Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

While the POV was a tad cheesy, this was a good book about religious trauma. I was almost triggered by how REALISTIC it all is. I think this is going to resonate with a lot of young people, queer or no. The concept immediately hooked me, and the chapter names are GENIUS. I wish I had seen more of the pastor an the consequences of his bigoted actions. If you don't like religious jokes or critiques, you'd probably want to avoid this one.

very sweet romance with a lot of fun romance aspects and cool characters. tysm for the arc. 4.5 stars, would recommend. rounding up.

This was a great YA book about a difficult topic. The characters were awesome and relatable! I actually felt like I was in the principal's office at the beginning of the book and the camp took me back to summer.

Holy (heh) crap, this book was SO GOOD!! I was expecting a cute lil YA romcom but it was so much more. This book took what can be really heavy, emotionally charged topics and handled them with the utmost respect while still being hilarious, sweet, and hopeful. It’s on my top 5 for this year for sure. It called out the toxicity and hypocrisy can be found in some churches and how people can spew hate and fear and pretend it’s in the name of religion, but it did not criticize religion as a whole. My favorite quote, other than the funny ones, was “I think when you get down to it, this whole…thing is just about being kind and having faith in something bigger than yourself. That’s it.” This book honestly might have helped heal some of the religious trauma in me just a bit.

This book was absolutely incredible. I loved the way the author wrote it, it´s perfect for teens to understand but can be enjoyed by all ages. The main character Riley left her church after coming out as bi and realizing its unacceptable to be gay in her church. When she gets in trouble at school for slapping a girl talking about her sister, she gets sent to church camp as punishment. Riley comes up with a plan to take down the church by committing each of the seven deadly sins. Everything seems to be perfect except she's falling for the pastor's daughter. This book takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions and perfectly depicts how despite a society growing to be accepting of those in the LGBTQ+ community there´s still many struggling to come out due to the people surrounding them.

Say a Little Prayer by @jennavoris (releases March 4, 2025)

Rating: 4.5 stars rounded up

Review: I absolutely loved this book. I loved the interactions between Riley and Julia, I absolutely loved Ben. This was such a great read last week when the world felt like it was falling apart. To be able to spend time with Riley as she was figuring out when and how to create space for herself in the world without sacrificing who she is or feeling like she’s betraying the people she loves (both her sister and her best friend) was such a cozy space for me to exist for a while. I absolutely loved Every Time You Hear that Song by Jenna earlier this year and I was so excited for this book and it did not let me down. I loved that, as a girl whose only real experience with religion has been how unwelcome I’ve been made to feel by its members (looking at you, grandma), I saw so much of myself in Riley. You will not regret picking this one up. Absolutely loved it

Synopsis: Riley quietly left church a year ago when she realized there was no place for a bi girl in her congregation. But it wasn’t until the pastor shunned her older sister for getting an abortion that she really wanted to burn it all down.

It’s just her luck, then, that she’s sent to the principal’s office for slapping a girl talking smack about her sister—and in order to avoid suspension, she has to spend spring break at church camp. The only saving grace is that she’ll be there with her best friend, Julia. Even if Julia’s dad is the pastor. And he’s in charge of camp. But Riley won’t let a technicality like “repenting” get in the way of her true mission. Instead of spending the week embracing the seven heavenly virtues, she decides to commit all seven deadly sins. If she can show the other campers that sometimes being a little bad is for the greater good, she could start a righteous revolution! What could possibly go wrong? Aside from falling for the pastor’s daughter

I LOVED it! The cover is one of my favorites! I really liked the characters! This was my first book by this author in

I've read a number of queer books about religious trauma, and I think this one is officially my favorite. It's laugh-out-loud funny at times -- the chapter titles are hilarious, as are the church camp's mixing of memes and slang with Jesus -- but also very sincere, with a wonderfully sweet, sapphic friends-to-lovers romance. It criticizes the institution of Christianity and its toxicity instead of faith itself. The real message is support and love, of being yourself and standing up for what's right. My soul feels cleansed.

Anyway, here's "Wonderwall" (the Lord's version).

What an amazing read! This book has so much heart and quirk. I was a little afraid it would become too Jesus-y or have some of kind "saved" twist, but the resolutions were spot on. My heart dropped and leapt with all the characters' and I'm definitely going to now devour all of Voris' previous books. For any "sinner" who has been to church camp, this book is absolutely for you!

