Because the subtitle of this book is Welcoming the Singles In Your Church, I assumed this book was going to be full of practical ways that church leaders and members, particularly the married ones, could begin to include single individuals in the "regular" life of the church, and explain why those things would be helpful. (For instance, having intergenerational and multi-stage small groups, so we can all learn from each other's different experiences and be challenged rather than reinforce the ideas/opinions we already hold.) There is some of that here, particularly in the last couple of chapters, but much of the book seemed to be a defense for why single Christians don't date more... not what I expected.

Dalfonzo uses primarily anecdotal "evidence" to make her points. She states that in order to present a perspective that's broader than just her own, she "sent out a number of questionnaires to friends and acquaintances," yet the included comments seem to be from just a handful of people. While I love anecdotes and think they can be extremely helpful, I think they're stronger when used in conjunction with more statistics and Scripture.

Instead of sharing the complaints of singles and then telling the Church that they need to be included, it would have been helpful had Dalfonzo explained why singles need to be included in certain ways and pointed readers to Christ, reminding us how He expects His people to love. Again, this happens some of the time, but not always.

The parts/chapters needed to be better defined and focused. Many times she would start to say something, but then add "I'll talk more about that in a later chapter – right now I want to talk about xyz." There were also several instances when a chapter abruptly ended before she had (seemingly) finished her thought.

I will say, I really appreciated her humor! There is a part of the book where she points out problematic themes in the Christy Miller series, and it was hilarious. (I immediately shared it with my sister, as we both read the books growing up – she liked them, I didn't.)

Overall, I agree with much of what was said here, but the delivery just wasn't the best I've read. My favorite book on this subject is [b:Singled Out|5460016|Singled Out Why Celibacy Must Be Reinvented in Today's Church|Christine A. Colón|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347719486s/5460016.jpg|5527604] (it touches on many of the same topics, but it's better organized/fleshed out). I would recommend One by One to anyone who is intimidated by Singled Out (since it's slightly more academic, and not humorous).

I received this book through Goodreads First Reads. ( )