Sushi for One? by Camy Tang

Now Camy's debut novel has released I am re-posting my review of some months ago!

When your grandmother believes her immortality is dependant on you marrying and bearing children, matchmaking moves into a whole other stratosphere!

Lex Sakai finds herself at the mercy of her scheming grandmother when she becomes the OSFC (Oldest Single Female Cousin!) in the predominantly Buddhist, Japanese-American Sakai family. Lex has already caused waves by becoming a Christian and her love of coaching and playing volleyball doesn't exactly fit with her grandmother's expectations of appropriate womanly behaviour! Suddenly, her whole family is parading around with single men for her to date but none hold her interest nor, in some cases, do they speak her language! Even when Lex meets Aidan Young, a non ball-playing physical therapist, without the assistance of her "helpful" family, she is determined to reject him as well.

What her extended family doesn't know is that Lex has a secret, one that sadly justifies her boycott on dating and men altogether.

Camy Tang's debut novel is both fearless and feisty, a novel which doesn't pull any punches about the reality of manipulative family members, rivalry amongst grandchildren and the struggles of being single. At the same time it is packed with laugh out loud humour, appealing characters and a message of hope. The writing is down to earth and startlingly genuine, so much so that at times I didn't like the way Lex thought or what she said simply because Camy has written with authenticity and not given us a "perfect" and unreal heroine. Lex is bright, independent and athletic with an overly sensitive stomach which provides for some disastrous and amusing scenes. Her cousins, Trish, Venus and Jennifer (the subjects of additional books in the series) are all unique and the way is paved for some interesting story lines to come. I loved Aiden's character and would have liked to have seen his fascinating and attractive self on a few more pages!

Camy Tang's writing is a breath of fresh air ~ funny, courageous, compassionate and sometimes confronting ~ a writer not just to watch but definitely to read! Sadly you will have to wait for a copy, Sushi for One? releases in September, 2007 by Zondervan.

Camy has a great blog and she regularly gives new and preloved books away! Check it out here.