This book is the perfect companion for teen movies like Saved and Easy A. Riley is an authentic teen heroine-- a little confused by her own feelings, but full of heart and wonderful to spend time with. I wanted to root for her, and all the teens she knows, to get through their difficult situations and be kind to themselves and each other. Great for anyone with evangelical religious trauma.

I wish I could go back in time and give this to teenage baby gay me. This book is a gift and I’m so glad it exists.

This book has me cracking up from the very first chapter title. The irreverent way she says “Daddy Christ” and the grappling with the religious trauma she suffered balance each other so well. While I didn’t have to face the exact same struggles, her experience with her white evangelical church felt so similar to my own. It’s been a long time since I read something that I truly felt healed me as I read it, and this extremely unserious take on it did. Make no mistake, this book handles a lot of intense ideas, but the way it does so was everything I wanted and needed. I can’t wait to read her other work.

This was an entertaining and thought-provoking read. In particular, I appreciated that it was not at all a condemnation of religion and faith. I loved that Riley genuinely misses her faith and being a part of the community at her church, which she left due to the pastor’s toxic behavior toward her sister and her family. The book shows the potential value of religion and faith—while letting readers know it’s possible—even okay—to reject the piecemeal condemnations and fear-based power grabs of some religious leaders. Of course, all this deep food for thought is presented in a fun story with a little romance, a little rebellion and classic camp shenanigans. An enjoyable, important take on the struggle many religious kids are going through these days, and a way for the non-religious to gain a fuller understanding of their experience of faith.

As soon as I first read the title of this book, I was hooked. As someone who grew up with anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in church sermons, this book remedied something in me. I found myself relating to the main character of Riley many, many times. This ARC I absolutely devoured, squeezing in time when I could to read. This one also kept me going through chapter after chapter just to read all of the little references of each one. All in all, I would highly recommend this book. 5/5 stars from me!

i don't read a lot of ya books but i can't resist the allure of queerness intersecting with religion.

our main protagonist is riley and she's got Issues with the church ever since the pastor of the church her entire family attended publicly shamed her sister for having an abortion. part of her abhorrence is knowing she would also be shunned for her bisexuality.

first off, kudos for the parents of these two for not tolerating that behavior from the pastor. also, kudos to riley for smacking the CRAP out of a girl talking sideways about her sister. unfortunately, the offense results in riley having two choices - expulsion or attending the camp that was part of a church that her family had left.

i really appreciate this book for what i feel is an accurate depiction of our current religious landscape. the pastor sees riley and his first act is to shame her family, tell her that if she shames and rejects her family she can be "saved", and follows it up by a threat - church it up or he'll tell her principal she deserves to be expelled for being disagreeable, which wasn't part of the deal anyway. i'm sure some people won't like that, but this has been my experience with religion in the south and like it or not, this is a reflection of how christianity is currently publicized - as a hate-filled organization that wants to control and shame women and for people to reject their identities at the expense of their sanities and in some cases, their lives.

plot twist, though - riley thinks she detects... gay? the issue: she sniffs it out in julia, the pastor's daughter. there's a decent amount of pining, but after a kiss they realize this is a Big Deal.

i really appreciate that this book allows riley to act her age and make mistakes. i really loved that this book explored the nuances of religious indoctrination, how the institution inoculates kids with hate that they don't particularly want to express but they do because it's all they know and they do it until they know nothing else. i loved that this book talked about internalized homophobia, how it manifests from the very places that are supposed to make us feel human and safe. i also really loved that this book didn't end with a take-down of hate; in the real world sometimes we have to acknowledge that we need to get rid of things that don't serve us and that we can't change the opinions of bigots, but that we can find love and community and family in others.

Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. While I have never attended church camp, Voris was able to make this relatable and bring the readers in. Being shunned for being who you are is a theme we need to discuss more and more people feel this than anyone may ever want to admit, especially in the current political climate. It does fall into YA tropes so you can see where the story is going but if you accept the reused plot, you can enjoy the story itself. I wanted more from the ending but also do see how it is more realistic as an ending even if everything is not perfect the way I want it to be. A quick read but enjoyable. 3.25 stars.

Say a Little Prayer by Jenna Voris is a delightful YA queer romance(ish) novel about our main character, Riley, as she is forced to attend the local church camp as punishment for slapping a girl at her school. The church, and the pastor leading the camp, are the very same that recently shunned her older sister. The girl’s got beef. Riley begins to formulate a plan and her intentions are not all that holy.

