It's a great skill to tackle complex, nuanced issues without applying a sledgehammer. Kiley Reid does just that in this breezy novel whose ease and light touch hide a concern with such issues as privilege, black fetishism, and mid-twenties malaise.

I suppose that the character of Alix could have been less transparently and neurotically drawn (even if she has a keen eye for the flaws of others), and the book wraps up in too tidy and rushed a fashion. But these seem like minor problems when the writing is as clear and entertaining as it is here.

I was surprised at how engaged I was with this story. I definitely see why it was a Reese Witherspoon pick it has a lot of concepts that would make a great discussion for any book club. I was constantly wanting to read more and this is a topic of race and how you are treated differently because of it.

As a former nanny and current Philadelphia resident, I found this book interesting and relatable. The story has many themes relevant to today to unpack: racism, transactional relationships, past relationships, maternal conflicts with work and home and biracial relationships. The book wanted you to dislike Alix but at times you could understand her point of view as she saw it even though it wasn't what was best for Emira in her situation. The characters overall were very real and relatable. I would recommend this book as a quick but thought-provoking read.

I thought this was a great book! So excited to read more from this author. the book captivated me right from the start and had me wanting more. I read the book in two days and was excited to tell other people about the book.

This is quite a fun book. I liked that the characters are human. They make mistakes, but they aren't bad people. It is a very quick, immersive read. Once you're in it, you're compelled to read through all the way to the end. The voices are distinct, and the code-switching is seemlessly done. Very well done debut novel. I can't wait for the author has coming next.

This story covers important topics about race, privilege and different social dynamics. I listened to this one as an audio book as well and at times the story line could be slow but it always picked back up! Overall I really enjoyed this book and I feel like this is a very important book that everyone should read.

I had a hard time liking any of the characters in Such a Fun Age but I enjoyed the story of Alix and Emira. Kiley Reid has written a relevant story. I can't wait to see what she writes next!

A fantastic opening chapter, really hooked me. Half way through I thought I was reading a different genre. Finally at the end the plot pulled together.

What begins as a simple late night field trip to an upscale neighborhood grocery store for babysitter Emira Tucker and her young charge, Briar, quickly escalates into a nightmare when Emira, a young, black woman with a white toddler in tow, is accused of kidnapping the child with the entire event being caught on tape. This night is the start of a string events that will eventually lead to Emira and her employer Alix finding a startling connection between their vastly different lives. This discovery leads them down a path they never expected, and will change both their lives forever.

From the very first chapter of Kiley Reid's engaging debut novel Such a Fun Age, readers are immersed into a witty and insightful examination of race and privilege, and the relationship between a black babysitter and her well-to-do, well-intentioned, but often misdirected white employer. This book is sharp and funny, but also thought-provoking and unexpected. Reid paints vibrant characters that leap off the page, and she forms relationships between these characters that are true and endearing.

Going into this book, I thought that it would mostly revolve around the grocery store incident and its aftermath, but I soon discovered that Such a Fun Age is more about young adulthood and all of its nuances, including new relationships, career choices, and friends that stick together through thick and thin. Race and privilege, two ideas explored within the pages of this novel, are deftly interwoven into the story through alternating chapters told by Emira and Alix, with both parts seamlessly working together to tell a completely intriguing tale of two disparate worlds.

Readers of literary fiction should pick up Such a Fun Age, as well as anyone who is keeping up with Reese Witherspoon's Book Club Picks. This novel will also be enjoyed by anyone who loves issue-oriented books, as well as readers who like the distinct writing style and voice of today's Millennial authors.

Loved it! Fantastically nuanced in a way that hasn’t been addressed much. Highlights how meaning well doesn’t work like white people think it does.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an eye opening novel about racism and the harmful consequences that causes to relationships--both personal and professional. I love Emira and her unflappable optimism. She is a worker and refuses to be a victim even when she is unquestionably victimized. Briar broke my heart a hundred times. Of all the losses in the novel, her loss of that pivotal relationship was the hardest to accept.