So, for starters, I am an agnostic woman who also happens to be a raging lesbian. This story was so beautifully told and regardless of the subject matter, it is at its heart, a story about female friendship and the humanity in misunderstanding and learning from one another. But as religion, abortion, and sexual orientation are literally part of the plot of this book, it is a great reminder to readers that books and the act of reading is inherently political.

From Riley to Julia to Hannah to Amanda and all the spring break church camp girls in between, Voris does an excellent job of creating real characters with just as real issues. Even those who don't get entire points of view chapters have appropriate and real reactions to the goings on around them. It reminds me of when I was the characters' age and coming out (albeit not in a tiny religious town).

A story of people managing to bridge gaps between beliefs - via religion - while remaining steadfast on human rights - this is the only thing I mean when I say I'm ok with having differing beliefs. Not in politics or human rights, but things such as religion. I do not believe in being tolerant of the intolerant.

I read this in October and I am writing this review on the morning of November 8. It has brought up feelings to say the very least.

A sapphic YA contemporary about a girl trying to prove a pastor wrong and falling for his daughter at the same time? Sign me up! I’m not always the biggest fan of reading about religion in books, but I think it works best for me when it’s about a character grappling with the ways that religion is harming people. During her time at church camp Riley is trying to prove to herself, and others, that embracing the seven deadly sins can actually be healthy instead of something that condemns them to hell.

The book is full of a lot of great moments of Riley standing up for herself and her sister. She also connects with other girls at the camp where initially she had different judgements of their character. There are also a lot of great moments of Riley’s development where she’s challenged by the other girls for the way that she acts towards them.

Riley is best friends with Ben and Julia, the pastor’s kids. So there’s a lot of complexity in what it means for Riley to be so close with people who are related to someone who is preaching hatred towards Riley’s sexuality, Riley’s sister’s abortion, and so many other situations. I appreciated Jenna Voris’ nuanced approach to the topic and where everything leaves off in the end.

The story overall and Riley as a character completely sucked me in, I read the entire book in one evening. If you’re in the market for complex YA contemporary stories that address queerness and religion, definitely check this one out.

I was cracking up at the titles for each chapter, as someone who went to church camp as a child who never actually went to church it was a good read. As someone who is part of the lgbtq+ community it was relieving to see the characters be supportive of their friends. There’s so much religion based trauma that threatens the lives of the lgbtq+ community that it was comforting to see a story that shows there’s another way out.

*I received a free ARC from NetGalley*

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book before the release!
I was not brought up very religiously so I can't understand the whole experience of growing up as a queer person in a religious environment. But thanks to Jenna Voris' writing I could feel what the characters were going through very well.
This book was written so nice and interesting that once I started reading it I couldn't stop until I finished it!It had very funny moments as well as serious and sad topics and I'm so sorry to every person and especially child that has to go through those experiences.

Riley and Julia's relationship. I'm a sucker for a good friends-to-lovers plot and boy did they deliver. I was rooting for them the whole way through and I felt that the relationship was believable and well-written, I really enjoyed their dynamic. Also, I really appreciated the on-page explicit labeling of their sexualities -- no dancing around the words bisexual and lesbian. That was great.

Very interesting take. I enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Say a Little Prayer by Jenna Voris is a wonderful addition to the queer YA genre! Voris' voice is easy and fun to read, and her characters have a surprising amount of depth for a YA book.

when riley is forced to attend church camp to avoid suspension from school, she decides she will not go down without a fight and takes the week's theme of teaching them about the seven deadly sins as a challenge to commit them all.

but she doesn't do this out of pure obstinence, she does it to try and show her community that heavy influence of the church in their town is not always for the better. their pastor is controlling, unaccepting, and sometimes hypocritical. his intolerance of riley's queer identity is why she quietly left the church a year ago, but when her sister is also cast out for having an abortion, riley returns with a vengeance to tear the pastor from his place of power. jenna voris beautifully balances riley's light-hearted refusal of church camp's themes with this undercurrent of real anger and hatred for a broken system. i instantly fell in love with her character who you really can't help but root for even when she's making...questionable decisions. decisions like dragging her friends (and enemies) into "sin" with her and DEFINITELY not falling for her childhood best friend, who also happens to be the pastor's daughter.

altogether, it's a heartwarming book about being yourself against all odds and, through that, giving other people the courage to be themselves too. and despite it being a fun, contemporary read, it touches on a lot of really current themes that are becoming increasingly relevant in today's society. i would definitely recommend this to any fans of becky albertalli or casey mcquiston who want a story about angry girls--queer and not--banding together to stand up to an outdated, hypocritical system.

and one last minor thing to mention, if you are a fan of funny chapter titles, this book will definitely give you a giggle or two. huge thanks to netgalley and penguin young readers for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review. all opinions are my own.

