Church used to be a comfortable place for Riley—until she realized that her queerness would never be accepted, and until the pastor threw her sister Hannah out for getting an abortion. She doesn't regret leaving and not going back...except that she's been quietly in love with the pastor's daughter for years. And except that the pastor isn't happy that she left without his say-so. And except that after an altercation at school, she's been banished to church camp in Kentucky for a week...and now things are just a little bit awkward.

This is so far up my alley it's basically in my backyard. I love that although Riley feels rejected by the church, she isn't rejected by the people she loves most; her family has zero problem with sexuality, and neither does Julia, her best-friend-slash-crush. Better, the deeper into the book we get, the more complicated she finds her relationship with the teenagers who have been making her life, and her sister's life, difficult since they found out about Hannah's abortion. Riley is very much a teenager (her rantings in her notebook are *ever* so slightly cringe, which fortunately I think is the point), but on the whole things feel balanced.

Readers who have read Voris's "Every Time You Hear That Song" will be pleased to find a few easter eggs (though this is not a sequel and can be read 100% independently of "Every Time"). I read "Say a Little Prayer" partly on the strength of "Every Time", and I'm pleased to report that "Prayer" lives up to the standard set by its predecessor.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

This was a sweet and fun story, with some silly moments and believable character development and relationship dynamics. The commentary on religion and queerness was hilarious at times!

This book was delightful! Funny, sweet, and full of yearning. As a person who grew up bisexual in a church congregation that condemned being gay, I really related to Riley’s struggle. I will certainly be purchasing this book for my home and classroom libraries!

One of the funniest and most heartfelt books I've read all year. Voris did an absolutely wonderful job of diving into the ways some religious communities rely on conformity to function and how teenagers are uniquely impacted by these situations. Each character was so well written and their bonds with each other felt completely authentic. I will be recommending this book to every teenager I know.

Thanks to NetGalley, the editor and the author for this digital ARC.

I didn't read YA books for a while because the ones I read before always felt like something was missing or they were written for people who could not have complex thoughts. From people who think young adults, teens, and children are dumb and are not worth the effort to write complex and good stories made to make you think and relate.

I'm happy to say, it was not the case for this book. It was well written, had good characters, a great story and it was highly relatable even for someone who is out of the target demographic for a long time.

I think lots of people have met someone like pastor Young in their life. I have rarely been to church during my life and I have. I clearly remember one of the parents of my brother's classmate standing in the frame of our front door and saying to my mother that my brother was going to hell and trying to convince her to baptize him to save his soul when she learned he was not. Or when, not so long ago, I read in the news that Pope François Ist said that Abortion was a sin and that the people who performed the procedure were murderers. I think that's why more and more people are distancing themself from religions.

And I have to say, this book is spot-on at portraying it. But it also makes you realize that all religious people aren't like that. And I forget sometimes.

This book makes me think, laugh and cry. The relationships between the different characters were so good and the titles were everything !!! We see the characters grow a lot and It's also one of the best romances I've read. I think the author knows her audience and what they seek when they read a book.

What a fun book! I thought the story was interesting and important, the characters were lovable and funny. It was an interesting premise and I really loved it. Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for this ARC!

I was so excited to receive this ARC after reading and absolutely adoring Every time you hear that song a few months ago and you'd be mistaken if you didn't think I was gonna read it IMMEDIATELY. And this one absolutely lived up to my expectations, it was a delight to read from beginning to end. I think I can consider myself a big fan of Jenna Voris's writing now for sure.

There were very few moments where I wasn't laughing while reading this, there were constant jokes or offhanded comments made by every character and not to mention the chapter titles which were amazing. Its very rare YA books even do chapter titles anymore but I'm glad they were here and I'm glad they were so unhinged lol. Petition to put them back into books permanently please?? There are totally heavy moments and parts where it'll definitely hit really close to home for some readers though, no book is without those tougher conversations. I was never religious so I cant totally speak to any of it, but I know that even so there were a few things that sat with me and made me think. Riley was a great MC, she kind of wanted to set the world on fire and if i'm being honest she was kind of valid for it? But props to her for not doing it, more self restraint than I have on any given day lol. She was very strong willed and always stood up for people and the things she believed in no matter what the consequences may be. She questioned a lot and it was interesting to see her attitude towards things change throughout the book. I think that Julia, Greer, and Hannah were my favorite side characters. They all faced unique and also some of the same conflicts or were wronged by somebody and even so it didn't make them unredeemably mean or cruel. Sure they made mistakes but everybody does and they do admit and own up to it. I also liked Riley and Hannah's family dynamic, it showed the contrast between unconditional love like they had and conditional love like Julia and Ben had and how that can affect somebody in the long and short term.

