This book!! The religious trauma, the representation, the absolutely comical moments, and the friendship? This is absolutely beautiful - it's silly, it's heartfelt, and it's just oh so painfully accurate and real that it actually hurts.

Riley is a kid - let's face it and get that fact out of the way. She's 17 - her actions, her mannerisms, her language - she's 17 and no 17 is incredibly smart (sorry, but we all know it's true!). But she's awkward and REAL and an absolute joy to read about.

The fierceness in which she is confident about who she is and the love that she has for her sister is beautiful and I just absolutely ate it up! The process of committing all seven deadly sins in the seven days of camp is just epic in more ways than one.

This is beautiful - I sat in awe and had to reread the ending all over again, just because it was so good. Everyone should read this one!

Thanks to NetGalley and Viking Books for this e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion!

I freaking loved this book, It healed a small part of my inner child this I didn't even know needed healing.

As a lifelong Percy Jackson fan, one thing I LOVE is silly joke chapter titles, and by god, does this one have them! I miss chapter titles, and seeing them here brought me so much joy. It's such a little thing, but it stood out to me.

The one other thing that stuck out to me was how beautifully this book dealt with Riley and her sister Hanna's ( who got kicked out for having an abortion) religious trauma. It wasn't just Riley trashing the church; her rage was directed at the pastor and how he twisted religion to have others turn on their neighbors. Jenna does a fantastic job of showing the plethora of perspectives and how religion and sexuality interact, a queer spritul experience. I cried at one point toward the end, it was honestly just beautiful.

This book hit me hard because of how much Riley's relationship with the church mirrored mine. I fell out with my church the weekend after Obergefell v. Hodges legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. I was at camp that week and me and the other counsolurs had a gay party to celebrate and it was the first time I had really ever seen queer joy. Then, that Sunday, we got a sermon about how that day would be importilized as one of America's greatest tragedies right after 9/11. I grew up closeted in Ohio and loved musical theater. I saw so much of my high school self in Riley it's not every funny. While Say a Little Prayer spoke to me VERY personally, this book will speak to anyone who has a sliver of this experience. If you think that's you, or you just love queer coming of age stories I HIGHLY recommend this.

Jenna Voris’s most recent novel, Say A Little Prayer (released March 4, 2025), follows stubborn, outspoken, theater kid, Riley, who has recently left her conservative small town church after coming out as bisexual. When Riley’s older sister, Hannah, is kicked out of the church for getting an abortion, Riley makes it her personal mission to take down the church. After getting into a fight with one of Hannah’s old friends, Riley is sent to church camp over spring break as punishment. Riley is initially upset, but she begins to see it as a chance to get back at the church for what they did to her family. Riley makes a plan to commit all seven of the deadly sins while she’s at church camp, thinking that nothing can go wrong, until she starts falling for her best friend, Julia, who also happens to be the daughter of the church’s pastor.

I requested an ARC of this book on NetGalley because it seemed like it would give me the same fun, sapphic vibes as But I’m a Cheerleader, and I was absolutely right! I loved Riley’s sense of humor and I thought that Jenna Voris’s writing was hilarious, especially the chapter titles (because as we know from my review of Rest in Peaches, I love a fun chapter title). Some of my favorite non-spoilery chapter titles include “Everything That Happens Next Is Because Of Shrek the Musical”, “God Gives His Toughest Battles (Surviving Church Camp) to His Gayest Soldiers (Me)”, and “Anyway, Here’s ‘Wonderwall’ (the Lord’s Version)”.

My favorite part of this book was definitely Riley’s relationship with her older sister, Hannah. As someone who is very close with my sister, I really related to Riley feeling like she would do anything and fight (sometimes literally in Riley’s case) anyone to protect her. I also loved the group of friends that Riley ended up making at church camp and seeing how much all of the girls grew throughout the course of the novel. I thought that Riley’s relationship with Julia was adorable, even if it was a bit rushed.

This book has a strong message about being yourself when everyone around you is telling you it’s wrong that I think a lot of queer people will be able to relate to, whether or not they have personally struggled with leaving the church. I would definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a fun, sweet, sapphic read that you can happily fly through!

Thank you to Simon Teen and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I loved, loved, loved this! There is something so special to read a book that delves into the queer persecution of the church. I experienced it and definitely have religious trauma and this book made me feel so seen. I loved Julia and Riley! Riley reminded me of me. I’m just not that bold.

I loved the development and the relationship and I couldn’t get enough. This was so darn good! I think everyone should read it.

