Say a Little Prayer

Gr 9 Up–High school junior Riley Ackerman is in big trouble for slapping her older sister Hannah’s former friend. She makes a deal with her principal to atone for her actions by writing a reflective essay after attending The Pleasant Hills Baptist Church youth camp. While Riley left the church a year earlier when she came out as bisexual, her best friends, twins Julia and Ben, still attend as the pastor’s children. Camp turns out to have a theme: the seven deadly sins, or “why we’re going to hell,” as the pastor loves to say. Riley decides to prove the pastor wrong in front of his congregation by showing how sins aren’t always a bad thing. Riley felt horrible when the pastor talked about how “God Hates gay people,” and Hannah was kicked out of the church for having an abortion, even while their parents are supportive. Riley struggles with her feelings, keeping her crush on Julia a secret, and not wanting to talk about how she dislikes the pastor or how he runs his church. While The Pleasant Hills Baptist Church is depicted as problematic, another church in the town is mentioned as open and welcoming to all, offering Riley hope as she considers the possibility of returning to organized religion. Most characters are depicted as white, with side characters of other ethnicities.