Godly Heathens Summary, Characters and Themes
Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon is a fierce and emotionally charged young adult fantasy novel by H.E. Edgmon that blends mythology with queer and Indigenous identity. Set in rural Georgia, the story follows Gem Echols, a trans Indigenous teen whose reality begins to unravel as they discover they are the reincarnation of an ancient god.
Haunted by prophetic dreams and chased by godlike beings, Gem is forced to reckon with a violent divine past while navigating their present identity and relationships. With themes of self-determination, memory, power, and chosen family, the book challenges binary notions of good and evil and builds a vivid world rooted in transformation and survival.
Summary
Gem Echols is a trans Indigenous teenager living in the American South, trying to survive high school and a conservative town while navigating a world that doesn’t understand them. Their life takes a drastic turn when they begin having intense dreams filled with violence, gods, and memories that don’t feel entirely fictional.
One night, Gem dreams of committing a cosmic crime involving the Sun, leaving them sick and shaken the next morning. At school, things grow stranger.
A mysterious girl named Willa Mae Hardy arrives and seems to know more about Gem than she should. Around the same time, another figure, Poppy White, appears and violently confronts Gem in the parking lot.
Poppy claims to be the god of death and tries to kill them. Willa Mae intervenes with supernatural abilities, confirming that Gem’s dreams aren’t delusions—they’re glimpses into a divine past.
Willa Mae explains that Gem is the reincarnation of the Magician, a powerful god who once helped a corrupt god called the Shade. The Shade used a mythical dagger—the Ouroboros—to steal divine powers and wreak havoc.
Gem eventually turned against him, but their role in the destruction of the pantheon still haunts them. Now, the pantheon has reawakened: Poppy (the Reaper), Marian (the Lionheart), and others are remembering their pasts and seeking vengeance.
Willa Mae, the Mountain and Gem’s eternal soulmate, wants to protect them, but the threat is growing. Gem struggles to accept their godly identity.
They want to live as a human and avoid repeating the mistakes of their past lives. Still, memories from different eras—especially a life in 1920s Atlanta—start surfacing, showing moments of power, betrayal, and intimacy with Willa Mae.
Despite fear and doubt, Gem begins magical training. They slowly regain fragments of their powers and memories, but remain determined not to become who they once were.
Their relationship with their mother worsens, strained by misunderstanding and suspicion. Meanwhile, Gem leans on Enzo, their long-distance best friend, who provides a source of grounding despite not knowing the full truth.
As Willa Mae and Gem search for the Ouroboros, clues point to Wheeler Farm, where an old classmate named Buck lives. Sacred energy and protective spells surround the land, and Gem suspects Buck’s family may be guarding the knife unknowingly.
The danger escalates when Marian appears—loyal to Poppy and enraged at Gem’s betrayal in a previous life. During a supernatural vision, Gem sees the Shade again, and the memories of their divine actions grow heavier.
Willa Mae and Gem begin considering other gods who may be reincarnated but still dormant, hoping for allies. At school, someone betrays Gem—possibly under Poppy’s influence—leading to another attack.
Eventually, they locate the Ouroboros buried beneath a sacred tree on Wheeler Farm. As Gem touches it, their power fully awakens, unlocking a rush of memories and magical strength.
This threatens to overwhelm them until Willa Mae helps anchor them in the present. Poppy and Marian launch one final attack.
The battle is intense, with elemental magic and deep emotional stakes. Despite having the power to kill Poppy, Gem chooses not to.
Instead, they use the matching knife-chain to destroy the Ouroboros, permanently removing the threat and rewriting the rules of the pantheon. In the end, Gem chooses a new path—not as a god of destruction or salvation, but as someone who defines their own future.
They and Willa Mae are left to consider how to rebuild a world the gods have broken, starting not from power or fear, but from understanding and choice.
Characters
Gem Echols / The Magician
Gem Echols, the protagonist, is a trans Indigenous teen living in rural Georgia whose life is irrevocably altered by visions that reveal their identity as a reincarnated god, the Magician. Their arc is rooted in the tension between mortal humanity and immortal legacy.
Gem’s character is defined by a yearning for autonomy and self-definition—especially important given their rejection of godly cycles of violence and betrayal. As the Magician, they were once immensely powerful and complicit in divine wars, including acts that they now find horrifying.
This deep moral reckoning drives their actions in the present, where they seek not to repeat the past but to carve out a new way forward. Internally, Gem is fractured—juggling past life memories, identity crises, familial strain, and the expectation of reclaiming divine power.
Despite this chaos, they evolve into someone who chooses compassion over vengeance. Ultimately, they reject the Ouroboros’s allure in favor of breaking the destructive cycle that has defined their godhood.
