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heathersm_ 's review for:
Have a Little Faith in Me
by Sonia Hartl
“Losing your virginity sucks. Nobody knows what the hell they’re doing.”
- p. 320.
tw: religion, coercion, misogyny, victim blaming, mentions of homophobia/transphobia, depiction and description of underage sex and sex acts
representation: Sarina (mc) is queer (bi?), Autumn (sc) is Latina and possibly queer
CeCe loves Ethan, so much so that when he dumps her after they had sex for the first time to become a “born again virgin”, she decides to follow him all the way to Jesus camp, aka Camp Three SixTeen. The problem is, CeCe knows nothing about Christianity, and so manages to rope her jaded best friend Paul into coming with her. However, things get more complicated when she meets Ethan’s new girlfriend Mandy, a true Christian… and her roommate. Forced to fake both her religious beliefs and a relationship with Paul so she doesn’t look like a desperate ex-girlfriend, CeCe finds herself confronting her misconceptions about sex, consent, and religion.
Apparently I’ve been enjoying books with religious themes recently, because Have A Little Faith In Me was about as close to five stars as you could get without giving it the full five. I absolutely adored this book, and I can’t stop thinking about it even days later. Of course there are a few things which bothered me enough to dock half a star (EDIT: Okay, so maybe just 20% of the star can go, because I'm still thinking about how much I love this book), which we’ll get into later, but first let’s talk about all the things I loved about this book.
“I could look at you all day like this.”
“That’s really nice of you to say.” I was the actual worst at pillow talk. (p. 284)
First and foremost, this book contains so many important discussions about sex and consent, and handles them incredibly well. From CeCe’s realisation that what happened that night with Ethan was coerced rather than consensual, to the open-minded sex workshops Cabin Eight secretly run with the girls at camp to ensure that they’re well-informed, each and every topic relating to sex was presented in an informative but non-preachy way. Have A Little Faith In Me explores the relationship between sex and religion, and it makes it clear that there is room for discussions around sexual relationships and consent within faith, which I think is really important. It’s made clear that no matter what you choose – whether you want to have sex right then or wait until marriage – the most important thing is that it is your decision and you give consent, and I loved the fact that this was put into practice later in the book when (spoiler alert) CeCe and Paul admit their feelings and sleep together.
Speaking of Paul, he was one of the absolute highlights of the book, and is now the entire reason behind my new ‘best love interests’ shelf on Goodreads. Kind, respectful, and attractive to boot, Paul combines the bad-boy reputation with an absolutely dreamy personality, and I adore him. He’s the guy that teaches CeCe all about consent, and he’s that much of a sweetheart that when he realised that his own first time might have been upsetting for his ex, he called her up to apologise. I don’t think I’ve ever been so invested in a love interest, and it was made even better by the fact that his relationship with CeCe was so natural and full of chemistry and sexual tension (and humour – their scenes had some real laugh out loud moments). Friends to lovers might be my new favourite trope thanks to these two (and there’s fake dating too! What’s not to love?).
“We’re bonding over how much boys suck.” Mandy motioned her inside. “I know you don’t want to miss this.”
“Oh good.” Astrid pushed open the door. “Because we love both of you and hate Ethan, and we’d have to bury him in the woods if he broke up our cabin.”
“And then we’d go to Hell,” Sarina whispered solemnly. “For murder.” (p. 173)
Of course, I couldn’t write this review without mentioning another brilliant relationship in the book, and that is the one between the girls of Cabin Eight. Although CeCe starts out her time at camp believing she’s going to be roomed with a bunch of boring goody-two-shoes Christians, she’s forced to confront her biases as she grows closer to the girls. They immediately accept her – even when it’s revealed that she’s not actually a Christian - and they are so wonderfully supportive of each other throughout. CeCe’s friendship with Mandy, Sarina, and Astrid was so positive and empowering, and an absolute delight to read, and YA needs more female friendships just like this. Plus, I absolutely adored all three girls (especially Sarina, god I love Sarina), and I would honestly read a spin off about any of them.
“I don’t expect you to get it, since you’re not a real Christian.”
“That’s a weak argument. I may not know the Bible, but I’m familiar with another book called Merriam-Webster. And you better believe I know the definition of sacrifice.” (p. 231-232)
One of the biggest parts of this book is, of course, the religious aspect, and there are many serious discussions around faith and what it means to be a Christian. As you would expect, there are the Bible thumpers, those who use their faith to excuse their bad behaviour and misinterpret verses from the Bible whilst pushing the ones that fit their agenda (such as Ethan and Priscilla), but there are also the ones that use their faith to be good people, to promote kindness, and to spread love (such as Astrid, Sarina, and Mandy). This book is certainly not anti-religion or anti-Christianity, but it does condemn the people, like Ethan, who use their faith as a vehicle to shame others and to justify their own wrongs. CeCe and Paul never do convert or believe in God (or, as they call him, the guy that Paul’s mum used to date), but that doesn’t make them bad people as much as the people at camp’s beliefs don’t make them good people. It’s all about the individual person’s actions, and I think that is a really good message to have.
