This was like a fun nostalgic gut punch. Riley is SUCH a seventeen year old, and by that I mean she’s so endearingly stupid, thinking she’s going to single-handedly take down the entire church system lol. But the righteous indignation is so on brand, I loved it.

Riley’s story was surprisingly triggering, I didn’t think I was still that affected by my church days. I, like Riley, feel sad to have left the camaraderie and the community aspect but I don’t miss the guilt. Say a Little Prayer was such a sweet and fun read, full of teenage hijinks, first love, and overcoming religious guilt.

A special thanks to NetGalley & Penguin Teen for sending me an advanced ebook!

Wow!!! I thought I would like this book going into it, but I loved it. I teared up a little bit at the end. This book is so honest. It tackles a subject that can be so difficult at times (problems with organized religion) with such a sense of grace. Are the characters embarrassing and make silly decisions? Yes of course. They’re high schoolers. But the characters are written with such love and care. Everything they say and do makes sense to anyone that went through high school. If you had handed me this book in early high school/late middle school I would’ve wanted to read this book until I died. It’s so relatable to who I was at the time (and with that, who I’ve become now) that it makes me a little emotional. It makes me miss high school youth group retreats so so much. I miss being with my small group in a cabin, talking and doing stupid stuff together until the middle of the night. I could go on and on about how well this book describes the experience of being on a church retreat, and the good (and not so good) experiences on them. And I think for a YA novel, it handles religion and queerness so well. It touches so well on the relationship between those two, and how many queer people still find a community within religion, while some aren’t able to, due to the hurt they’ve been caused. The book doesn’t say any of those options are wrong!

Overall, a very good and kind book. I couldn’t put it down, and found myself laughing, crying, and gasping over the course of it. It’s a book that is realistic and I can’t recommend enough, especially to fans of VBS by Lucy Dacus. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

Oh and before I forget, this book is FUNNY. The chapter titles are absolutely hilarious.

Say a Little Prayer follows Riley at a church camp commiting seven deadly sins while falling for the church pastor's daughter.

I was unsure of whether I'd enjoy this book because the plot didn't sound like it'd be a favourite. But I was so wrong. I had an absolute blast while reading this and I love Riley and how she firmly stands against what's wrong and sticks to her beliefs. I laughed a lot reading this book so that's obviously a good sign. But it also discusses topics about how bad religion can be which is important especially to queer people and others too.
I really enjoyed Riley and Julia's dynamic and they were such chaos together but also sweet. I love reading about sapphic girls

Overall I loved this, and I'll be reading more from Jenna Voris.

Everything I wanted AND more. I thought this book was so fun and worth the ride!! I would reread it immediately.. and honestly I might..

As a lesbian with religious trauma, this book felt like a warm hug. This book was such a cute, fun, emotional read. I loved it so, so much. I loved the characters, I loved the setting, I loved how it explored deep concepts while still keeping a lighthearted feel.

I cannot say enough good things about this book. It brought up some real and very important things which I appreciated. I loved this book and can’t wait to check out other things from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

I adored this book so, so much! It is clever, humorous, heartwarming, and I will always be here for teenage passion and shenanigans being used to fight power that is being used to harm others. Riley, the main character, left her church after her sister was kicked out but finds herself remanded to church camp to avoid additional punishment for some poor behavior at school. The bulk of the p[ot involves Riley fighting the extreme and judgmental messages being taught at camp, but readers will enjoy a romantic side plot as well. This is a book that I think will have strong teen appeal and give them lots of talk about as they read!

This was such a fun read! I thoroughly enjoyed following along with Riley's attempt to commit all 7 deadly sins in one week of church camp while also lowkey falling in love with her best friend, Julia. It did feel a bit unbalanced to me--it's marketed a little more on the romance side of things, but it's far more focused on Riley's frustrations with the church and vendetta against Pastor Young and there's barely any romance. They don't even kiss (spoiler alert lol sorry) until 78% through the book!