This really surprised me! It had me laughing (lots) and crying (a time or two). The main character is snarky and angsty, she’s got her flaws but shows growth (same with many of the other characters). As someone with their own share of religious trauma, I found this to be quite cathartic. Really, really loved this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for an eARC!

I loved Say a Little Prayer so much! The characters were loveable and the plot was great. Overall, I enjoyed the author's writing style a lot as well. Definitely recommend to any queer person who grew up in the Church.

Sent to christian camp for slapping someone who said despicable things, Riley does the only thing she can. Sin some more.

I think I can speak for everyone (because we all talk you know), this cover sold me on this story. I didn’t even look at the blurb (ummm okay, I never do). I didn’t look at the author’s name, I just said, “yes, please!” This cover is eye-catching and makes you want to read the book. I love it.

Jenna Voris makes camp sound just as awful as I remember it. I do find it funny that one of the issues I had with camp was the fact that the counselors didn’t have to do the things that the kids had to do. In the movies, the counselors always have to participate. I find it funny and so beyond realistic and true to Riley’s theme: do what I say and not what I do. Counselor Gabe needs to go.

I love this secondary cast. I’m crushing on Delaney and Torres isn’t bad either, but I would totally date Delaney if I was their age. Voris has some diversity in the story, but it really focuses on the Christian faith.

Say A Little Prayer deals with fear. Fear of God, fear of the church, and fear of the decisions that we make in life affecting our relationship with our faith. I will give you heads up that the issue of abortion is a strong secondary thread in the storyline. It doesn’t deal with the issue directly, but with the aftereffects of how a family and community responds when it is used as gossip.

There is a slow-burn clean romance buried in this exploration of heavenly virtues and sin. All it takes is a little distance and a reconnection to make Riley look at Julia, the Pastor’s daughter a little differently. It’s cute and sweet with of course the dynamic thrown in of Julia’s position.

I love the climatic ending. Girl code is everything for me and this story got it right. I left Say A Little Prayer having chuckled, had my heart tugged, and had it soar with happiness as a group of people came together to tell Riley’s story. It’s a good way to spend spring break.

As someone who struggles with her faith, this book was a breath of fresh air. Riley was a very interesting protagonist, and I really empathized with her situation as someone whose family was ostracized for their supposed sins. The romance aspect of this book was so sweet as well, although it did feel a bit sudden to me. Julia reminds me of a lot of young women I knew growing up in the church, especially pastors’ daughters. I really loved her part of the story, as well as the resolution of things with Hannah. Overall, this book was really well written , funny, heartfelt, and a true joy.

Jenna Voris’s Every Time You Hear That Song (2024) was one of my favorite books of last year. While Every Time, with its endless detail and often surprising plot, is still my favorite, I really enjoyed reading Say a Little Prayer.

The book opens with Riley in the principal’s office of her Ohio high school, in trouble for hitting a classmate, Amanda. It’s revealed fairly quickly that Riley was standing up for her sister, Hannah. For a while now, their family has been on the outs with their local church—it was bad enough when Riley came out as bi, but then Hannah got an abortion. Pastor Young—who also happens to be their next-door neighbor and father of Julia and Ben, their two close friends—publicly shamed them both. The family stops attending church and Hannah’s former friends harass her in the hallways.

The principal “lets Riley choose” to serve her punishment at Pastor Young’s spring break church camp in Kentucky. At least Julia will be there … but so will Amanda and her friends. At camp, Riley has to contend with the parts of church she misses and the parts that fill her with rage. When the camp’s theme turns out to be avoiding the seven deadly sins, Riley instead decides to commit all of them.

This book does a great job of condemning what some people do under the mantle of Christianity without lumping in all Christians. Pastor Young is a recognizable evil, a man who derives power from humiliating and striking fear in others. People go along with him because he’s convincing, but Riley also finds fun, accepting friends at camp. Voris and I are around the same age and both from Indiana, and to me, there’s an aura of my Midwest about her books. I would have gotten a lot out of this particular portrayal as a teenager.

It can be dramatic, but the core of the story isn’t flashy. There’s a romance that stays fairly quiet for most of the book. Riley’s parents aren’t a huge part of the story, but are wonderful and supportive. Most of this is really about reclaiming nuance and rebuilding community; standing up to the evil pastor shows how pride can be a virtue.

3.5 stars

This book was one of my most anticipated. The main character was a bit annoying and immature (I understand that she is 17). I feel like all of the characters were very generic and the story ended exactly as expected. I liked the idea about the seven deadly sins but I feel like the side characters (and even Ben) were just there and did not have any real purpose.