The camp setting was super fun too. All these kids come together and even though some might have different opinions on faith or be in different social circles at home etc they still all love the vibes, friendship, and community that camp brings them. I loved all of the side characters tbh they were just funny and their personalities meshed well together. And the ending was truly heartwarming to see and made me love them even more if that was even possible. Like I said, I loved every second of this and I could keep talking about it but I think ill leave it here. Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the ARC, all opinions have been my own!

Review is now posted on both my Goodreads and Storygraph.

SAY A LITTLE PRAYER easily cements Jenna Voris as a must-read author for me. If you haven't read one of her earlier books, EVERY TIME YOU HEAR THAT SONG, you should.

In PRAYER, Voris delves into the world of religion and queer teens, introducing us to Riley, a teenager reckoning with her sexuality. Once a member of the Pleasant Hills Baptist church, she and her family left after its powerful leader, Pastor Young, publicly humiliated and kicked out her older sister, Hannah in front of the entire congregation. And then, shortly after Riley came out, Pastor Young's entire sermon focused on the sins of homosexuality.

Unfortunately for Riley, many of her friends are church members, including her best friends Ben and Julia, who just happen to be Pastor Young's children. The Hannah incident has caused some distance from her friends. But she finds herself reunited with both of them when she's forced to attend Pleasant Hills youth camp after an altercation at school with another student, who has been insulting her sister. (Because, of course, just punishment involves attending a religious camp.)

Once at camp, when Riley realizes Pastor Young will be preaching about the seven deadly sins, she decides to write an essay about each one and expose Pastor Young and his church for how hypocritical it truly is. While at camp, even though she can't talk to Julia about her father, she feels very close to her best friend. As in, you know, gay close! Scandal!

PRAYER is very YA, with our dear Riley making some terrible decisions, but it's perfect for its intended audience. It's also smart and witty and does a wonderful job of exploring religion (while still holding teen interest). What happens when religion doesn't bring joy or peace, the story asks, but instead comes from a place of fear, dictating lives and forcing children and families to act a certain way out of a forced sense of terror or humiliation.

Through Riley and Julia's characters, we see how life can be for queer teens--and how difficult it can be for religious ones. Voris illustrates the pressures both Riley and Julia feel from the church and shows how different it is when Riley receives familial support but Julia only hears of fire and brimstone. Their stories are inspiring and truthful and will ring incredibly truthful to kids going through the same thing.

As the book asks why and how pastors decide who is worthy, we see Riley's growth, as she struggles with why no one is questioning Pastor Young's culture of fear. She begins to understand how people--including those whom she's been very angry with--in religious situations maybe do not realize how things could be different, or that there are other options.

There are some moments in this book that made me cheer out loud. Others made me sad, as I felt so deeply for these teens. This is such a well-written, emotional book. There's not a ton of resolution with the ending, but it's certainly realistic. This is a story with a lot of religious talk, but it's not preachy, and you shouldn't let the religious angle scare you off--it's a wonderfully written and well-done story.

i knew i would like this the moment i got the arc, but this was a 5 star for me. i was a little concerned halfway through because it felt like the romance was not fully developing— i still feel that way, despite the story being about a lot of things, but i think the rest of the book made up for the little disappointment.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was super cute! I loved that the main character actually felt real for a seventeen year old. She was silly, and immature, and that made this book all the better. Riley used to be the perfect little Christian girl. But then her sister got an abortion and was kicked out of their congregation, and Riley realized that Pleasant Hills Baptist Church was no place for a bi girl who was questioning her beliefs in God. Months later, Riley slaps a girl and gets sent to Pleasant Hills Church Camp as punishment. As an act of defiance, she decides to commit all seven deadly sins, one for each virtue, and each day at camp. However, she’s also slowly falling in love with her best friend Julia…the pastor’s daughter. This was a short and sweet book. I was in a pretty big reading slump before this, but I sped through this book!

Jenna Voris does not miss. I will say I may be a little bias because I am such a fan of Jenna Voris's last book but I am going to do my hardest to be as honest as I can. In 'Say a Little Prayer' Voris does not miss a beat. She answers every question, she expertly crafts plot lines and brings them back when they are most needed and shows the beauty of teenage female connection. This book was vivid. The language, the scenes, the flashbacks, the nostalgic memory of watching a VHS beside your best friend, all of it leaped off the page. While some of the phrases were a little repetitive or were a little more tell than show Voris brought it back by showing and showing and showing some more. She builds a perfect setting and shows the reality of the teenage girl experience, especially the queer, Christian, teenage girl experience. This book was a hoot and.a half and I need fifty more of them right now.