I absolutely adored this book! The writing as really good and hilarious at times, had a good laugh.
I really appreciated the message this book was relaying and would definitely recommend to anyone.

I think this book was written with me in mind. The struggles and intimate vulnerabilities of being queer in the church space, especially has a young woman, were handled with so much love and care. I don't know how to express my gratitude for this book other than saying I wish I had a book like this at age 15.

Say A Little Prayer is truly a book for anyone who grew up in the midwestern area (Central Kentucky here) and has had exposure to religious camps and/or toxic churches at any point in life. Thankfully I wasn't sent to camp, but my church was horrible and at 43, I still have PTSD. This book wraps up so many pieces of the puzzle so perfectly.

I love that we get to follow along through church camp and see the lives unfold and feelings grow and expand over time. Voris gives us so much to look at and consider, and the feelings are real and overpowering. I'm happy to have received a copy of Say a Little Prayer to read in return for an honest review. My honest review is to highly recommend this book. It is a fantastic read, and if you've ever had any experiences similar, it brings it home quite well.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book!

Jenna was kind enough to provide me with an e-ARC of her newest book on Netgalley, so thank you to Netgalley as well as Jenna for an ARC of this girlie!

this book was MAGICAL. i’m a huge YA girlie, and every so often i read a book that reminds me why i love YA and is everything i love about the YA genre. this is that book. i’m so beyond in love with Riley and her journey throughout this story. she’s so headstrong and lovable and loyal and sure of who she is and so fiercely protective of her loved ones. she’s my hero, tbh!!! i laughed so hard at all of her snark and my heart ached along with hers in all of her soft, vulnerable moments. i was so proud of the progress she made in being comfortable with herself and with leaving her church.

i’m also so obsessed with their cabin group?? Riley, Julia, Delaney, Torres, Greer and Amanda all form such a tight-knit bond, even with most of them having known each other for longer than Riley has been in the group with them. i loved all of their little moments of connection and community and i loved watching them all fight for each other.

there’s a healthy dose of what i would consider religious trauma in this book, but it’s handled so gracefully. and Jenna does a great job not to make it about whether or not someone should have faith. there’s nothing wrong with having faith or believing in a higher power, but there is something wrong with forcing that faith on someone. Jenna does a beautiful job incorporating all sides of how one could feel about faith in this book and balances it beautifully with how faith and sexuality intersect.

good lord, i loved this book so fucking much. Riley Ackerman, once again, is my hero. this book is everything i wanted and more.

big thanks again Jenna for the ARC! i can’t wait to see what you do next. 💕
i wholeheartedly recommend this book. 🤍🤍🤍

This was an entertaining, (sadly) timely/realistic YA novel. It took me back to my years at a conservative Christian high school. Riley was a fun heroine that was worth rooting for and I liked seeing her friendships develop. The romance was the weakest part of the story for me. I actually thought Riley and Julia worked better as friends than girlfriends. They were still cute together though. The ending felt a bit abrupt to me, but I liked the overall journey and wouldn't mind reading more about the characters if a sequel ever appears.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

This book was messy, queer, chaotic church camp catharsis—and while it wasn’t entirely my vibe, I totally get why it’s hitting for people. Say a Little Prayer is sharp and funny with that perfect balance of teen angst and righteous rebellion, and Riley is the kind of bi disaster you can’t help but root for (even when she’s self-sabotaging left and right). I loved the sapphic tension and the “burn it down” energy, but some of the emotional beats didn’t land as hard for me as I hoped. Still, if you love books that challenge purity culture with humor, heart, and a dash of holy chaos, this one's for you.

Finished this one while on my roadtrip to Califorina and wow it was such a fun and easy listen to get lost in. I would've brought my physical arc with me but I didn't want to overwhelm my parents with too many books.
Anyways, I had this e-arc & physical arc sent to me from Penguin teen, and I want to say thank you so much to them to allow me to read and review for them again!! This book was already on my radar but I didn't know what it was about until I got my physical arc, I try to go into my books blindly as I can.
Say a little prayer is by Jenna Voris, a queer Ya contemporary standalone novel. It takes place at a church camp and finding yourself of who u are and who you want to be! I found the narrator of the audiobook to be a little slower than normal but otherwise I enjoyed the book myself!
Overall rating 3.5/5 stars but four stars for goodreads

Thank you netgally and penguin group for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.

This is another one of my new favorite queer books. I love reading queer young adult books, it heals something for my inner child who didn’t grow up reading them. My inner child/teen would have been so happy with this book.