I loved the scene in the church where the girls have an 'I am Spartacus' moment--so funny and not how I anticipated that scene going. I did think it was a little silly, though, that the pastor dad wouldn't have recognized HIS OWN DAUGHTER'S HANDWRITING. Or have found it in her house??? There's no way Julia forgot that thing with how closely she was monitoring it for THE ENTIRE BOOK. Whatever, lol.

All in all, a fun ride. I do agree with some reviewers' points that it feels very millennial and like it's trying to be Gen Z/younger than it is.

Excellent book about a high schooler trying to fight injustice, specifically homophobia and misogyny within the church she had recently left, it is very sad how some people used their power and influence to control and shame other people, but there’s always someone willing to fight for what’s right.

In my mind I must still be a teen, because I truly love YA books. This one delves into being queer as a teen, unwanted pregnancy, and the religious right. If that doesn’t appeal to you, do not read this book. But for a lot of teens, this book is exactly what they need.

Riley is a high school junior, heavily involved in the drama department, and queer. She came out to her parents as being bisexual. They accepted her without question. However, their church did not. As such, the family no longer attends church.

When one of Riley’s sister Hannah’s best friends is caught saying unkind things about Hannah, Riley takes matters into her own hands. This results in Riley having to spend a week at a Christian spring break camp or lose her spot in the spring musical. For Riley there is no option here. The camp it is. But she is going to use this time to find a way to make the people of her town understand that their pastor, her best friend’s father, is anything but a positive influence.

Only things happen at camp that Riley can’t even imagine would, and she is forced to rethink her revenge campaign. Life as a teen is never easy.

I honestly can’t imagine what it would be like to be in Riley’s situation. Fortunately she’s fairly resilient to the chatter about her sexuality. As an adult, knowing so many people who were unable to share their true sexuality as teens, I’m glad the world has changed. I’m thankful for books like this for the teens currently trying to figure out who they are. My hope is that teens will always be accepted for who they are (and adults too.) Maybe more books like this will accomplish that.

God I love a YA sapphic romance that has me kicking my feet and giggling.

I didn't go into this novel expecting to love it as much as I did. I wouldn't necessarily consider myself part of the "religiously traumatized queer" club. Religion wasn't forced on me in the ways it was forced on Riley and Julia. And yet, I found myself highlighting passages that had me choking back tears or that perfectly described exact feelings I've had in my journey to accept my self and sexuality. I laughed and I cried and I truly found myself rooting for the characters to succeed.

The romance itself is exactly what I could have hoped for–a side plot, really. An important one, but not the main one. Riley's character development shines so much brighter than the potential romances taking place. The acceptance and rejection and understanding that comes from her seven days at camp are not only relatable and important, but they made this novel one that I didn't want to stop reading and one that I would whole-heartedly recommend to others.

3.75 stars.

absolutely LOVED this book!!!!! make sure to read this when it comes out in march!!!! the chapter titles are HILARIOUS!!! this book had me addicted i love riley!!! the best sapphic novel that will make you laugh and cry!!

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!

I LOVED this book!! Voris has a way of really making you feel like you're in the story - she evokes the place and people so well. I loved so many of the characters (basically all of the female characters). I loved being inside Riley's head - having gone through a deconstruction of my faith within the last several years, I understood this book viscerally. I also have experience with Christian camps - both sleepaway and day camps. Voris did a great job of describing what camp can be like.
I loved watching Riley process her emotions and helping the other people around her do the same.
I already can't wait to pick up my next Jenna Voris book!

I really enjoyed this book. Speaking as someone who didn’t grow up in a religious household, this felt like a very genuine look into the Christian and conservative family scape. I loved the building of the camaraderie between the young women. Each relationship overcoming its own obstacles. Really enjoyed the overall concept of the breaking all of the seven deadly sins.

I know this is a story, but I also know this is how life goes sometimes. I love that Riley and Julia came clean about their feelings. And it feels weird to say I love the trauma there, but it feels very genuine. These young women grew up in an environment that was unwelcoming, but they found each other and are together now in this moment.

