This book was such a fun read. I’m a sucker for a YA romance, especially if you throw in a little religious trauma humor, and this one delivered. The chapter titles alone were absolute gold.

While the focus of the book is mostly Riley’s attempt at committing all seven deadly sins, there are clear lessons imparted along the way. I love the focus on the grey areas in the things we are told as children, both in and out of religious institutions. Riley’s character growth is not lost on me either; the author did an incredible job of showing her open up over time in a way that felt very natural.

The only thing I might say is that the progression of the book is a little off-kilter. Some things in the book felt really rushed. I understand camp only lasts a week, so there are limitations, but it sometimes felt a little too sugar-coated because of that. Overall, I would still highly recommend the book.

i love gay people that were raised catholic (me). as a catholic summer camp survivor, jenna voris perfectly represented the experience it felt like i was reliving my own experiences. great exploration about faith and dealing with that in the a congregation that goes against your own ideas of faith. i love you jenna voris please never stop writing books like this, we need them

This was a fantastic queer coming of age YA story featuring out, bisexual Riley, who is angry with her church and the way her sister's been treated. When she gets in an altercation with another girl at school, her punishment is to attend Church camp for the school break where she sets out to get others to commit seven deadly sins. What she doesn't expect is to fall for the pastor's daughter, Julia who just might not be as straight as Riley at first thought. Great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Dahlia Adler or Becky Albertalli. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Another absolute bop from Jenna Voris! This is going to resonate with so many people, and I cannot wait for it to be out in the universe.

Voris writes incredibly vibrant characters who you want to root for, even if they are making questionable decisions based on feelings for the pastor's daughter. Weren't we all teenagers once? Didn't we all love the mess of Ryan Murphy's Glee?

Riley's journey through church camp was so bingeable. I loved her quest to commit all seven deadly sins and her rebellious spirit. The banter made me want to talk back to any man I saw on the street. Voris effortlessly weaves the comedy in with insights about religion, community and queerness. It'll make you laugh and feel tender toward a younger version of yourself.

Read this if you like: But I'm a Cheerleader, religious trauma but make it funny, Percy Jackson (but specifically the capture the flag scene) and/or when the entire cast goes to Denny's on opening night.

*4.5

Jenna Voris is a star! This book is amazing (and I absolutely loved her other books). It’s funny, it’s clever, it’s deep… It’s so full of church culture and queerness my heart aches a little too much. But I enjoyed a lot. I loved the romance and the characters and the backgrounds, the themes… everything. I loved everything.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I absolutely adored this book. As a former church kid, I loved seeing that some of my experiences with the church and church camps are not unique to me. My only issue with this book was that her public school made her go to church camp as a service assignment which isn’t realistic. Otherwise, the story itself was well written and there was a perfect balance between banter and serious topics/conversations.

As someone who grew up in church culture, I could relate to a lot of the situations in this book. I was very curious to see how everything would tie up in the end and I did feel that the ending fell a little flat. Maybe that it wrapped up super quickly?
Overall I enjoyed the book, it kept my interest and appreciated that the main character stayed true to herself and stood up for her friends and what she believed. I think it’s a message many teens could relate with and hear.

I will read absolutely anything Jenna Voris writes - she never misses the mark.
Riley Ackerman is a headstrong teenager semi-forced into attending church camp following an incident with a peer. At camp, she sets her mind on completing the seven deadly sins to prove the local pastor (her best friend’s father) is a fraud. In the midst of attempting to overthrow the pastor, she’s trying to navigate her own gay panic and feelings for her best friend, while also navigating the intense hurt she feels for how the church ostracized her older sister.
Jenna does a wonderful job of really immersing you in the story; with great details of the setting, complex characters you love and hate a little, and humor scattered throughout, she’s become an auto-buy author for me. As a former church camp goer, she has accurate descriptions that brought up memories I’d forgotten of my summer at a YL camp while navigating my own gay panic 😂

A huge thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Say a Little Prayer. I can’t wait to reread and recommend to literally everyone I can when it’s released in March!

As someone who grew up in a high demand religion, this book made me feel seen and understood in a way no YA novel about religion ever has, beyond potentially Autoboyography by Christina Lauren.

Centering around a church camp that the main character is forced to attend, Voris portrays high schoolers raised in high-demand religions with grace and love, acknowledging that all of these kids were raised in a church, and as such, are capable of learning how to love and protect that which they don't understand. It's powerful because no character here is evil except the preacher who has made it his mission to terrorize a small town and warp religion in his own image. Even those kids who do believe in God are given the space to do that in their own unique ways. I loved this book. It healed something in me. Beyond all that, as well, it's just a fun time. The characters are fun and dynamic, their interactions with each other feel genuine, and the writing is quick-witted beyond belief.

