The end of Daya Keane's junior year in Escondido, Arizona, is anything but expected.
And it starts when her longtime swoon-worthy crush, Beckett Wild, actually talks to her at a party neither of them should've been at.
But as Daya's best friends, Stella and B'Rad, are quick to point out, smart, cute, artistic Beckett is also the poster girl for the wildly popular youth group at Grace Redeemer, the megachurch Daya's mom prays at and pushes her daughter to attend.
Amid the concert-worthy light shows, high-energy live band, and pastor preaching to love thy neighbor so long as thy neighbor “gets right with God” first, Daya struggles to find her place in a house of worship that doesn't seem to create space for someone like her. Then again, she never planned to fall this hard for a girl like Beckett Wild.
Now Daya has to decide how far she's willing to surrender to Beckett's world of Grace Redeemer, and who she's willing to become to be with her.
Narrator Elisa Melendez delivers this LGTBQIA story in a solid voice. While it deals with sensitive topics, the main character, Daya Keane, has a resilience and self-assurance that are illuminated by Melendez. Queer high school junior Daya cannot believe it when her longtime crush, Beckett Wild, speaks to her at a party neither one should have attended. Since her father left the family, Daya's mot
