Riley is a smart, independent, and stubborn teen. She has an altercation with a more popular student and is given the choice between a week of suspension or a week at a Christian camp. She chooses the camp because she doesn’t want to miss helping with the school’s latest play production.

Riley’s plan is to do the bare minimum and get through the week without being noticed. This plan goes awry, however, as she meets fellow misfits and the pastor’s daughter who becomes increasingly harder to ignore.

This book is an excellent coming of age story! We follow Riley on her emotional evolution, as she becomes more comfortable in her skin and her sexuality. I was pleasantly surprised the supporting characters are their own people instead of characters who show up occasionally. I also really appreciated the snark throughout the book. There is some angst as you would expect, but it’s perfectly lighter moments.

This is 100% the book I wish I had as a teenager. This book would have helped not feel hopelessly alone and feel more comfortable in my own skin. I highly recommend!

This perfectly hits the spot between heartfelt and irreverent, teen comedy and religious trauma. Riley is extremely 17, for all the good and bad that that brings in terms of characterization and decisions, but I feel like it would hit extremely well for the readers a little closer to the high school age range.

I wish the 7 sins aspect of it was a little more prominent or fleshed out, along with Riley's musical theater angle; aside from her dramatic personality, the theater kid energy wasn't really there in the way I was hoping for.

The romance between Riley and Julia is super cute, but the heart of this really is dealing with religious trauma and your entire community and world being tied to not just your faith but a specific church, how damaging it can be to feel like you no longer belong, and how much people hide in fear they'll no longer be accepted.

All in all, a nice, quick read that had a good balance of laughs and heart, but I wish some parts of it had been a little tighter.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for providing me an ARC of this book. An honest review was requested in exchange for this book, all opinions are my own.

This was my second most anticipated read of the year (after Onyx Storm). When I read the description, it's so many things I love: a bisexual theater girl, forbidden sapphic romance, and committing the seven deadly sins. I actually created a NetGalley account just to request this book because I wanted to read it so badly and couldn't wait until March.

First of all, I am obsessed with the cover. The art style, the bisexual flag colors in the background, Riley praying/making the A, the halo and devil tail, and of course the tag Love is patient, love is kind, love is gay. I also think the title is perfect. I would 100% have read this book if i saw it while browsing. I may not have even read the description. It was definitely one of the reasons I wanted to read it so badly.

This book did not disappoint. It was so fun and so cute. It also had the best chapter names ever, including "God Gives His Toughest Battles (Surviving Church Camp) to His Gayest Soldiers (Me)", "Some Light Property Destruction, as a Treat", and "What If We Kissed in the Church Camp Chapel? Haha, Just Kidding. Unless . . . ?" (Please note that this book is not published and all chapter titles are subject to change.

Riley is definitely not a perfect character, she's a little judgemental and self-centered, but in a way that's realistic, especially for a teenager. I loved the end when they all stood together, it was a little cheesy, but it worked for me. This book also had a good balance of humor. I highlighted so many lines and was laughing out loud almost every chapter.

I would've liked this book more if it had focused more on the romance, it felt like a side plot to me. I also think the side characters could have been fleshed out more to give them more personality. I still really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it. I'm interested to see what, if anything, will change in the final version. I'd also definitely be willing to read another book by this author since I liked her writing style and sense of humor.

As a queer person with deep seeded religious trauma... I LOVED THIS BOOK! I was flashing back to all of my youth group summer trips and cringing at the accuracy! While this is a wonderfully queer RomCom, it definitely hits some dark points of how queerness or personal decisions that are "frowned upon" are treated in a lot of Christian communities. I very much appreciated how these topics were discussed! I will be requiring all my fellow queer former church friends read this book!

Really liked this one. Fun and touching and topical. It is hard to describe the story without it sounding like a collection of tropes, but it is so much more than that. This is a coming of age/coming out love story, where most of the action takes place at a bible camp in Kentucky. The main character is messy, but not obnoxiously so- her motivations are understandable, and she is dealing with a lot. I liked the main character, and I also enjoyed the secondary characters. Even if you do not usually read YA, this one is a lot of fun. Highly Recommend.

