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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
this was just the sweetest coming of age story i’ve read in a while. the writing is incredible and so lovingly passionate, and perfectly encapsulates the mind of someone questioning their lifelong faith. the narration in the audiobook is also incredible and well acted. i have no notes honesty, i just really loved this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Racism
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Natalie Naudus’s Gay the Pray Away is a raw, tender, and powerful debut that deserves a spot on every bookshelf. Though it’s marketed as a queer YA romance, it’s so much more—it’s a story about awakening, about questioning the narratives you’ve been fed, and ultimately, about the courage it takes to walk away from a world that tells you you’re wrong for simply being yourself.
Valerie Danners, a teen raised in a conservative Christian homeschooling community, doesn’t even realize she’s in a cult until her worldview begins to unravel. It starts with a smuggled queer romance novel from the library and intensifies when she meets Riley, the new girl in Bible class. Riley is confident, kind, and just as out of place as Valerie—both of them multiracial in a rigidly white, deeply religious environment. As their secret romance grows, so does Valerie’s realization that her “safe” world is built on fear, control, and rejection.
While I can’t personally relate to the experience of being queer in an environment that condemns your identity, I can relate to the religious trauma at the core of this book. As a straight 40-year-old man, I grew up immersed in the church and started questioning everything in my late teens. Like Valerie, I saw how people—especially those in the LGBTQIA+ community—were labeled as “evil” or “sinful” simply for existing. I knew it wasn’t right then, and it’s something that ultimately drove me to leave the church behind. I’ve never looked back.
Reading this book stirred up a lot of those old emotions. Naudus captures the pressure to conform, the guilt tied to belief, and the isolation that comes from asking the "wrong" questions. But she also paints a portrait of resistance—quiet at first, then defiantly loud. Valerie’s growth, her love for Riley, and her fight to choose herself over fear hit hard, regardless of who you are or where you come from.
This book is a must-read for everyone—especially those who have never had to question whether they belong. It’s an eye-opener, a heartbreaker, and a call to empathy. Whether you see yourself reflected in Valerie’s story or not, Gay the Pray Away will make you feel, think, and maybe even reevaluate what you’ve been told about who’s allowed to love and live freely.
4.75/5
Valerie Danners, a teen raised in a conservative Christian homeschooling community, doesn’t even realize she’s in a cult until her worldview begins to unravel. It starts with a smuggled queer romance novel from the library and intensifies when she meets Riley, the new girl in Bible class. Riley is confident, kind, and just as out of place as Valerie—both of them multiracial in a rigidly white, deeply religious environment. As their secret romance grows, so does Valerie’s realization that her “safe” world is built on fear, control, and rejection.
While I can’t personally relate to the experience of being queer in an environment that condemns your identity, I can relate to the religious trauma at the core of this book. As a straight 40-year-old man, I grew up immersed in the church and started questioning everything in my late teens. Like Valerie, I saw how people—especially those in the LGBTQIA+ community—were labeled as “evil” or “sinful” simply for existing. I knew it wasn’t right then, and it’s something that ultimately drove me to leave the church behind. I’ve never looked back.
Reading this book stirred up a lot of those old emotions. Naudus captures the pressure to conform, the guilt tied to belief, and the isolation that comes from asking the "wrong" questions. But she also paints a portrait of resistance—quiet at first, then defiantly loud. Valerie’s growth, her love for Riley, and her fight to choose herself over fear hit hard, regardless of who you are or where you come from.
This book is a must-read for everyone—especially those who have never had to question whether they belong. It’s an eye-opener, a heartbreaker, and a call to empathy. Whether you see yourself reflected in Valerie’s story or not, Gay the Pray Away will make you feel, think, and maybe even reevaluate what you’ve been told about who’s allowed to love and live freely.
4.75/5
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's so sad to me that people actually grow up in spaces like this. But the ending was so sweet and hopeful.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Libro.FM for this ALC.
“To everyone who was served hatred and told it was love. We deserved better.”
I think this story did exactly what it intended to do. It was personal and took on a hopeful outlook to a real life horrific situation many people have experienced. I cared for these characters deeply and it felt cathartic at times to read.
The audiobook is perfection and well performed ❤️
Although I enjoyed this and I do think it’s going to be cathartic for a lot of people. it’s important to remember that deconstruction is more than having a library card and access to feminist essays. However, I don’t think the goal of this book was to get into the specific aspects of deconstruction but rather a signal of hope to those who are stuck. It reads as encouragement to seek out answers instead of a step by step on how to escape a cult. I don’t find fault in that. It can come across like a monologue of buzz words at times even though I understand the intention of having those sequences. Deconstruction isn’t easy and I don’t think this book intends to deceive people into thinking it is. My thought is that an already overwhelmed individual looking to leave and deconstruct needs books that are hopeful just as much as the books that are purely nonfiction accounts of the tough process.
And a personal reminder, it is not the duty of the child to heal the wound of the mother. Adults can and SHOULD be accountable for the situations they placed their children in. I appreciate that this story does not make excuses for parental figures.