I will say I do think if I had read this at 16 I would have been obsessed with this book.

Can't say enough about how much I absolutely loved this book!! Having grown up as a queer girl in a religious setting, I totally related to the main character Riley. She leaves her church after her sister went through an abortion scandal and struggles with the guilt of leaving her church and her feelings over her beliefs. She's forced to go to a week long church camp to avoid being suspended and the group of friends she makes there is perfection. I loved all the side characters as much as I did Riley. Riley's best friend and of course love interest is the pastor's daughter and that brings another level to this story that I loved. It's a YA book that has silly little YA themes but it also has an insanely deep underlying storyline that makes this one a true winner. Definitely worth the read for sure!

Say A Little Prayer
By Jenna Voris
Publisher PenguinTeen
Released March 4th, 2025

Thank you NetGalley and PenguinTeen for this ARC 🤩

💫💫💫💫💫/5

💒 This book is a true YA. While it has a lot of mutual longing and some kisses, there is no spice. The book had me hooked immediately! Our fmc, Riley, will be relatable to so many! Riley attended a very conservative/strict church most of her life. Riley and her family stop attending this church, after her sister is publicly shamed and kicked out of the church and Riley realizes her queer identity. Then Riley finds herself a year later at the church sleepaway camp. What follows is a beautiful story of self reflection, character growth, friendship and love.

💒 As someone who is queer and has religious trauma- this book did take me a while to read. I felt transported back to childhood in parts of the book. Riley felt real and tangible to me. It made the part of me who could never stand up to the religious bigots, smile the entire time.

This book was SO FUN. Riley is such a vibe, the church camp setting was everything, and I loved all of her friends. Yes, there is some silliness and cringiness, but that’s teenagers! Also, the chapter titles might have been my favorite part. Definitely add this one to your list!

5⭐️

I had a feeling this one was going to be good just from the title and cover alone, but it ended up being so much better than I anticipated.

I always worry with stories like this that the main character is going to be a bit obnoxious, but Riley felt completely justified in all of her emotions and reactions. Stories that detail the struggle between religion and sexuality are so important to be represented, especially for younger age groups; readers will always be searching for little pieces of themselves in the stories they pick up, and I hope ones like this show people out there that they aren’t alone in their fears.

I appreciated that the characters were authentic and felt like today’s generation of teenagers without being cringey like so many writers make the mistake of doing. Also, the chapter titles were incredible; I liked that they gave me even more of a sense of Riley’s personality and humor.

All in all, this story was just super fun and gave me a nice little slice of summer to combat the chilly early spring air. I’m so happy this book is out in the world and people can fall in love with it like I did!

I needed this book this week. I could see myself in every character, and I can’t help but wonder if this book was around when I was a young pastor’s daughter if it would have saved me some heartache. I don’t want to spoil it too much, but this book was so healing for me. If you have some lingering religious trauma, or you like Casey McQuiston, this is right up your alley! The format and characters are fun, definitely consider picking it up! Also, a major honorable mention to the chapter titles! Very Percy Jackson coded and they made me giggle.

I have read exactly two Jenna Voris books and at the end of each the only thought in my head was "perfection."

This book is sugar coating the very real horrors of conservative Christianity but it does offer humor and hope and fun and a slice of high school that feels real and heartfelt. I loved it.

First of all, I really appreciate being given this arc. This book was a very anticipated read for me. I really enjoyed reading it, I thought some moments were quite funny, and the teens felt like teens. Their behavior and dialogue felt very natural. However, I think overall this book wasn't for me. I wasn't a huge fan of the writing and the pacing, and I thought the plot was lacking. It was a great story in theory, I was really interested in the topic of how toxic and excluding organized religion can be, and the shame and anger you carry around with you after being shunned by the community that preaches about love and acceptance. I thought the idea was great, but the execution fell flat for me. Everything felt a bit boring and predictable, the characters didn't really have any real nuisance or substance. It kind of felt like watching a corny Disney channel original movie.

I also didn't really get to feel the buildup to the romance at all. It's alluded to here and there, but it felt like a lot of telling. Julia didn't even feel like a fully fledged out character to me, I didn't really know her, so whenever Riley talked about wanting her I asked myself "why??"

Overall, I think a lot of people will like and resonate with this book. There are some gems here. It just wasn't for me unfortunately. I really liked the chapter titles though, I thought they were funny. (Bring back chapter titles!!!)