Voris ensures that you don’t finish this book unscathed. Riley’s story is a full-body experience as you juggle love, anger, grief, persistence, and so much more. As a former church camp kid, these coming so personal in every interaction. Admittedly, I was waiting for something predictable, but at every turn, I was please with how Voris furthered our path. While this was not an inherently enjoyable read for me, it was real and accurate and raw. I will without a doubt be seeing more of Voris on my shelves.

I'll be honest....didn't love this one. Didn't even like it! Was excited about this ARC, and the premise does have a lot of potential but it was not executed well. Frankly it felt like I was reading a first draft - none of the characters have any depth, they are strictly words on the page. Without spoiling anything, the ending is not at all satisfying and barely resolves. And this is a YA book clearly written but someone desperately trying to sound like a teenager. The best part of the book were the comical chapter titles.
As always, thanks to NetGalley & the publishers for the ARC!

First off, I would like to thank Penguin Group| Viking Books for Young Readers and author Jenna Voris for allowing me to read this book, Say a Little Prayer, via #netgalley. All opinions following are my own.

This novel is about the struggles Christian youth go through when they do things that residents in a small, Christian town see as serious sins. Particularly, this story follows Riley, a bisexual junior in high school, who after slapping another student in the middle of the senior hallway at school, is forced to attend a week-long youth camp with her former church. She left the year prior when her beloved older sister, Hannah, chose to have an an abortion and was kicked out of the congregation, and then the pastor also preached that homosexuality was a sin punishable by spending an eternity in hell. Being bisexual herself, this was her breaking point.

Church camp would be completely unbearable for Riley if it weren't for her two best friends, Ben and Julia. The only problem is that their father is also the pastor who turned the entire congregation against her sister. Riley tries not to think about that, though, when Julia accidentally brushes against her, and she almost stops breathing because it makes her so happy. Too bad she'll always have to keep her unrequited feelings for Julia a secret to keep her in her life. This is even more clear when Riley decides to turn camp on its head by going against the week's theme: The Seven Virtues and committing the Seven Deadly Sins instead. She can't, of course, be a bad influence on Julia. Unless Julia is more impressionable than it seems...

This book was cute. It's honestly not something I normally choose to read, so I had a hard time rating it. Ultimately, I gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ because it was enjoyable and definitely caused me to reflect as a reader. This book drops March 04, so be sure to check it out!

#brenbreathesbooks #brenreviewsbooks #4starreads #jennavoris #lgbtqia #lgbtqreads #sayalittleprayer #romance #Sapphic #netgalleyreviewer #ARC #ARCReader #februaryreads #comingsoon #readerlife #reader #bookworm #booknerd #booksofinstagram #bookstagramcommunity #booksthatmakeyouthink #goodreadschallenge #bookish

The plot description of this book had me so intrigued. Then the realization that not only was she in love with the pastor daughter, but that the pastors daughter was also her friend?? drama on drama! I also thought that the act of committing the 7 deathly sins at 7 days of Bible camp was sooooo fun.

In the actual story, I expected the deathly sins part to be driving the plot but, instead, it was much more character driven. If you love messy, lovable main characters, this is the book for you. Also, really loved the support characters having such good development over the story, they felt so real to me.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the chapter titles!! so fun and funny, literally Rick Riordan levels of on the nose descriptions but still being silly (ex: bread slut).

The book culminates in a moment that is so tense but so well done that it ended up making me laugh and cry. Which basically sums up how I felt the majority of the book.

I enjoyed this! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this title.

3.5 stars

I think if you enjoyed Simon Vs the Homosapiens this might be a good choice for you. I haven't been super into young adult books, but this one actually worked pretty well for me. When Riley is talking about hating PE class and not being good at sports, I have never related to something more. That brought back a whole lot of memories from high school. That part made me audibly chuckle.

