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.