Have a Little Faith in Me
Sonia Hartl
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Sonia Hartl
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
"Saved!" meets To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before in this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that takes a meaningful look at consent and what it means to give it.REVIEW
When CeCe’s born-again ex-boyfriend dumps her after they have sex, she follows him to Jesus camp in order to win him back. Problem: She knows nothing about Jesus. But her best friend Paul does. He accompanies CeCe to camp, and the plan—God’s or CeCe’s—goes immediately awry when her ex shows up with a new girlfriend, a True Believer at that.
Scrambling to save face, CeCe ropes Paul into faking a relationship. But as deceptions stack up, she questions whether her ex is really the nice guy he seemed. And what about her strange new feelings for Paul—is this love, lust, or an illusion born of heartbreak? To figure it out, she’ll have to confront the reasons she chased her ex to camp in the first place, including the truth about the night she lost her virginity.
CeCe thought she meant something to Ethan, but after her broke up with her, in the name of the Lord, she was hurt and determined to prove to him that his faith was also important to her in order to win him back. "Jesus camp" proved to be quite a challenge for CeCe, but there she found friendship, love, and understanding.
Let me tell you, I utterly adored this book, and here are some reasons why:
- I thought the characters in this book were stupendous, and I enjoyed getting to know them. They were interesting and layered, and many really surprised me. I was so happy, that Hartl resisted painting them as stereotypes, because they played a huge role in my enjoyment of this story.
- The friendship between CeCe and Paul was so wonderful. They had so much history, and I loved all the small peeks we got into their past.
- Paul was just flawed perfection. Maybe he held people at a distance, and maybe he was resistant to getting into any serious romantic relationships, but he had a huge, soft, and tender heart.
- THE STORIES!! Paul and CeCe would tell each other these really meaningful made up stories. I think I was more partial to Paul's, because they were epic, but I enjoyed this facet of their relationship very much.
- The girls of cabin 8 were such a fantastic group. I adored the friendship that developed between this group of young women, and was so happy CeCe had the luck of meeting them all.
- Hartl did a wonderful job exploring the emotional side of sex, as well as delving into the many aspects of consent. This is something I would love to see more of in YA, and not only was it a big part of CeCe's story, it was done well, in my opinion.
- The story also puts CeCe's fauxmance with Paul side-by-side with her past relationship with Ethan. It was a great way to show a healthy versus an unhealthy relationship, which is something I definitely would have benefited from as a teen.
- I appreciated that the author did not villainize all Christians or Christianity in general, but rather, showed that there are some bad people who choose to weaponize religion. CeCe encountered several characters like that, but she also met a lot of really wonderful Christians too, and I liked that Hartl elected to show both sides.
I expected a wholly hilarious book, and this book was indeed funny, but it was also really emotional, heartfelt, and meaningful. I laughed, I raged, I nodded my head in agreement, and most importantly, I finished this story with a smile on my face.
If I had to pick a theme song for this book, I think I would pick this classic
* ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sonia Hartl is a YA author who calls Michigan home, even though she’s lived in several different states. Her debut novel, HAVE A LITTLE FAITH IN ME is forthcoming from Page Street Publishing. When she’s not writing or reading, she’s enjoying pub trivia, marathoning Disney movies, or taking a walk outside in the fall. She’s a member of SCBWI and the communications director for Pitch Wars. She has been published in The Writers Post Journal and Boston Literary Magazine. She lives in Grand Rapids with her husband and two daughters.
Have you ever been to summer camp?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
This sounds so unique and fun, Sam! I would like this, in my opinion. You know how I am with fauxmances too! :D
ReplyDeleteOMG, and Paul was so magnificent. He was a special kind of soft boy, who while struggling with his own stuff, still was a fantastic friend.
DeleteI really like the sound of this one. I haven't read too many books that deal with religion so I like that this one tackles that in a positive manner. The characters sound absolutely wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI have read quite a few book with Christian characters, and they are usually the bad guys. I appreciated the point of view presented here, because there will be people in all religions, who choose to weaponize religion, but that's not the majority.
DeleteI haven't read a lot of books that have religion in them but I have to say, this sounds like a good one! Great review!
ReplyDeleteI am always scared of books with religion, because I like religion, but Hartl did a nice job being fair.
DeleteI am so glad Sam, that you enjoyed this as much as I did. This book definitely offered more than what I expected. It was funny yet so meaningful. And Paul :)
ReplyDeleteI was surprised in the BEST way by this book! I want more people screaming about it
DeleteOkay, was really curious about this book and glad to read your review. I'm always sort of cautious about books that use Christianity as a joke or Christians as the "villains" of a story, but I'm very happy when I see a book that shows Christianity in a realistic light (yes, there are good and bad Christians because we're all just people). Sounds like this book strikes the right balance. I'll definitely have to read this one.
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
We are all just people, and I think that was the author's point. Every religion has the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I was happy Hartl showed all sides of it.
DeleteThis sounds all kinds of fun! And I've read several great reviews today for it.
ReplyDeleteKaren @ For What It's Worth
So fun! I am so glad I took a chance and read this book, because I am always a little leery of books with Christianity in them, as they tend to be really negative, but this was fair and funny and wonderful in many ways.
DeleteI had to laugh at the comparison to Saved! because I just watched that one (for the 100th time) last Friday night. I loved the satirical nature of it and it was just a good, funny time. This one sounds so much like that I and love the sound of this cast of characters. :)
ReplyDeleteI thought the comparison was a good one, but this also had a lot of heart and meaningful stuff. I loved this book even more than I thought I would
DeleteI'm not gonna lie, Jesus camp and born again ex were both things that put me off in the summary of this one but reading your review I'm thinking maybe I am being too judgey and need to give this a read as it sounds really good.
ReplyDeleteI will be honest, because I am into religion, I am always leery of books like these, but the author did a great job being fair. Shannon also featured the book, and she pretty much echoed my thoughts. The book was a delightful surprise.
DeleteHmm, this sounds so interesting and I feel like I want to try it! A lot of the time Christian representation is very important to me as it is my religion of course, but I like that it is showing a distinct difference between people who weaponise it and people who don't! And I love a good fake dating romance story. I am going to go and add this on Goodreads now :D
ReplyDeleteI feel like Christians get the harshest rap in YA, when in reality, there are extreme people affiliated and unaffiliated with all religions. The book gave me food for thought, while still delighting me, and I am all about that.
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