Willa Mae Hardy / The Mountain
Willa Mae is a reincarnated god known as the Mountain, tied to the land and endurance, and serves as Gem’s protector, guide, and supposed soulmate through many lifetimes. She enters the story as an enigmatic and commanding new student but quickly reveals her ancient nature and mission: to help Gem reclaim their true self.
Her personality is shaped by unwavering loyalty, emotional complexity, and a deep sorrow buried beneath her confident exterior. Willa Mae remembers all their shared pasts and clings to the hope that this lifetime will be different.
She pushes Gem toward awakening and reclaiming their powers not out of manipulation, but because she believes in their potential for goodness despite past mistakes. Her connection to nature and grounded energy balances Gem’s more chaotic magic, making her both a literal and metaphorical anchor.
Her belief in fate is tested as Gem makes unexpected choices that depart from their divine patterns. This challenges Willa Mae to reevaluate love, loyalty, and control.
Poppy White / The Reaper
Poppy White, formerly known as the Reaper, is a god of death who embodies vengeance, cruelty, and unrelenting pursuit of divine order. As an antagonist, she is terrifying because she not only remembers her past lives but relishes the brutality and cosmic justice she once meted out.
Her power lies not just in physical dominance but in her psychological warfare; she taunts Gem with their shared history, weaponizing memory and guilt. She’s charismatic and dangerous, often disguising her menace behind flirtation or charm.
Poppy’s allegiance to the old ways, particularly to the Shade, reveals her resistance to change and her obsession with hierarchy and punishment. While others desire healing or reformation, Poppy craves restoration of the godly order—even if it means destruction.
Her confrontation with Gem culminates in a clash of ideologies, where mercy defeats vengeance. This signals the crumbling of her divine control.
Marian / The Lionheart
Marian, the Lionheart, emerges as Poppy’s devoted lieutenant and one of the fiercest adversaries Gem and Willa Mae face. She is a warrior-god who once fought beside the Magician but now bears the pain of perceived betrayal.
Marian’s loyalty is absolute, but her rage is deeply personal. She represents those left behind by shifting allegiances and reforms.
Her wrath toward Gem is not merely strategic—it stems from emotional abandonment, from feeling discarded by someone she once revered. Marian’s appearance raises the stakes, not just in combat but thematically, by showing the destructive consequences of fractured divine relationships.
She is the embodiment of discipline and honor corrupted by disillusionment. Her ultimate defeat is a moral one, as Gem refuses to engage in the revenge she so craves, undermining her purpose.
Enzo
Enzo is Gem’s best friend and human anchor to the world outside of gods and reincarnation. Though he’s kept mostly in the dark about the divine chaos unfolding, his unwavering love and concern provide a critical contrast to the manipulations and agendas of the other characters.
Enzo represents normalcy, acceptance, and unconditional friendship. His presence reminds Gem of who they are now—not just who they were.
Enzo’s inclusion in the narrative emphasizes the theme of chosen family and emotional grounding. While he lacks supernatural abilities, his role is vital.
He is one of the few characters whose motivations are purely selfless. He offers support without expectation or demand.
In a world full of gods seeking power, Enzo offers something far more valuable: genuine care.
Gem’s Mother
Gem’s mother is portrayed as a figure of authority and trauma, whose relationship with Gem is strained by misunderstanding, fear, and control—particularly around Gem’s gender identity and mental health. She serves as a symbol of generational pain and societal repression, especially in the Southern context.
Her overbearing concern for Gem’s well-being masks her inability to truly see or accept them for who they are. She fears Gem’s differences, projecting her own fears of instability onto them, especially in the wake of Gem’s father’s psychological unraveling.
While she is not malicious, her actions contribute to Gem’s sense of isolation and doubt. Her role is crucial in showing how real-world rejection and familial conflict parallel the metaphysical battles Gem must endure.
Buck Wheeler
Buck is a secondary character whose family land—Wheeler Farm—becomes significant in the search for the Ouroboros. Though he is not a central figure of power, his proximity to sacred spaces and potentially being an unwitting guardian of divine secrets makes him a narrative fulcrum.
Buck may also be a symbolic reminder that the mortal world is never entirely free from the influence of the gods. His possible betrayal or manipulation by Poppy also underscores how easily ordinary people can be drawn into godly conflict, often without understanding its scope.
He represents the porous boundary between the magical and the mundane.
Themes
Identity and Self-Acceptance
A central theme in Godly Heathens is the exploration of identity, particularly through the lens of gender, culture, and divinity. Gem Echols, the protagonist, is a trans and Indigenous teen living in a conservative rural town—already carrying a complex and marginalized identity.
Their internal journey becomes even more tangled when they discover they are also a reincarnated god. The story explores how Gem reconciles who they are now with who they used to be in previous lives, specifically as the Magician, a figure of enormous power and a morally ambiguous past.