Bi-sexual Riley will be the lead in the play Shrek and is compelled to slap fellow student, Amanda at school. But instead of a simple suspension, she is compelled to attend the Pleasantville Baptist Youth Camp in Kentucky. But Amanda is at camp too. Pastor Young has plenty of rules for the campers but Riley decides, in anger, she will commit every one of the 7 deadly sins while she is there. But what she doesn't realize in her fury, is that the kids there may be just as compassionate as they are rabid about their faith and there are many moments of wonder as well as gasps!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This queer read was more enjoyable than I anticipated. The setting, premise and characters all came together nicely and the religious setting was the icing on the cake.

Riley's dislike of Pastor Young, the pastor of Pleasant Hills Baptist Church, began after he preached a sermon on the dangers of homosexuality (as she is bisexual), but metamorphized into a profound hatred after he publicly condemned her sister, Hannah, for having an abortion, and expelled her from the church. Having strong disdain for a pastor would normally not be much of an issue; there are other churches one can attend, other religions one can practice, or no religious expression at all. However, Riley's best friend and next-door neighbor, Julia, is Pastor Young's daughter, and the two families used to be very close. What irks Riley the most is how no one stood up for her sister; even her closest friends abandoned her.

After slapping another student (her sister's former best friend, Amanda) for saying inappropriate things about Hannah, Riley is faced with a choice -- a one-week expulsion, which means she will miss out on the school play, which she has been working so hard on, or spending her spring break at the Pleasant Hills church camp, and then writing an essay about the experience. She will be joined at camp by Julia, her brother Ben, and other people Riley knows, including Amanda, as well as high schoolers from other area schools. The theme for the week is the seven deadly sins, with each day devoted to practicing the virtue that contrasts the deadly sin (temperance instead of gluttony, patience instead of wrath, etc.). Riley quickly sees an opportunity, intending to commit and convince other campers to commit the seven deadly sins and show how these alleged sins can actually be positive and useful in some situations. She wants to expose Pastor Young as a fraud, showing that he is often wrong in what he says. Her plan will not go as intended -- in fact, in some ways it will go catastrophically wrong -- but she will have experiences and conversations with friends, former friends, new friends that will expose and explore the anger she has been clinging to, and help her realize that others, including Julia, question the lessons espoused by Pastor Young but that fear, uncertainty, and peer pressure prevent them from finding the courage to speak out. However, Pastor Young will eventually go too far, and his attempt to publicly shame Riley will meet with some resistance.

Mixed-in with the virtue versus vice battle is a story about some people accepting themselves and others for whom they really are. There are also some pretty humorous moments in the story.

The story begins with Riley slapping Amanda. Faced with the options of Bible camp or suspension, Riley chooses the former. The narrative centers on Riley's quest for retribution against Pastor Young. This book is highly recommended for all readers.

Say a Little Prayer is a YA novel about a queer theater kid who (because plot) winds up at Baptist camp, where she decides to prove Asshole Pastor wrong by committing all seven deadly sins in seven days without being smited or whatever, a plan further (un)calculated to win the eternal friendship (could one possibly wish for more?) of Asshole Pastor's lovely daughter Julia—a plan so foolproof it couldn't possibly go wrong.

Say a Little Prayer is sharp, silly, heartfelt, painfully real despite its utter absurdity (a trick good YA shares with the more surreal side of experimental literature—perhaps one reason I'm drawn to both). To be clear, Riley is an idiot. But she is oh so very 17. Oh so painfully, awkwardly, believably 17.

In the end, the novel earns its five stars the only way a book with a glowing halo over the “y” in prayer really can—by being so much fun it hurts. Sure, there are some awkward moments and some thinly-sketched characters—but there are also some incredibly cathartic, emotional set-pieces. I don’t want to give too much way, but for those who’ve read it, I’ll just say—the “wrath” scene, you know the one—and from there, the white-knuckle emotional intensity of this silly little book caught me off guard. I read the last few chapters twice in a row, just to experience them over.

If you've ever wondered just how meaningful holding hands can really be, this is your book.