The religion aspect of this story was a little tough for me. I love where we ended up, but getting there was frustrating. The pastor is one of my least favorite characters in a book ever. He reminded me of people I knew when I was a teenager and he was just awful. I enjoyed the big moment with all of the girls toward the end a lot.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I was going to, and I would definitely recommend this to others.

This book is AMAZING! It made me laugh SO much & hero so seen. And the ending totally made me tear up. This book is going to be so important for so many people who have previously felt unseen, judged or even totally alone with their thoughts & feelings before. It deals with religion in such an honest & open way, and it felt really having to see how these characters dealt with & overcame their obstacles. Highly recommend this book!!

I loved this book and the characters so much. I was laughing the whole time and having the best time on their journey. I’d recommend it to anyone. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy. :)

I love LGBTQ + books, but not so much religious books. The book combined them both in a palatable way. I hope this helps heal religious trauma for people in the community. I enjoyed it, though it was predictable at times.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for this ARC!

When I was 5 years old I realized I loved girls and that in part thanks to my Sunday school teacher but I also heard what my pastor and other church goers had to say about the LGBT community so I hid it. This book brought those feelings back but also healed something inside of me.

It's an easy and quick read that I ate up in a single sitting. Keep in mind this is YA so the characters aren't completely matured and make mistakes.

All in all a great read

This religious based sapphic YA romance story follows the incredible journey of Riley and Julia as they discover both the horrors and potential for friendship that comes along with being part of a religious community. Riley has had to defend not only herself and her sexuality, but the fact that her older sister had an abortion and was publicly humiliated by the church and their community. Even though leaving the congregation was the best decision for Riley, she still struggles with the lack of community and the fact that her two best friends/siblings Ben and Julia, are a product of the pastor that shunned her family. And to make matters worse, when Riley gets into a fight with one of her sisters’ former friend Amanda, the only option she has in order to avoid a suspension is to participate in church camp for spring break. The very same camp that Julia and Ben participate in every year and is run of course by their pastor father. So Riley decides that the best way to get back at her former pastor for embarrassing her family is to commit all seven deadly sins rather than embrace their virtues. Riley shows the other girls and Julia that maybe it's okay to look beyond what is considered right or wrong and think for themselves. Through late night binge eating, capture the flag, forbidden movie watching, and indulging in a little shopping, Riley not only begins to succeed in her mission, but she happens to fall a lot harder than she ever imagined for the one person who can never love her back.

Riley is such a joy, mainly because she manages to be both mature and immature for her age. Her spunky, witty, and outgoing personality made for the perfect contrast to Julia’s more reserved, carefully planned out, self conscious one. I like how they both brought out different sides to each other. There were definitely several times when Riley would have benefitted from not running her mouth, but I think that made her all the more relatable, especially how emotional teenagers typically tend to be. I felt her struggle to embrace her sexuality in a town that never made her feel welcomed. Her feelings for someone essentially off limits was extremely heartfelt and I loved how Riley handles showing Julia how much she cares for her without pressuring her into something she wasn’t ready for. The hand holding was truly sweet and adorable. Finally, her growth from the beginning to the end of the novel was very inspiring, not only was she able to continually stand up for herself, her beliefs, and her friends, but she was able to learn the importance of getting to know people before passing judgement on them and how hard it is for people to break away from something they spent their whole life believing in.

Julia on the other hand was very much your typical church girl. Extremely reserved, calculated, rule follower, and devoted. Always wanting to do the right thing and please the people around her, Julia’s internal struggle was especially heartbreaking. Stuck in the middle between her family and her best friend, she constantly struggled between following her heart and listening to her head/years of brainwashing. I love how patient Riley was with Julia, I just wish Julia had realized her feelings sooner and had been able to act on them rather than hide them. I’m glad in the end her heart won out over her fear. At the same time I can’t imagine how hard it is for queer kids figuring out their sexuality in a homophobic religious town where your father is the preacher and responsible for the fear instilled in you from a young age. Her growth was definitely admirable, and while her journey to figuring out her sexuality was rough and complicated, selfishly I just wish she had figured it out sooner so that there were more shared romantic moments between her and Riley.