However, for me there were some mixed messages about the religion within this book. Camp Three SixTeen was described by Paul as one of the most conservative camps in the country, and yet CeCe and Paul didn’t really seem to face a lot of backlash for some of the things they were doing when you’d expect they would. For example, it’s mentioned that one of the characters was nearly expelled the previous year for having pornographic pictures in his room, an action which causes another character to describe him as a ‘pervert’, and yet within a week of knowing each other Sarina is perfectly comfortable to discuss her botched handjob attempt with the rest of her cabin. Furthermore, when the girls start giving covert sex-ed lessons, none of the attendees are too judgemental even though it’s implied that at least some of the campers believe that CeCe is a Satanic figure who tempted Ethan into having sex with her. Whilst I love how supportive the Cabin Eight girls are, it was very convenient just how quickly they were okay with CeCe not only having had sex, but having had sex with Mandy’s boyfriend to boot, and their openness (and Sarina’s mentioned queerness) makes me wonder why they would choose such a conservative camp to attend in the first place. Mandy especially surprised me with just how openminded she was, considering it’s mentioned that she was home-schooled with no social media to speak of. I felt like some of the views were a little conflicting and that it took these sheltered, devout characters way too little time to openly accept and defend CeCe; I felt as though there needed to be more questioning and discussion first before they could trust her and understand her perspective. That being said, I’m a little glad they portrayed these girls in such a positive light, because YA does not need any more girl hate, and I think the issue I have with the conflicting religious messages is more of a pacing issue than anything else.
There were a few other minor gripes I had, such as CeCe and Paul’s relationship escalating so quickly from “I love you” to “we must have sex now”, and CeCe’s absolutely awful defence of herself at the confessional bonfire, but overall I just couldn’t get enough of this book and I would recommend it to anyone. The graphic scenes in the latter half make it an 18+ book, but honestly I think anyone above 16 should read it because the message is just so important, especially at a time of their life when there is a lot of pressure surrounding sex and relationships. Heart-warming, hilarious, unapologetically feminist, and so incredibly significant, Have A Little Faith In Me is a wonderful book that everyone can learn a lot from. This book got me out of a loooong reading slump, so if you're in that situation, definitely give it a go!
"He didn't take advantage of me, or just plow his way in. He asked me, and I said yes."
"How many times did you say no first?" (p. 146)
[4.8 stars]
- p. 320.
tw: religion, coercion, misogyny, victim blaming, mentions of homophobia/transphobia, depiction and description of underage sex and sex acts
representation: Sarina (mc) is queer (bi?), Autumn (sc) is Latina and possibly queer
CeCe loves Ethan, so much so that when he dumps her after they had sex for the first time to become a “born again virgin”, she decides to follow him all the way to Jesus camp, aka Camp Three SixTeen. The problem is, CeCe knows nothing about Christianity, and so manages to rope her jaded best friend Paul into coming with her. However, things get more complicated when she meets Ethan’s new girlfriend Mandy, a true Christian… and her roommate. Forced to fake both her religious beliefs and a relationship with Paul so she doesn’t look like a desperate ex-girlfriend, CeCe finds herself confronting her misconceptions about sex, consent, and religion.
Apparently I’ve been enjoying books with religious themes recently, because Have A Little Faith In Me was about as close to five stars as you could get without giving it the full five. I absolutely adored this book, and I can’t stop thinking about it even days later. Of course there are a few things which bothered me enough to dock half a star (EDIT: Okay, so maybe just 20% of the star can go, because I'm still thinking about how much I love this book), which we’ll get into later, but first let’s talk about all the things I loved about this book.
“I could look at you all day like this.”
“That’s really nice of you to say.” I was the actual worst at pillow talk. (p. 284)
First and foremost, this book contains so many important discussions about sex and consent, and handles them incredibly well. From CeCe’s realisation that what happened that night with Ethan was coerced rather than consensual, to the open-minded sex workshops Cabin Eight secretly run with the girls at camp to ensure that they’re well-informed, each and every topic relating to sex was presented in an informative but non-preachy way. Have A Little Faith In Me explores the relationship between sex and religion, and it makes it clear that there is room for discussions around sexual relationships and consent within faith, which I think is really important. It’s made clear that no matter what you choose – whether you want to have sex right then or wait until marriage – the most important thing is that it is your decision and you give consent, and I loved the fact that this was put into practice later in the book when (spoiler alert) CeCe and Paul admit their feelings and sleep together.
