Daya Keane is a junior in Escondido, Arizona. For the last several years, at least since her father left when she was seven, Daya and her mother have co-existed, but are not really living. Daya's mother refuses to accept that Daya is queer and it's something the two dance around at all costs as rumors run around their small religiously conservative town. While Daya has always shied away from the megachurch gospel her mom sought following her divorce, she can't help but be intrigued by Beckett Wild, a beautiful, popular posterchild girl for Grace Reedmer's youth group. A chance encounter at a party leads Daya to wonder how much lies under the surface of Beckett's church going persona. When the two are paired for a school project, it becomes clear everything is not as perfect in Beckett's life as she would have the outside world believe. But how close can Daya and Beckett get with everyone watching?

Daya is a fantastic protagonist. There is something magical about her. I love her ability to define her own beliefs and faith when faced with the overwhelming "righteousness" of the megachurch, Grace Redeemer, whose kool-aid her mother and most of her small town have drank. The friend group of Stella and B'Rad are amazing and the queer community and support that Daya finds even in her small town is hopeful. That's not to say she isn't dealing with a lot of shit, but when she finds herself in the worst situations there is someone who comes through. That is clearly not the case for Beckett. I both admire and am driven crazy by the unresolved nature of Beckett's ending in this story, but in some ways that makes Daya's even more potent. There was a lot going on here and the unresolved bits of Beckett and B'Rad's stories when they felt so pivotal to their interactions with Daya are all that kept me from giving this five stars.