I also really enjoyed the sense of friendship that developed throughout the story, especially between Riley, Julia, and the rest of the church cabinmates. The side characters, along with Riley’s parents and sister were all very charming, funny, and had distinguishing personalities. The fact that Riley’s parents were willing to give up their place in the church and community to support their daughters was super heartwarming, especially in regards to the sharp contrast of Julia’s parents being controlling and manipulative. I was a little worried that the story would be too preachy or over the top for someone like myself who is non-religious, but I definitely appreciated how the author didn’t shy away from the dangers, reality, and unfortunate outcomes of religious communities that thrive on using fear to control their members. Even though I know that some religious communities are different and can be more accepting than others, I know the pressure and struggle to fit in is especially hard for teenagers and people figuring out their sexuality. So I thought the portrayal of what a healthy/positive support system vs. a non-conforming, strict, and fear based system looks like was genius.

Overall I loved the message and how Riley proved to her friends and community that there are other options outside of a controlling religion based on fear and sometimes you just have to be brave enough to fight for what you know is right, even if you are in the minority. Riley was able to not only prove her worthiness to an unworthy dictator, but she was able to turn her anger into change and question those who deserve to be questioned. Despite the very serious topics of abortion, homophobia, coming out, prejudice, and religious intolerance, the author does a fantastic job of presenting alternatives and creating characters that are both real, unapologetic, smart, witty, and hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, even though I was hoping for a slightly deeper romance and a more satisfying/resolved ending, but then again, you can't change religious intolerance and homophobia overnight.

I hope the author healed how she needed to by writing this book. Ironic for a book bashing the church (which I’m so here for) was quite preachy. And certainly not gay enough. Not as gay as advertised. Enjoyable for the most part but fell flat of my expectations from the marketing around it. The romance was such a minor part of the story when it was suggested it would be the main thing.

80/100 or 4.0 stars

This will be an important book for so many YA/Teen readers, and I am happy more books that focus on this topic are being released. The topic of course being LGBTQIA+ and religion/faith. Since I was not the target age range for this story, there were things that didn't work for me as a reader, but at the same time it is good it was included for the people/readers that need to see it. This was a good as I was hoping it would be and more!

“I think you’re allowed to be a little horrible when you’re having a gay crisis at church camp.” This story started a little slow but wow, when it picked up it was wonderful! The storytelling, the characters, the religious commentary, it was all wonderful! It was also very emotional as all of the characters learned to deal with the emotional response to being part of a very restrictive and hate filled religious environment. But it didn’t hate on religion or people for being religious, just opposed those who use religion to hurt others. It was so well done and the romance was so cute!

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was very hesitant about this book, but it healed some part of my little queer, Christian heart.

This book includes:
🏕️ friends to lovers
🏕️ queer storyline
🏕️ complex themes around “the church”
🏕️ receptive arcs
🏕️ the seven deadly sins
🏕️ YA storyline
🏕️ very clever chapter titles

As someone who grew up in a very Christian, midwest community, came out as queer in college, and struggled with my faith, I’m always nervous about books like these. I’m worried we’re just going to completely shit on religion and faith. While I have mixed feelings about “the church” as an institution, I still believe in fellowship and community. This book was such a pleasant surprise. Not only was it witty and very relatable, but it challenged a lot of the same ideas I grew up with, while also sharing the positives of faith and the people of the church.

I normally don’t do contemporary young adult books, but this handled some mature themes in a very sensitive and thoughtful way. Our main character was flawed and self righteous, but her growth was encouraging to watch.

There were plenty of laugh out loud moments, but there were also sentimental ones too.

My two critiques:
1. The file I got sent for this arc was hella messed up with crazy formatting which made it a little difficult to read.
2. I needed a pinch of more detail in there. Sometimes I couldn’t figure out who was talking.

Saved! meets my literal high school church camp experience in a laugh out loud combo. Friends, I this book had me ROLLING. It tickled the part of my brain I thought I had repressed so well and reminded me that even though church camp was dark and full of horrors, the friends I made there were something to treasure, too. 5 enthusiastic stars.