Speaking of Paul, he was one of the absolute highlights of the book, and is now the entire reason behind my new ‘best love interests’ shelf on Goodreads. Kind, respectful, and attractive to boot, Paul combines the bad-boy reputation with an absolutely dreamy personality, and I adore him. He’s the guy that teaches CeCe all about consent, and he’s that much of a sweetheart that when he realised that his own first time might have been upsetting for his ex, he called her up to apologise. I don’t think I’ve ever been so invested in a love interest, and it was made even better by the fact that his relationship with CeCe was so natural and full of chemistry and sexual tension (and humour – their scenes had some real laugh out loud moments). Friends to lovers might be my new favourite trope thanks to these two (and there’s fake dating too! What’s not to love?).
“We’re bonding over how much boys suck.” Mandy motioned her inside. “I know you don’t want to miss this.”
“Oh good.” Astrid pushed open the door. “Because we love both of you and hate Ethan, and we’d have to bury him in the woods if he broke up our cabin.”
“And then we’d go to Hell,” Sarina whispered solemnly. “For murder.” (p. 173)
Of course, I couldn’t write this review without mentioning another brilliant relationship in the book, and that is the one between the girls of Cabin Eight. Although CeCe starts out her time at camp believing she’s going to be roomed with a bunch of boring goody-two-shoes Christians, she’s forced to confront her biases as she grows closer to the girls. They immediately accept her – even when it’s revealed that she’s not actually a Christian - and they are so wonderfully supportive of each other throughout. CeCe’s friendship with Mandy, Sarina, and Astrid was so positive and empowering, and an absolute delight to read, and YA needs more female friendships just like this. Plus, I absolutely adored all three girls (especially Sarina, god I love Sarina), and I would honestly read a spin off about any of them.
“I don’t expect you to get it, since you’re not a real Christian.”
“That’s a weak argument. I may not know the Bible, but I’m familiar with another book called Merriam-Webster. And you better believe I know the definition of sacrifice.” (p. 231-232)
One of the biggest parts of this book is, of course, the religious aspect, and there are many serious discussions around faith and what it means to be a Christian. As you would expect, there are the Bible thumpers, those who use their faith to excuse their bad behaviour and misinterpret verses from the Bible whilst pushing the ones that fit their agenda (such as Ethan and Priscilla), but there are also the ones that use their faith to be good people, to promote kindness, and to spread love (such as Astrid, Sarina, and Mandy). This book is certainly not anti-religion or anti-Christianity, but it does condemn the people, like Ethan, who use their faith as a vehicle to shame others and to justify their own wrongs. CeCe and Paul never do convert or believe in God (or, as they call him, the guy that Paul’s mum used to date), but that doesn’t make them bad people as much as the people at camp’s beliefs don’t make them good people. It’s all about the individual person’s actions, and I think that is a really good message to have.
However, for me there were some mixed messages about the religion within this book. Camp Three SixTeen was described by Paul as one of the most conservative camps in the country, and yet CeCe and Paul didn’t really seem to face a lot of backlash for some of the things they were doing when you’d expect they would. For example, it’s mentioned that one of the characters was nearly expelled the previous year for having pornographic pictures in his room, an action which causes another character to describe him as a ‘pervert’, and yet within a week of knowing each other Sarina is perfectly comfortable to discuss her botched handjob attempt with the rest of her cabin. Furthermore, when the girls start giving covert sex-ed lessons, none of the attendees are too judgemental even though it’s implied that at least some of the campers believe that CeCe is a Satanic figure who tempted Ethan into having sex with her. Whilst I love how supportive the Cabin Eight girls are, it was very convenient just how quickly they were okay with CeCe not only having had sex, but having had sex with Mandy’s boyfriend to boot, and their openness (and Sarina’s mentioned queerness) makes me wonder why they would choose such a conservative camp to attend in the first place. Mandy especially surprised me with just how openminded she was, considering it’s mentioned that she was home-schooled with no social media to speak of. I felt like some of the views were a little conflicting and that it took these sheltered, devout characters way too little time to openly accept and defend CeCe; I felt as though there needed to be more questioning and discussion first before they could trust her and understand her perspective. That being said, I’m a little glad they portrayed these girls in such a positive light, because YA does not need any more girl hate, and I think the issue I have with the conflicting religious messages is more of a pacing issue than anything else.
There were a few other minor gripes I had, such as CeCe and Paul’s relationship escalating so quickly from “I love you” to “we must have sex now”, and CeCe’s absolutely awful defence of herself at the confessional bonfire, but overall I just couldn’t get enough of this book and I would recommend it to anyone. The graphic scenes in the latter half make it an 18+ book, but honestly I think anyone above 16 should read it because the message is just so important, especially at a time of their life when there is a lot of pressure surrounding sex and relationships. Heart-warming, hilarious, unapologetically feminist, and so incredibly significant, Have A Little Faith In Me is a wonderful book that everyone can learn a lot from. This book got me out of a loooong reading slump, so if you're in that situation, definitely give it a go!
"He didn't take advantage of me, or just plow his way in. He asked me, and I said yes."
"How many times did you say no first?" (p. 146)
[4.8 stars]