This was a really lovely book! I hadn't read the author's first book yet when I read this but I'm reading that now too! This book was exactly the book that many kids growing up in the church need. As someone who is a Christian myself, that added an extra layer of meaning to the story. The last several scenes in this book were some of my favorite in recent books and I've already reread them several times.

Amazing character development. Amazing plot line will definitely recommend to friends and family good job

This book follows Riley, who is forced (basically) to go to a Baptist church camp over spring break because she punched a girl at school. Whilst there, she decides to commit all seven deadly sins. Also there is her best friend Julia, who happens to be the Pastor’s daughter (he kind of sucks lol).

This book is super silly but also very heartfelt. There were parts that I was laughing over and then suddenly I almost started crying. I think that makes a good book, personally.

I really liked how complex the characters were! There was a lot of strained/messy friendships, confusion about religion, and a lot of serious talks about serious issues. It was a super realistic book and the characters felt very realistic as well. I think the sort of vague ending made it even more realistic. I’d love to read a novella about them in their senior year or maybe them in college!

Also, it has chapter titles! And they’re quite funny. Also lots of musical theater mentions.

Okay, so, I loved this book! Every aspect of it was so well-crafted and it was such a fun book to read, I could not put it down.

The story follows Riley, an outspoken theater kid who had to attend this week-long church camp to make up for smacking a girl in school. She’s also joined by her neighbor/best friend Julia, the pastor’s daughter. And after finding out the theme of the church camp this year is the seven heavenly virtues, Riley vows to take down her former pastor through committing the seven deadly sins instead.

First, I loved the found family situation with the six girls in the cabin, some of them being friends before church camp, some not so much. I also loved how different and distinct all the girls were, and how they were able to work past their differences.

I really enjoyed Riley’s character. She has a strong, intense personality, which in some other cases could be annoying, but I liked the way she wielded her personality (if that makes sense). Like helping the other girls go out of their comfort zones, always supporting them, it was really sweet.

I also really liked Julia’s character. She was the total opposite of Riley in some ways, being more reserved while Riley was the outspoken one, but they both really cared for each other throughout the book and I loved their friends-to-lovers dynamic.

Speaking of their relationship, I loved that you could see their feelings for each other from the start, even if they didn’t fully acknowledge or know it then. The little touches, looking out for each other, sharing secret smiles, it was so cute.

I also thought the religious aspect of this book was very well executed. As an ex-Christian, I could totally relate to Riley’s anger over her former congregation kicking out her sister. And I could also understand Julia’s predicament with being the pastor’s daughter and a closeted lesbian. I also appreciated how the religious aspects tied in with their developing relationship.

Overall, this book was so entertaining and I couldn’t recommend it enough for people wanting a fun, fast-paced, sapphic YA novel!

Oh man this was so special. Five stars easily. This story was a sparkling mix of pining, theatre kid nostalgia and the challenges of coming into your own that many teens face across the board. Riley is a fierce main character who loves her family and sticks to her convictions at ever moment. Throughout the book we see her come face to face with the reality of her religious upbringing and recon with the unfair system of her church. To see her choose her own path and build bonds despite the efforts of Pastor Young (yuck) was the hopeful salve everyone needs in these hellish days ahead. Julia's arc and insights were oh so painful but to see her get her form of a happy ending was just so sweet. This book will be so helpful to those in its intended audience and will provide them with a comfort that will be without a doubt life-changing and oh so affirming.

If you are looking specifically for a sapphic romance, this probably isn’t the book for you. If you are looking for a book about religious trauma and friendship with some very funny one-liners, you’ll probably enjoy this one. I was expecting more from the romance, but I’d say the romance was a subplot in this book. I enjoyed the side characters in this book and the way their stories were fleshed out. I appreciated the way the author demonstrated how some churches use fear to control their members, and the way this can hurt people.

Overall, this book wasn’t what I expected, but it was well-written and some of the lines actually had me laughing out loud.

This was a fun YA read that my students will enjoy. The critique of conservative religion is sharp and enjoyable.