientation and his faith. He doesn't have to choose one or the other!

In covering such a big topic and including lots of information, the dialogue can feel a bit clunky at times, but it doesn't detract too much. The graphic novel format seems a very accessible way of covering the topic of identity and religion. This would be a great book for young people who are both religious and LGBT+, or for those who want to be more open-minded about either.

Hey, Mary! features a teenage boy named Mark. He has been raised Christian and finds a lot of comfort in his faith. Until he gets confronted by what being Christian means to him (and others) when he realizes he is gay.

Mark on his faith: "It gives me a connection to my family, my community. It gives me a way to approach the world. It gives me direction. It's part of who I am."

Let me preface this review by saying I am not Christian, but have spend time with people from different faiths, including Christians. Being queer, the synopsis of this graphic novel spoke to me and I was curious to see how the author would handle this topic.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Wheeler shows us a fairly thorough examination of what it means to be queer and Christian. From queer people in the Bible to historically queer Christians. There is discussion on what is written in the Bible and how the text is interpreted, and how this subsequently affects the behaviour of certain people within the Christian faith. There's many different characters that guide Mark along the way. I especially liked Father Teo and of course Jojo as mentor figures.

"Let me say this--if there's ambiguity in the Bible and your interpretation tells you to judge people and threat them unkindly... ...I'd say you're doing it wrong."

The text is balanced very well with Hickman's art. The art style is unique and gorgeous with great use of colours and shadows. The graphic novel format also works very well for the telling of this kind of story and its target audience. It makes it all very digestible.

I would recommend Hey, Mary! to everyone within the Christian faith, or people curious about this faith. It's especially great for teens struggling to reconcile their Christian faith and queerness, and their loved ones.

"There have been devout Christian queers all through history, Mark. Their devotion to God could not change who they were or who they loved. And their queerness could not challenge their faith."

This is a wholesome story about a teenage boy coming to terms with his identity. I loved the exploration of gay saints and historical religious figures. The idea that gay people are a new thing is perpetuated by the idea that the book pokes fun at of people of the same gender being verrry close friends. I liked that it showed the challenges that he faced and the opposition as well as acceptance. It wasn't an unrealistic book where everyone celebrates his queer identity at his church and personal life, but it also shows that he has allies and not everyone is against him. I think it will give hope and maybe some guidance to those who are religious and part of the LGBTQIA+ community and educate readers about historical figures who have been altered for a heteronormative culture.

Mark used to have an imaginary friend, the Virgin Mary. He pictured her the way she is shown in Catholic Churches, white, pure, dressed in blue. He would talk to her. He wanted to be a good catholic.


But when his friend comes out as gay, Mark doesn't know what to do. He worries that he too is gay, and that is something he can’t reconcile with the church.

Through a series of visions, he talks to saints that have been considered queer, and begins to wonder what he really does think.
This graphic novel is a tear jerker. There is nothing sadder than someone struggling with their sexuality, especially when they think it will distory their life if they come out.


I cried while reading this. The emotions here are so raw. A great story to read for those who have been through coming out, as well as for those who wonder about how that feels.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. THis book comes out the 15th of April 2025.

Hey, Mary! has been on my TBR since I first heard about it several months ago, so I was excited to see it was available on NetGalley. I didn't grow up Catholic—or very religious at all—but I did grow up queer in the Bible Belt, and Christian rhetoric about queerness was something I heard regularly. As an atheist, I was never actually worried about angering a higher power or burning in Hell for all of eternity, but I was hurt that so many people around me, including many of my own family members, felt that way about me and others like me.

This graphic novel follows Mark, a young Catholic boy who's coming to terms with his queerness and struggling to reconcile that with his faith. Throughout the story, he's shown engaging in imaginary conversations with several notable saints, many of whom may have been queer themselves. Through these conversations, as well as conversations with some of the openly queer people in Mark's life and his pastor, Father Teo, Mark is able to understand the teachings of the Bible in a new light. He comes to realize that much of the rhetoric surrounding queerness is not taken directly from the Bible's teachings but from bigoted interpretations of stories such as that of Sodom and Gomorrah. By the end of the story, Mark is able to share his identity with his parents and feel more comfortable accepting that his queerness and his Catholic faith can coexist.

Although I am, as previously mentioned, not religious myself, there was something very healing about reading the stories of the many potentially queer saints and being better able to understand how the teachings of the Bible have been twisted and misconstrued to further bigoted narratives. I think for anyone, young or old, struggling with accepting their queerness because of their faith or the faith of those around them, this book will offer a space to unpack and feel understood in those feelings. I really enjoyed reading this and would absolutely recommend it to other queer people as well as anyone who is not queer themselves but would like to better understand this facet of the queer experience.

And, because this is a graphic novel, I would be remiss not to mention how appealing the illustrations were. They worked very well with the story, adding to the message being presented without overshadowing it in any way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Hey, Mary! is a deeply profound graphic novel about one Catholic boys journey to self-acceptance. This was wholesome and sweet and all the while discusses very deep issues that our current youth face. This is a book that i would recommend to both young adults and adults for its messages, and I think this could really help tons of kids. Thank you to Oni Press for the ARC.