Voris transports readers into a small, conservative town, but don't worry, there's still plenty of fun to be had. This small church camp is about to experience sinful anarchy.

Pastors like this guy are the reason so many people have religious trauma....but for real though, I felt like I was back in my childhood attending weekly youth group at my local Baptist church. Those weren't good memories either, especially when you're queer or queer-curious. Voris does a great job at depicting the guilt, fear, shame, and confusion that I remember feeling at that age. I remember the backlash a friend of mine faced when he came out as gay to his church peers and this novel reminded me of that time in a lot of ways.

I think some aspects of this book could have been executed better, but overall, I liked this novel and its premise. I thought the chapter titles were fantastic and hilarious. I thought the romance was sweet and appropriate for YA readers.

I loved the characters in this book! They were so cute and I’m a sucker for romantic tropes, and this book had a lot. I really liked this book, and I would definitely read another by this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love the premise and camp stories are generally fun, but this one dragged a bit too much and I found that I kept putting it down. Regardless, I really appreciated the message and think it's a solid YA story.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley, for the opportunity to receive an eArc in exchange for an honest review

Say A Little Prayer is the representation, visibility, and storyline that is invaluable for so many queer adults and young adults who have grown up in religious environments. Specifically, for those experiencing homophobia within the communities that raised them.

This was a book I was eagerly awaiting and with confidence I can say it didn’t disappoint.

Riley, her family, and friendships offer an array of heartfelt moments, empathy, rage, and self discovery.

When Riley finally has enough and snaps at one of her schoolmates at her religious school she is reeling in trying to figure out how to keep her role in the upcoming school play while also not compromising her own values. Enter the compromise- she attend bible camp over the schools break.

Here is where we see Riley blossom and become a menace, a driving force, and at the end of the day someone who is trying their absolute darndest to stay true to herself and stand up for herself and her family all the while refusing to compromise in the eyes of religious and community expectations.

This is a book that will have you riveted into Rileys plotting, laughing alongside her, and being immersed in what is the lived experience of so many adults and adolescents.

5 gooses

This book delivers everything it promises and more—a righteous takedown of hypocritical religious structures, a swoony sapphic romance, a found family arc, and a voice-y, bitter, burn-the-world-down-to-protect-the-ones-she-loves (and to fight for her values!) protagonist. I almost wish I had more church trauma so I could feel even more catharsis at the finale. Another slam dunk from Voris!

Let me preface by saying I am a former fundamentalist baptist kid myself.
So...man this book....
Every chapter was like a gut punch that shredded me to bits but then sewed the pieces back together by the end.
I loved Riley and her loyalty to her sister and family. She felt real and substantial, along with the other main character Julia. (funny enough I also had a crush on the pastor's daughter growing up haha)
I know this is a YA book but as an adult that is still dealing with the trauma of church congregation judgment, it was so nice to see it through their teenage eyes again and to hear the characters that were affected and how they saw it from the inside, unlike Riley who was now on the outside.
The premise of the book was super cute and I loved seeing Riley's plan unfold at church camp. ( I ALSO had to play capture the flag in the woods during church camp) (( Did we all experience the same traumatic childhood?? haha))
The chapter titles also made me smile and laugh, I loved every single one. This is a book I will definitely want to reread this and own a physical copy.

My only gripe really is the ending didn't feel finished. It felt like it needed like two more chapters to really set in stone all the characters were okay. Even if it was an epilogue with the characters being in college or something. The resolution didn't feel complete with the church itself, but I also know first hand this is the slow progression of trying to make a change in a community, so I liked it but also didn't, if that makes sense.

This was a cute little YA novel that I got through pretty quickly. A nice little palate cleaner haha while still covering some heavier topics (religious trauma, homophobia) I love the chapter titles, they were quite iconic. I don’t normally read YA so I think the fact that this kept my attention and I enjoyed it speaks volumes!

Thank you as always to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC before the publish date. If you’re in the mood for a quirky story about finding yourself through the oppression that some types of faith can express, this is the perfect book.

After a year away from her small town's Baptist church community, Riley, a bi-sexual theatre kid, finds herself forced to participate in the youth group's annual week-long sleep away camp. Now she must face her emotions regarding how the pastor and his congregation treated Riley's sexuality and her families other indiscretions that caused them to leave the church. Riley finds herself determined to turn Pastor Young's teachings on their head by committing all seven of the deadly sins during her time at camp. Will Riley succeed in showing the pastor's followers that he praises hypocrisy and blind faith over truth and acceptance? Or will she destroy her friendships in exposing his lies, especially with her best friend, Julia, who is Pastor Young's daughter?

