Book Review: Say A Little Prayer by Jenna Voris

Official Synposis: Riley quietly left church a year ago when she realized there was no place for a bi girl in her congregation. But it wasn’t until the pastor shunned her older sister for getting an abortion that she really wanted to burn it all down.

It’s just her luck, then, that she’s sent to the principal’s office for slapping a girl talking smack about her sister—and in order to avoid suspension, she has to spend spring break at church camp.

The only saving grace is that she’ll be there with her best friend, Julia. Even if Julia’s dad is the pastor. And he’s in charge of camp. But Riley won’t let a technicality like “repenting” get in the way of her true mission. Instead of spending the week embracing the seven heavenly virtues, she decides to commit all seven deadly sins. If she can show the other campers that sometimes being a little bad is for the greater good, she could start a righteous revolution! What could possibly go wrong? Aside from falling for the pastor’s daughter . . .

Jenna Voris is climbing to be one of my favorite young adult authors, especially in the contemporary/queer space. (Check out my review of Every Time You Hear That Song if you haven't!). Though my Goodreads/Storygraph will claim it took a while for me to finish this book, that was no fault of the book itself and mostly the fault of the world around me that kept delaying my reading time.

I adored this book and the way it explored religion and religious trauma, and how those things can impact how you view yourself and the world around you. Riley is angry at the church she was raised in after the way they treated her older sister, especially since it caused her sister loss of friends and community. Because of that, Riley's whole family no longer attends the church, but one of Riley's best friends is the daughter of the Pastor, who seems both determined to get them back into the church while also making snide remarks about the choices the family made. Riley herself is queer, adding to her own feelings against the church and how it treats people. (I would like to state I know not every church is like this but there are many and a lot of us have experienced them.)

When Riley has to attend a week long camp through the church, in order to avoid other punishment from her school, she is unsure how she feels, especially when the Pastor seems to be constantly watching her. As she spends time at the camp, she starts to realize that preaching about sins being 'bad' and keeping you from salvation is scaring and scarring her friends, and even enemies. She starts to use her prayer journal to keep track of how sins might not be 'all bad' and how sometimes the things that bring you joy might be worth the sin they cause.

Even though she is supposed to write a report about what she learned, Riley is determined to prove how much the preaching is impacting the people around her. But as time goes on, Riley is starting to realize that even the people she thought were her enemies were scared of what might happen if they sided with the 'sinners'. Now it doesn't help that Riley also has a crush on her best friend, Julia, who is the daughter of the the preacher and also seems to be looking at her in the same way. When they share a secret kiss, neither girl knows how to react, with Julia risking the 'unconditional' love of her parents and the respect of the church.

Now Riley has to figure out a way to prove this method isn't working, and might actually be harming everyone, while trying to keep herself out of trouble at school and keeping her friends close.

Again, I really enjoyed this book. Riley is a stubborn character, and actually learns her views on religion might also be damaging, even if the religion itself is. Julia has to fight what might be the hatred of her parents to explore her own feelings and wants, and both girls have to find a comfort in each other and themselves. I love how the book is written, and the way all the characters made me feel different things (even if it was anger...looking at you Pastor Young). The contrast between Riley and Julia's parents is also really evident in a way I think would be helpful for parents to see how their actions can hurt.

I rated this book 5 out of 5 stars, as it moved me in a lot of different ways.

Say a Little Prayer comes out March 4, 2025!

Goodreads