In "The Nones are Alright" Kaya Oakes shares the stories of young “nones,” religiously unaffiliated Millennials wrestling – often in fits and starts – with the role of God and faith in their lives. Far from uninterested in religion or embracing a strident atheism, Oakes reveals these young people to be deeply concerned with questions of faith and spirituality, although often in decidedly untraditional ways.

Oakes (herself an untraditional latecomer to Catholicism) spends a majority of the book exploring the stories of Catholic youth at various stages of moving away from the institutional Church; specific chapters focus on young women, LGBTQ nones, and young people who leave and then return to faith. Readers will benefit from the unvarnished stories of these young people, although those hoping to find strategies for keeping young people engaged in the Church will walk away disappointed.

N.B.: I received a free review copy of this book from the Catholic Library Association. This review was originally published in the December 2016 issue of Catholic Library World. ( )