This theme challenges the binary understanding of identity by suggesting that a person can be many things at once: a teenager, a deity, a victim, and a potential source of destruction. The friction between Gem’s present and past lives becomes a metaphor for the struggle of self-acceptance.
Their family’s lack of understanding—particularly their mother’s attempts to control their gender expression—mirrors society’s frequent denial of nonconforming identities. Gem’s self-worth is repeatedly tested, not just by others but by their own memories and fears.
As they recover fragments of their past, they must decide what parts to reclaim and what to reject. The character of Willa Mae, who asserts that she and Gem are eternal soulmates, also complicates this dynamic.
It pushes Gem to confront the ways love and identity have been entangled across lifetimes. Ultimately, the novel doesn’t offer a clean resolution but instead honors the messiness of identity.
It portrays identity as a lifelong process of negotiation, confrontation, and eventually, liberation.
Power and Responsibility
The theme of power and how one chooses to wield it runs deeply throughout the narrative. Gem is not just an ordinary teenager—they carry within them the immense magical power of the Magician, a god who has shaped destinies, destroyed lives, and played pivotal roles in the cosmic order of their pantheon.
Unlike many traditional fantasy protagonists who hunger for power or see it as a blessing, Gem fears theirs. They are haunted by memories of past transgressions and the destructive choices they made under the influence of the Shade.
Power in this context is not simply about ability but about legacy, consequence, and ethical burden. The Ouroboros—a blade capable of permanently killing gods—becomes a potent symbol of this theme.
The knife tempts multiple characters with the promise of control, dominance, or salvation. Gem’s final decision to destroy it instead of using it underscores their commitment to breaking cycles of violence and domination.
This choice is made even more poignant by the fact that it severs their link to a significant part of their godly past. Moreover, the novel contrasts Gem’s reluctant power with characters like Poppy and Marian, who fully embrace their divine roles.
They seek to impose their will on others, seeing violence and divine order as tools of justice. This dynamic raises questions about the morality of leadership, vengeance, and divine justice.
It forces the reader to consider whether power can ever be ethically neutral or if it always demands accountability. Gem’s journey is not one of gaining power but of learning to carry it with humility.
They choose restraint over revenge and redefine what strength means in a world built on centuries of blood and myth.
Memory and Reincarnation
Memory in Godly Heathens is not merely a psychological phenomenon but a literal mechanism of the plot. Gem’s fragmented memories of past lives are essential to their development and the novel’s unfolding mysteries.
The theme of reincarnation is employed not only to heighten the fantasy elements but also to ask profound questions about continuity of self. What does it mean to be held accountable for actions taken in a past life?
How do memories that span centuries inform a person’s choices in the present? Gem’s past lives reveal their involvement in both acts of heroism and horror.
These revelations are not treated as simple plot twists but as deeply traumatic events that disrupt their current identity. The process of recovering these memories is painful and destabilizing.
It introduces doubt, especially when Gem realizes they may have once served the very evil they now oppose. Reincarnation in this story is not romanticized; it is fraught with ethical complications, unresolved grief, and perpetual cycles of conflict.
At the same time, it serves as a metaphor for generational trauma and the ways in which history echoes through the present. The gods’ inability to escape their past patterns reflects the difficulty of true change.
Gem’s final choice to destroy the Ouroboros, a relic of this endless cycle, can be read as a rejection of determinism. It becomes a refusal to be defined by memory alone.
Thus, memory in the novel becomes both a curse and a key to transformation. It demands reckoning and, eventually, rebirth.
Found Family and Emotional Connection
A key theme in Godly Heathens is the concept of found family and the search for emotional connection outside of traditional familial structures. Gem’s biological family fails to offer the support and understanding they need, particularly in regard to their gender identity and mental health.
Their mother, though present, represents a source of judgment and control rather than comfort. In contrast, Gem’s relationship with Enzo, their best friend, provides unconditional support.
Enzo acts as an emotional anchor during their most disoriented moments. Similarly, Willa Mae becomes a complicated but vital figure in Gem’s life.
While her knowledge of their past lives and insistence on their godhood initially creates friction, she ultimately serves as a partner who sees Gem fully—past, present, and future. The gods in this story are portrayed not just as divine beings but as a dysfunctional extended family.
They are bound by old grudges and deep emotional ties. Willa Mae’s insistence that she and Gem are soulmates across lifetimes is both romantic and burdensome.
It illustrates how connections formed in the past can linger into the present with unresolved intensity. The story suggests that chosen bonds—whether forged through love, loyalty, or shared trauma—often carry more emotional truth than those defined by blood or cosmic design.
Even when Gem is isolated by fear, confusion, or supernatural threats, the love they receive from chosen allies helps guide them back to themselves. Through this theme, the book challenges the notion of what constitutes a real family.
It emphasizes that healing often begins with being truly seen and accepted by others.