917 reviews for:

Gay the Pray Away

Natalie Naudus

4.32 AVERAGE

twolfster's review against another edition

3.0

dark emotional hopeful

kassidanae's review against another edition

4.25

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

jackireads's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny hopeful 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

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Natalie Naudus ripped out my heart and put it back together again in this young adult story that shows that love wins and that it is possible to unlearn what you have been taught. 

At seventeen, most of us don't know who we are just yet. Valerie Danners knows who she is because the Institute tells her that her purpose is to finish homeschooling, get married, have as many babies as possible, and praise Jesus. After stealing a book from a library (don't worry the librarian helped her get away with it), Valerie starts questioning the Institute and her own sexuality. That questioning turns into knowing once Riley enters the picture. Wearing pants and having short hair *GASP* Riley helps Valerie realize she might be in a cult. But under the scrutiny of her parents and the Institute Valerie has to choose if she wants to stay in the only world she's ever known.

Gay the Pray Away not only has queer teenagers trying to learn about themselves and the world, but we also get to see inside a (mostly white) religious cult. Even Valerie's friend Hannah says that everyone has same sex attraction and thoughts, showing that everyone has been brainwashed, not just Valerie. While this book was an extremely easy read, I really just wanted to hold Valerie until she felt like she was loved and accepted for who she is. 

Thank you to Natalie Naudus, Quirk Books, and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy. 

thisbarbieisanurse's review against another edition

4.0

emotional inspiring fast-paced

hope321's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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: Complicated

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This book is based on the author’s experience in the Institute of Basic Life Principles cult. As my review suggests, I really enjoyed this and I think it was well balanced. Sometimes there are books where there is a twist 3/4 through and the plot kind of slows down when you’re so close to finishing the book. But the author keeps up the pace pretty well and doesn’t let her characters give up, which I really appreciated. 

I think the only criticism is that I would have liked to have Val’s thoughts or her process of realizing she isn’t straight spelled out for us or have us walk with her through the realization of like, oh this feeling I had was a crush or something like that. We get told that more than shown.

mtayl104's review

4.0

emotional fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

moneypenny96's review

4.75

emotional hopeful reflective 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

and_so_she_reads_'s review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful 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: No

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Whew! This one really brought back a lot of unpleasant memories for me! While the cult that these characters find themselves in is much more extreme and stifling than my religious upbringing, I could easily relate to the resentment and anger that Valerie went through. Like Val, I also put tracts in Halloween candy bags, was preached some very misogynistic things, and was raised on problematic Elsie Dinsmore books. One thing I especially loved about this book was the emphasis on the importance of representation in stories. It’s so important for queer people to be able to find themselves in books! 

That being said, there were a handful of things I really didn’t like about this book. Firstly, the romance between Valerie and Riley felt very instalovey and never really seemed to deepen as the story went on. I also felt that Valerie didn’t have much of an internal struggle when leaving her cult. At least for me when leaving the religion of my childhood, I definitely went through a lot of guilt and confusion that Val didn’t really seem to experience. She did a complete 180 after reading one queer book and that didn’t really seem realistic to me. I also thought that the characters, especially the parents, felt really 2D. The ending felt too rushed and convenient, and Val’s mom in particular acted completely out of character.

However, I also think this book was unlike anything that I’ve read before and is an important addition to LGBTQIA+ storytelling. It really captured the pain and trauma that is inflicted on queer people within religious circles. I know this one will feel really personal and will resound with a lot of people.

nataliation's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful 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

1toughgfcookie's review

4.5

emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes