Book Description 

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 . . .

My Review 

This was a fun book. Riley’s loss of faith is understandable after the way her sister was treated by people who were once their friends. She doesn’t want to go to church camp, but she doesn’t want to be suspended either, so hello church camp! 

As with all stories, our plucky protagonist goes into her endeavor with the intention of causing havoc and taking down the establishment from the inside. But of course, she also learns some valuable lessons along the way. The journey is familiar, but Voris brings a fresh perspective to the trope. There is even some romance to be found with the preacher’s daughter, although it’s certainly not something Riley sought out. What’s more important is that Riley realizes that everyone is imperfect and that everything is not always as it seems and that challenging the status quo might yield results, but not always in the way we anticipated. 

I hate to be pedantic, but there was one little thing that stuck out to me. Riley’s sister says something about Crocs being a fashion disaster. I work at a middle school, and not only are Crocs common footwear—even in a New England winter!—but these kids wear Crocs WITH socks!  

I would recommend Say a Little Prayer. This contemporary YA has a big heart and while some parts are predictable, there is enough whimsical spontaneity to make this book appealing. 

I received a digital ARC of this book from Penguin/NetGalley.