First of all, the title pages are some of the best I’ve ever read. I like seeing them but usually end up skipping over them a little bit. But with this book, every chapter had my excited about what it was gonna be this time. Also loved how it always ended up being revelend in every chapter.

This story mostly takes place at church camp and as someone who has been to a lot of church camps when I was younger it was very relatable.

It’s such a sweet coming of age story about discovering who you are, who you like but also about realizing not everything adults is true. Riley made it her mission to commit all seven sins at the camp, which sounded very bad but the way she went about it was actually great. She made friends along the way, talked and helped the girl she hated through some hard stuff and also made her realize not everything the pastor says is true and kissed the girl she liked.

I also loved the ending, it was kinda sad that Julia got outed in the church but how everyone stood up for her? That was the best chapter development everyone could have had. Ben coming out as a lesbian trying to help his sister made me laugh out loud.

In conclusion, if you’re someone who loves queer coming of age stories, definitely read this one!

This book brought me back to Jesus camp in the very best way! I loved the Saved! vibes and the unique look at how religion can cause more harm than good, and how religion and faith aren’t the same thing. The romance was messy and fun to read, and I’m thrilled this book exists for those who need it. Voris knocks it out of the park yet again!

Many thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc!

This was a lot of fun and totally relatable for me. I don't normally gravitate to YA novels but I would highly recommend this book!

I received an advanced reader's copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The marketing team for this book says if you love the movie Saved! (which I do), then you will love this book too (but I did not). I wanted to like this, but it fell flat for me. The main character Riley is a very good student and gets in trouble at school, so her punishment is to go to a church camp and write a term paper about what she learned. If she doesn't do this, she'll be suspended and not be able to participate in the school play. So she picks church camp.

Let's pause there. Why on earth would a public school not affiliated with a church decide this is a good alternative to suspension? Also, why would the Pastor later reveal that the school admin has been keeping tabs on Riley through the Pastor while she's away? WEIRD.

The whole theme for the church camp is seven virtues v seven deadly sins. Riley decides she wants to do the sinning, but honestly the antics she gets up to are just... boring. The camp is boring. The characters aren't developed well. And the romance isn't even a romance but more like a realized mutual crush on a best friend. Also, did anyone else think that the best friend's older brother is gay but then ends up having a giant crush on Riley's sister?

The pacing on this didn't work for me. There are things mentioned that have no other time on page, and it's a bit of a stump of why even bring it up?

I do think the author tried to tell a story for young adults that helps with LGBT+ and religion being able to coexist, and the challenges one goes through feeling both identities sometimes feel mutually exclusive. I'm not sure it fully worked, but I can tell that was what the author was trying to do. I also like how the author leaves things at the end because these are 17 year olds, and not everything is ride off into the sunset on the back of a horse at that age. So I liked that.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I will say, this is not my typical type of book that I would read. I did enjoy the storyline of this book and some of the characters. I do think it was well written. I would recommend this book.

A queer girl ending up in a church camp as a punishment decides to cause as much chaos as possible? This was great, and I enjoyed every second of it, even when it hurt my heart a little.

Riley decides to make some trouble by committing every deadly sin at her 7 day camp where they're discussing the seven heavenly virtues. She sets out to prove that these sins can be good, depending on the circumstances, and prove their awful pastor wrong. She also may or may not have a crush on the pastor's daughter, her friend.

Over the week, while causing chaos, she gets a little bit of her love story, causes trouble, bonds with the other girls there, and sorts out her problems with the various mean girls that had gotten her into this in the first place. It was nice watching her give these people the support they needed, even when she doubted them.

Of course, there is the usual third act drama, and everything goes to hell, and that hurt and was super stressful, but I'll stop there to try and avoid spoilers.

Also fun chapter headers! (Think Percy Jackson)

This is a great book for young people who are exploring their identifies, especially those who have been raised in restrictive religious environments. It would be a great book for a young adult book club.

Riley is in trouble for slapping another student. Her principal gives her a choice: attend church camp with the pastor who publicly shamed her beloved sister, or miss appearing in the school musical.

I loved this book full of queer love, a hilarious mc, camp adventures, and taking down a pastor full of righteous hate. Riley’s adventure back into her old church community through camp is definitely an adventure for her and her campmates. I loved seeing her relationships develop and grow with friends new and old. We get to see how these relationships between each other and the church are tested and that the love of each other is stronger than the fear of a pastor.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book enough to finish it all the way through.

I do think this book is the perfect story for a younger me! Perhaps that is what brought me towards it when I requested it. I have no regrets in trying it out!