Say a Little Prayer follows a unique perspective through the eyes of a queer teenager figuring out how she fits in a world designed for a person that she can't be. It was truly interesting to explore really deep and complex topics through Riley's mind. Growing up in the church, I found many aspects of the story very relatable. I enjoyed watching both Riley and Julia discovering their best selves while together even though their ideals and personalities differ.
While I do think it was intentional, I didn't love Riley's mean personality, as it made it difficult to read at some points. Some of the choices she made felt cruel while I think different options with a little more kindness would had held the same weight.
Overall though, I think this was a thoughtful story with a fun, unique flare that was able to shine a light on many topics that should be at the forefront of young adult literature and conversations. I would recommend to anyone looking to dive into a LGBTQ+, coming of age, best friends to lovers story.

I thought this book was so great and it covered some extremely heavy topics with care and a touch of lightheartedness that didn't make it seem disingenuous.

Say A Little Prayer follows Riley, a bisexual teen, who recently left her church after coming out but has remained best friends with the pastor's daughter, Julia. When Riley gets in trouble for fighting at school, her only way to remain in the school play is to spend her Spring Break attending church camp. The lessons at camp for the week are over 7 virtues to combat the 7 deadly sins and Riley decides to fight back against the pastor who has hurt her and her family by trying to commit all 7 sins over the week.

This book managed to make me laugh out loud and evoke a visceral reaction to some of the judgement and religious preaching done by Pastor Young. I honestly felt like Riley was so relatable and her feeling lost and like she was a little crazy for being the only one upset by the pastor's words felt so real to me. The book does touch on heavy topics such as teen pregnancy, abortion, coming out of the closet, religious persecution, but it does so delicately and with care. I also absolutely loved the chapter titles, which I feel like is something missing from most modern books.

The only thing that kept this from being rated higher for me is that I was expecting an LGBT+ teen romance, and I felt like even though a relationship ends up coming from the story, the book was mostly about Riley as an individual and to consider it a romance, the book would need to focus more on the relationship of the couple.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

(4.5⭐️) Say a Little Prayer has exactly the charm and wit you’d expect from a book with a main character whose biggest passion is playing Donkey in her high school’s rendition of Shrek the Musical. It has chapter titles that will make you laugh out loud. It’s so YA in the best possible way and manages to balance its complete silliness with truly sincere emotional beats.

This story follows Riley, the bi fmc, questioning her place within organized religion while she’s forced to attend church camp. It juxtaposes the deadly sins and the heavenly virtues with characters figuring out how to exist in the in between spaces. No matter your religious affiliation or lack thereof, this book is very accessible. I think everyone can relate to the internal and external pressures of reconciling who you are with who you want to be. Jenna Voris does a skillful job at capturing the heart of a good coming of age story. There’s joy, angst, and a healthy dose of teenagers going through an identity crisis.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Hey there! Would you like to relive your religious trauma in the relatively safe space of a sapphic novel? Neat, because that's pretty much what we're doing here.

At times, I felt that Riley, our main character, was a little too flippant and snarky, but as the story progresses, the emotions also gain depth. I will admit that I was often quiet uncomfortable reading this because my IRL experience of Christianity has been so consistently negative. At the same time, I have people in my life who find so much comfort and community in their faith, including people in the alphabet mafia. I was surprised, and somewhat gratified, that this book's basic thesis is that some people use faith as a way to bully and control people, while still acknowledging that there are welcoming and inclusive spaces in which to practice faith. That's a tricky line to walk, and I think this book did a pretty good job of that.

In terms of story and characterization, "Say a Little Prayer" doesn't break the mold, and I was never moved, for example, to the point of tears. I did enjoy this story and the message, and the relationships between the various characters were complex and continued to shift and evolve over the course of the story. Riley in particular starts off fairly flat, but as she grapples with her anger, both her self-awareness and her perceptions of other people evolved. Around chapter three, I was getting worried that the book would be dominated by pithy one-liners and sarcasm, but I'm glad I wasn't deterred, because Riley's attitude is challenged by her community even as she challenge's that community's apathy about their pastor's poor behavior.

At times, I felt that the author could have dug a little deeper and lingered more with certain uncomfortable questions or scenes. On the other hand, I was already getting pretty wound up by moments that tied to my own experiences within the church, and the fact that things stayed relatively light and upbeat made it easier to get through some of the more upsetting and/or frustrating scenes.

Riley's anger rings true to me, and I suspect that there will be readers who find her relationship with her faith and her congregation to be cathartic. The book also serves as a bit of a call to action for people who have faith but recognize when it's being used to harm others. I have a lot of feelings on this topic, so I'll end this here by thanking NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I read it absurdly fast, since I had trouble putting it down once I got into the story.