This would be a wonderful choice for a book club. The discussions that the novel generates could be life-changing in developing an understanding

This is an important read centering around race, privilege, and the idea of what is "right." Reid is a beautiful and poignant writer. Throughout the story, I was questioning myself, and my actions, which I think is important to do. It was thought-provoking and moving. It would be another great book club book to discuss.

I’m happy to say that Such A Fun Age lived up to hype for me, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

It tackles race, class and privilege with a fresh perspective. While there are heavy themes throughout the book, the book is an easy and thrilling read. It’s a great debut novel and I can’t wait to read more from Kiley Reid.

I highly recommend picking this one up! Add it to your list if it isn’t already on there!

I believe this would be a great book for a book club discussion. I found myself cheering at points about the relationships formed and then yelling as parts unfolded. It was an emotional roller coaster that I couldn’t put down.

I liked this one but with all the hype I heard, I expected to like it more. Shared it on this post of books I wanted to read in 2020: https://everyday-reading.com/reading-list/

Such a Fun Age deals with issues of race, privilege, and motherhood but not in a heavy manner. This novel is at times hilarious. It's very contemporary with lots of references to social media and pop culture. At times some of the characters seem quite over-the-top, but for the most part this just adds to the hilarity. I look forward to more by Kiley Reid.

I really enjoyed this one. I listened to 90% of it on audio and then couldn’t wait to know how it all ended and picked up the physical copy to finish. The characters were truly complex and multi-faceted, making them feel real; as if they could jump off the page and into the real world. I’ve seen some readers say they found them unlikable, and I don’t necessarily disagree, at times everyone in this book is not very likable. But I found, that in this particular story, I didn’t mind that. It made them more human to me. There were times I was questioning myself, ‘Wait, am I supposed to like this character? No, I’m not. But, wait, maybe?’ This was a constant thought running through my head while listening to this book.

Having been a nanny for a wide range of families, I empathized with Emira and her struggle knowing she needed to leave her job but also wanting to stay with Briar, a child she cares deeply about. As a nanny or regular babysitter, you spend so much time with the kids, many times you’re there more than the parents, and it becomes difficult to separate yourself from them when the job ends. Emira struggle with that hit home for me.

This book delves into race and racism in a subtle way that creeps up on you and will have you thinking about your own actions and thoughts (both conscious and unconscious) and how they may be affecting those around you in ways you don’t see.

SUCH A FUN AGE was an intriguing and thoughtful novel that kept me on my toes right up to the very last page.

Such a Fun Age keeps you uncomfortably balanced on the line between observation and commiseration. As a white woman, a mom, and someone in the publishing industry, it was my instinct to relate to Alix, who hires a 25-year-old black woman named Emira to babysit her kids a few times a week. As the book goes on, there are more and more reasons to feel uncomfortable identifying with Alix, both having to do with race and not having to do with race. As Alix's motivations and past mistakes come to light the reader is challenged to accept uncomfortable truths about themselves and the way that how you think something went can become bigger in your psyche than how it really went.

The book also tackles income equality and ambition in very real and relatable ways. It's rare to find a protagonist like Emira, living paycheck to paycheck at a job that's "just okay" and sort of dead-end who doesn't really have a passion or dream for something else. Usually a poor protagonist is struggling at some passion that may or may not pan out in the end. When career and money are such central themes, it's rare to not see the character make a major transformation in those areas by the end. This book is a bit more like life, Emira makes incremental changes and does advance in her work life, but this book was never about that. This, in itself feeling uncomfortable or anticlimactic is a bit of a revelation of how homogeneous most 20-something-women's stories are.

As a Philadelphia native, I also enjoyed the pieces of the city, the push and pull between New Yorkers and Philadelphians, and the regional atmosphere. In the end, white women may not want to relate to Alix, but to truly change we have to accept those parts of us that are similar to her. This is an excellent addition to the "no white saviors" narrative.

Wow, this book really made me think and examines my feelings about some big topics. I see this being a great discussion book for book club and look forward to sharing.

This novel kept my interest from the very first chapter. The characters were complex and their dilemmas realistic. I do think that this was written as a response to today's political climate, racial relations at its' most tense and relevant.