Around the World in 80 Dates: Confessions of a Christian Serial Dater

This book is absolutely hilarious. In this novel Christa Banister takes the reality of Christian dating, and adds a humorous flare to the usually hushed subject. As Christian singles, especially women, sometimes we become consumed with finding our husband. We concentrate more on finding a husband ourselves than we do on believing that God will send a husband to us.

The quest begins with Sydney Alexander, a savvy chick with class and wit. She is the queen of shopping and sarcasm. Her morals and values are based on her faith. Sydney is a travel writer for Get Away, a travel magazine. The book tells of Sydney’s love and loss of boyfriend after boyfriend. Her first page begins:

“When Daniel told me he was in between jobs, I believed him.

And when Michael told me that I was the only girl for him, I believed him too. Well, until I found out he was also dating…. Then there was Taylor, who was more in love with his own reflection…than he could ever be with me. And Tyler, who didn’t have much self-esteem and always wondered if he was good enough. With Ben I was the girl friend, never the girlfriend.”

As the reader accompanies Sydney on her dating adventures, they will rupture with giggles. Throughout the course of the book, Sydney went through more boyfriends than babies go through diapers. Although this novel has humor written all over it, Banister conveys the underlying story effortlessly.

Each chapter begins with quotes from lines of different movies like You’ve Got Mail, As Good as It Gets, Pretty Woman, The Princess Bride just to name a few. Banister creates well balanced characters. For example, after Sydney graduates from college she works three unpopular jobs to make ends meet. She stands by her beliefs but she is not overbearing, however is firm in her stand on abstinence. She is well grounded.
Banister has taken a sensitive subject and modernized it as a faith based comedy which puts this book in a class of its own. I recommend this book to two types of individuals, those en route to marriage and those who have been blessed to find their true love.

Reviewed by: Takiela Bynum