Say a Little Prayer is the kind of story that I, as someone who grew up surrounded by religion, could have really benefited from, and I suspect that this would/will be the case for many individuals in similar circumstances. Yes, there are certain stereotypes that are laid out and followed throughout the story, and it's difficult to say if there was anything particularly surprising or groundbreaking about the plot progression, but there there are plenty of dimensions with which the characters approach each other and their surroundings. No, I don't think that this work necessarily reinvents the wheel, but at the same time, I don't think it sets out to do just that either, and that's totally fine! The balance between that "goofy" sort of summer camp vibe versus the harsher realities of growing up and growing into oneself is well-maintained through and through. My bottom line: I had fun. Good fun.

After posting this review, I will promptly be contacting those who are familiar with my prayer-laden days and will be having a laugh sharing this often-times too relatable ride. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 because this is exactly the kind of upbeat (even if at times heavy-handed), easy read I needed.

My thanks to the author (Jenna Voris), the publishers (Penguin Group + Viking Books), and NetGalley for providing the eARC through which I was able to read the work and write this review.

As a bisexual girl who grew up in the Midwest going to church every Sunday, this hit some places I'd forgotten about. I wish I had this book when I was younger.

If there ever was a book written for a person, it was this book for me. As a lesbian who attended many a church camp (as well as private Christian school), I started internally screaming the first time I read the synopsis and I don't think I've stopped yet. I'm so so grateful I was able to read an early copy through NetGalley because tbh I don't think I would've made it to March...

Let's start with what I loved:

Ben. Obviously. Need I say more?

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's always refreshing to me.

I also really enjoyed the discussion surrounding religion and the candid abortion representation. I loved that religion wasn't so black and white, good or bad. Hannah tells Riley she still believes in God even after leaving the church and I loved that it was shown that characters could still believe in something and not stand for the hate of the church they were in. It was very realistic to me and an overall just thoughtful portrayal of religion.

I also loved Riley. I love that she's flawed, a little bit angry, and not always nice. I liked that she messed up sometimes and was quick to speak her mind. I'm tired of female characters always having to be nice. Let them be more than that. Riley cared for others deeply, was passionate about injustice, all while grappling with her own view of Christianity. I'm always here for complex FMCs and Jenna Voris does them so well.

The church camp setting works for this too. Perhaps because I'm so familiar with it is why I liked it so much but either way, I definitely think there's an untapped market for religious camp queer stories LOL so I'm glad someone finally got on it!

There are so many more good things I could say about this book, but I'll wrap it up with I was obsessed with the chapter titles. "God Gives His Toughest Battles (Surviving Church Camp) to His Gayest Soldiers (Me)" was a personal favorite. Oh, and the "Every Time You Hear That Song" allusions. There was a certain one where I nearly screamed and threw my phone across the room.

Now on to what unfortunately didn't work as well for me. I'd like to preface this with this is still nearly a five-star read for me, so all of these things were very minor.

I think my biggest issue was just with the pacing of the story. The timeline takes place over like a few weeks, with the bulk of the plot happening over a few days. When you keep that in mind, everything feels very rushed. I understand that it makes more sense for it to be a spring break camp, just with the school/possible suspension aspect (and I even went to church camps during school breaks so I get it!) but I think a summer camp would've allowed more time for everything to be fleshed out. I really loved Torres and Delaney but with everything else going on I didn't feel like I got to know them well enough. Also, Amanda and Greer felt like the same character to me -- I kept forgetting who had done what in regards to Riley/Hannah.

Which brings me to my second minor issue: I think maybe we were trying to do too many things at once. We have Riley at camp attempting to commit all seven sins, her relationship with Julia, the abortion storyline/Amanda and Greer and the drama there, Ben and Hannah, Julia's own personal religious/sexuality crisis, and Riley's issues with Pastor Young. I felt like maybe if the focus was narrowed down a little, it would have given more time for things to be expanded on and given full resolution.

Riley and Julia's relationship gets the most satisfying conclusion, which I love, obviously, but other plotlines were tied up a little less neatly. For example, Riley's essay is like The guiding plot line, but then she just essentially says never mind and writes what she's supposed to, which is fine of course, but as a reader is just a bit like, oh. okay.

I know it seems like I'm complaining a lot, but I want to reemphasize that I LOVED THIS BOOK. All of that combined only took off half a star for me. I will be rereading this asap too. What it does well, it does VERY well. I related a lot to this, and I think middle school me needed this book badly. I only noticed some of the things I pointed out because it struck such a deep chord in me and I always have the urge to overanalyze books I'm obsessed with haha.

Anyways, Jenna Voris is so talented and should continue writing about messy queer girls for the rest of forever, methinks.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.