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Say A Little Prayer immediately caught my eye when I first saw it announced. The main character and her experiences overlap way too much with my own for it to not. Books like this one are the books I desperately needed when I was a teenager, to know that there is more out there and that my experiences were not isolated. However, these books were not available to me, so being able to read this now at nearly 30 was honestly cathartic.

Say A Little Prayer tells the story of Riley, a teenager who leaves her church after coming out. Through a, at times heartbreaking and others humorous, series of events, Riley is forced to attend her former church’s week long camp. Riley is flawed as hell, but also very much a teenager just trying to figure it all out. There are a lot of other interesting characters including Riley’s sister, friends, and fellow campers, along with a classic fire and brimstone pastor and a set of truly heartwarming parents. The depiction of being a queer teenager in a church like this is very on the nose, down to the exact words spoken from the pulpit and the little details like Church Camp Guitar Guy. Of course, everyone’s experience is different and that is not being denied at all. But for many people, this will feel all too realistic. This isn’t a therapy session so I won’t get into it all, but I really appreciated feeling like my experiences were validated through a story reflective of many elements of my own.

The writing was at times cheesy, and I’m definitely not used to reading much YA that isn’t horror these days. However, a line that made me cringe would be followed by a chapter title that would send me into a fit of laughter because of just how good it was. This book made me laugh and cry. I am so glad I was able to read this ARC! I rated it 4.5 stars.

I recommend this for anyone who wants a unique YA queer rom-com and isn’t bothered by religious critique and the jokes that tend to come from being sarcastic and having religious trauma. I especially recommend this for anyone who grew up in an extremely religious environment, feeling like you wouldn’t escape alive and that there was no other future, and especially for all the queer kids. This is for you.

Coming out (no pun intended) March 2025!

In this delightfully hilarious novel, we follow the spirited teenager Riley, who is forced to attend church camp—a plot twist that's easy to overlook when you dive into her camp antics. Furious with the church for excommunicating her sister, Riley concocts a daring plan to humiliate the minister responsible by committing the seven deadly sins, directly opposing the camp's lessons on the seven virtues.

But there's a catch—Riley is hopelessly in love with the minister's daughter, who also happens to be her best friend and neighbor. Throughout the story, Riley’s journey reveals the complexities of teenage life, as she slowly comes to understand that everyone has their own battles and the world doesn't revolve around her.

This is a sweet, relatable tale of a girl’s fierce love for her sister and her fight for justice. Even though Riley is part of the LGBT+ community, her story resonates with anyone who's been an unsure teen navigating the turbulent waters of growing up.

Say a Little Prayer is a salient novel that explores how we respond when those we love hold on to their rules so much that they can't see past them. Riley is being sent to church camp after she reacts to a fellow classmate saying awful things about her sister. Resulting in her inability to hold her anger in and hitting said classmate. But Riley left the church a year ago, before they kicked her sister out and now she has to return to a place full of people who've judged her sister, her family and herself.  

Riley knows who she is and hates how vindictive people were to her sister, so she sets out to expose the Pastor for all his misaligned preaching and lessons. However, her best friends happen to be the Pastors' kids. Also, she may have a crush on best friend and pastor's daughter Julia. 
This book weaves in the very real anger you can feel when your church decides that you don't fit the model and when you fight back against stricter ideals. I loved reading about Riley's exploration of the rules and sins and how that impacts her friendships and journey. 

Pick this up if you loved the movie Saved, if you like sapphic stories, and you value strong friendships. It's absolutely worth the read! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

4.5/5 Stars rounded up to 5 Stars

I honestly adored this book! I finished it in less than a day, that’s how captivating it was. I only have one negative that I can think of, that there weren’t books like this when I was a teenager. I would have come out long before 40 if that were the case! It was the perfect blend of reverent and funny for the topic, and I really enjoyed Riley and Julia. The whole cast of characters were pretty great, but they definitely made the story. This was so well written and engaging, I couldn’t stop until it was all finished. Great job and definitely read this book!