SITUATION-SHEEP

A teenage girl champions her father’s seemingly impossible dream in Sayre’s novel.

Sixteen-year-old Erika moves to Florida from Connecticut along with her father, mother, and sister, Stephanie, when her father accepts a job as a “pastor willing to shepherd a congregation of lost sheep.” He hatches a plan to build a Christian amusement park called Bibleland. Eager to impress her father, Erika appoints herself as his director of sales and marketing. She is a shrewd fundraiser—on one occasion, she says, “Investing a few dollars now won’t get you a Fast Pass to Heaven or even a free pass to the park (unless you donate over a thousand, then we can talk). But your financial support will save souls...lots of them.” Erika, who desires her father’s recognition of her as “a fellow spiritual being,” wants herself and not Stephanie to be their father’s favorite. (Her journey in faith is also inspired by her mother, who used to “sneak a sticky note scripture verse into our sandwich bags every day.”) One day, Stephanie, who is losing her faith, leaves the home; this reminds Erika of all the kindness that her sister had shown her. The narrative also makes room for Erica’s romantic travails (she has a boyfriend named Yuri, who works as a valet at a hotel and buys books for her). What will happen when she has to choose between her father and her boyfriend? Sayre’s worldbuilding is top-notch, weaving in scriptural references throughout the text to make the characters and their dialogue feel more authentic. However, this might narrow the book’s appeal to a readership that is well-acquainted with Christian theology. The author’s sense of humor is hilarious, but it may offend readers who do not appreciate irreverence in matters of faith. The story is filled with entertaining secrets and misunderstandings—what does not work is the flippant use of politically incorrect language in relation to marginalized groups such as transgender people, Black people, immigrants, and Indigenous people for comic relief.

A book about the ways in which faith anchors some and alienates others.