Small Town Sinners in Mock Printz 2026

Jan 08, 2012 Lea rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, high-school, bullying

I waited a long time to read Melissa Walker’s Small Town Sinners; faith and religion can be incendiary topics, and I worried about how a YA author would handle such divisive topics. Glowing reviews from authors I respect and admire (and a sharply discounted price for the ebook) finally convinced me to take a chance.

Lacey Anne Byer is a parson’s daughter, nearly sixteen. With her best friends Starla Joy and Dean, she is eagerly awaiting her church’s annual Hell House, a haunted-house like event ...more

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Aug 05, 2011 Sarah BT rated it it was amazing

About the Book: Lacey Anne Byers has always been a good girl. She's grown up in the church, followed the rules, and she's never questioned anything. Lacey is excited to try out for a lead role in her church's Hell House production. When Ty Davis moves to town, Lacey befriends him. He's smart, funny, and Lacey likes him-a lot. Lacey can talk to Ty about her faith, something her friends have never discussed much. Ty asks questions that Lacey has never asked and she begins to doubt if everything is About the Book: Lacey Anne Byers has always been a good girl. She's grown up in the church, followed the rules, and she's never questioned anything. Lacey is excited to try out for a lead role in her church's Hell House production. When Ty Davis moves to town, Lacey befriends him. He's smart, funny, and Lacey likes him-a lot. Lacey can talk to Ty about her faith, something her friends have never discussed much. Ty asks questions that Lacey has never asked and she begins to doubt if everything is as black and white, right and wrong as she once believed.

GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I have been a longtime fan of Melissa Walker's and I think that Small Town Sinners is Melissa's standout book. She writes a story about faith, first love, and searching in a wonderfully realistic way.

As a Christian myself, I'm often hesitant to read portrayals of faith and Christians in fiction. Christian fiction is too corny and unrealistic to me whereas secular fiction often portrays Christian's as crazy nut jobs. Small Town Sinners does neither. The story is non-judgmental and it's up to the readers to answer their own questions and decide what they think. While the adults aren't always the best and they do things that I didn't agree with, no one was over the top, and I found this to be more realistic.

Instead of taking one side or another, Small Town Sinners has a wonderful balance. Hell House's aren't shown in a way that's extreme good or extreme bad. I'm personally not a fan of the Hell House idea, but I liked the explanations that Lacey gave about the reason and how they can be effective. This worked for me and I didn't feel like the book was preaching to me one way or the other. There is scripture used, which so often I feel is corny in books, but for some reason I liked it here. Maybe because I knew this wasn't really labeled "Christian Fiction" so I didn't feel like I was supposed to be getting a message from the book. Instead of just being thrown in there just because it needed to be, I felt it fit Lacey's character as she struggled with her faith.

What I loved most about the novel is that Lacey is a relatable, real, character. She understands that her faith cannot just be what her parents believe, but it has to become her own. In order to make it her own, she must ask questions and discover what she believes-and that's not a bad thing. So often we're told, especially in Christian fiction, that doubt is a bad thing. But in Small Town Sinners, doubt is part of life and it's needed to better understand your faith. This is a message that very often gets lots and I think it added a wonderful depth to the story. There are never easy answers and Lacey isn't left knowing the answers to everything-and that's OK.

The supporting cast adds a layer to the story. This isn't just a story about faith, but it's a story of first love, teen pregnancy, searching for answers, friendship, loyalty, and forgiveness. It all wraps up into a fantastic package that I highly recommend to all readers.

Book Pairings: Sorta Like a Rockstar by Matthew Quick, The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Frietas
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Sep 28, 2012 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-contemporary

This book made me think and re-think about a lot of things, and the main thought I came away with in the end was: The Christian right is nuttier than nuts, and I am very glad I didn't grow up in a small, closed-minded town. I consider myself a good Christian, but many of the things in this book remind me of why I sometimes feel far from the church and many of its beliefs. Hell Houses are a very interesting (and frightening) concept I never knew really existed until I started reading about them i ...more

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Jul 15, 2011 David rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, read-in-2011, ya-mg

Hmm.

I was excited to check this one out thanks to its write-up in the NY Times Book Review a little while back. Now, having read it, my take seems to fall in line with a lot of the general consensus: the exploration of small-town evangelicalism through a teen's eyes is interesting and mostly well done, but the "romance" part really takes away from the rest of it.

I'd have been more interested to read a story where (view spoiler) or some other matter drives Lacey ...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Mary rated it really liked it

This is a unique book in YA Literature about the questioning of one's faith. This is a good book discussion book that has many elements for careful discussion about family, faith, and relationships. ...more

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