Yinka wants to find love. Her mum wants to find it for her.
She also has too many aunties who frequently pray for her delivery from singledom, a preference for chicken and chips over traditional Nigerian food, and a bum she's sure is far too small as a result. Oh, and the fact that she's a thirty-one-year-old South-Londoner who doesn't believe in sex before marriage is a bit of an obstacle too...
When her cousin gets engaged, Yinka commences 'Operation Find A Date for Rachel's Wedding'. Armed with a totally flawless, incredibly specific plan, will Yinka find herself a huzband?
What if the thing she really needs to find is herself?
I initially heard of Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? at an online Penguin Showcase where the author Lizzie Damilola Blackburn talked about the concept behind the book and I instantly knew that it was a story that I wanted to read. And having just finished reading it, I can honestly say that it lived up to all of my expectations and so much more, it's a funny and thought-provoking read that I'm sure so many of us can relate to regardless of what culture, nationality or religion we belong to.
From the outset you can't help but feel for Yinka who is under impress pressure from her family, especially her Nigerian mother, when at her younger sister's baby shower she finds herself at the centre of attention when the elders pray for her to find a huzband! And then her cousin announces that she is getting married which sets in motion a plan for her to find herself a date for the wedding and not have her elders matchmake for her.
Yinka is a character that I'm sure a lot of us women can relate to in one way or another. I too found myself in a similar situation to the one that she did at the baby shower, but for me it was at a family wedding when I was a few years older than Yinka is when as one of the only singletons I was seated at the table with the oldies and was quizzed about why I wasn't married.
I really felt for Yinka but have to admit I did a fair bit of cringing too at some of her actions and the white lies she told along the way because she didn't want to disappoint anyone. To me it felt like she wasn't comfortable in her own skin and that she didn't really like herself and the life she was living. I wanted to shake her and say 'You are good enough in who you are, what you look like and don't need to change yourself to find love or self-worth'.
There are so many secondary characters that deserve a mention as they all played their part brilliantly; her friends Nana, Jo and Brian who are by her side through the good times and the bad, her sister Kemi, cousins Ola and Rachel, but my favourite character has to be Aunt Blessing who was the voice of reason for Yinka when she feels like no-one understands her.
Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? is not a love story in the traditional sense, it's a heart-warming exploration of family, friendships but most of all it's a story about self-growth. A fantastic debut from Lizzie Damilola Blackburn and I can't wait to see what she has in store for us next.
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