I really enjoyed the book. The story was written well and and I liked the characters. It really gives you a good look at race and privilege but with wit and humor! I would definitely recommend this book.

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

The first chapter hooked me immediately and I was totally up to get pulled into this story.
But in the end, it just didn't grip me. It reads smoothly, the four segments are well-plotted and discusses important topics with tact. However, it lacked tempo and substance outside of its general narrative.

This might be a weird critique but I think the story is too realistic?
Emira's situation in life, her uncertain future career and money problems are very well executed; Kelley reads like your classical white savior; Alix is a nuanced and well-rounded character in a time and age where you have to be a mother and businesswomen to be considered successful. It's so well done that it's too real. I like books that have a tale with purple writing, deeper character analysis, a more omniscient point of view at times.

Briar was also not as relevant as I expected. I'd wished to have spent more time on her and her relationship with Emira. We get some scenes with her but the focus is rarely on the two but explores other things instead.
Otherwise, I found this more subtle form of racism explored her suberb. I found it almost horrifying how both Alix and Kelley turned Emira into this whiteboard they could project their own ideas and wishes on. She is more of a prop to further their own agendas, not sparing a thought to Emira herself.

Thank you @netgalley and @putnambooks for my review copy of this book.

I throughly enjoyed this combination of a light, engaging read,, with relatable characters that was also serious and thought provoking.

Reid does an amazing job of intertwining tough issues, such as racism, class, privilege and feminism in a very captivating, and at times funny, story without being “heavy handed.”

The cast of characters are brilliant, relatable, interesting and truly will make you feel all the feels from sadness to disbelief to love.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to Reid’s next novel.
#suchafunage #netgalley

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid follows Emira and Alix. Emire babysits Alix's young daughter. One night Emira is out late with her charge and she is accused of having kidnapped her. From there the story escalates as Alix tries to redeem the experience. This book deals with privilege, racial tensions, and guilt followed by good intentions. A thought-provoking book. Read and enjoy!

Ummmmm. If people thought #thehelp exemplified racist/racial stereotypes/attitudes - I cannot wait to hear what they make of this one. The black girl “help” wears weave (referred to as “braids” - numerous times), twerks with her twerking friends (even doing it with one leg on the table- what does that look like?)and does not do THAT in the bedroom. The white lady employer vapidly ignores her gifted daughter, concerning herself with getting the perfect blowout, scenic selfies, and not having her $1,200 stroller stolen in “the help’s” neighborhood- —- At least I didn’t buy my copy! I am pissed I wasted my time reading though. Reese’s team must have bought this one for a movie (which might be an improvement). HEY YAY - at least they aren’t southern! #badbooks

Such A Fun Age is a timely book to read. When I saw that this book was a Reese Book club book, I knew it would be thought-provoking. I can easily see this book becoming a movie. I enjoyed Kiley Reid’s writing style and can’t wait for her next book.

Such a Fun Age is a quick and light read regardless of the racial dilemma and privilege aspects. Since I breezed through it, I didn’t feel like I was able to grasp the author’s intention of how deep and meaningful the story is set out to be. I loved Emira and Briar’s relationship and how that was developed and explored; however, the character development for Alix and Kelley were ok...just felt like something was missing.

While I completely understand why this thought provoking read is a book club pick for so many, I just didn’t feel it lived up to the “WOW” hype. If you are specifically looking for book discussing racism and privilege, this is one of many to include.

A solid 3.5 stars for me as I liked it enough to finish and see where the ending landed, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend the book to anyone else.

Nothing to say about this book that hasn't already been said- if you haven't read Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, do so! It's a great read, incorporating subtle and not-so-subtle commentary on race, privilege, class and the precariousness of life in your mid-20s. This book is super insightful, and it's also REALLY funny. Like, snort and laugh out loud funny at times (looking at you, artisinal soap line). Though I wish the ending was more detailed and Emira's character was more developed, the book was still a great read. Briar is an amazing little character and her one-liners are gems.

I loved this book. It grabbed me from the very first sentence and transported me straight into the lives of Emira and Alix, which were rich in details and vibrant with events.
The beginning is memorable and probably one of the best I’ve read in ages: it pulls you in and makes you want to know every consequence of that episode, how it will influence Emira and Alix’s future choices, how they will react.
It deliciously easy to read and become involved in.
The characters are gorgeously depicted and you will root for both of the girls at first, you will want to understand their actions and their ways of thinking.
Emira is the easiest to like, because is the more genuine.
Alix seems to have good intentions, but she’s controlling, insecure and somewhat naive but not in a good way: she doesn’t try to work on herself to improve her self-esteem, but believes she has the right to work on other people -specifically Emira- to improve her self-esteem.
I kind of liked her at the beginning, but she ended up getting on my nerves, because although Emira didn’t already have a plan for her future, she didn’t need anyone alse to make plans for her, especially without even taking her feelings into consideration.
Kelley had much the same problem, he thought he knew what was best for Emira, better than Emira herself.
And he believed he was such a good person because almost all of his friends and former girlfriends were black, whereas it was kind of racist.
He demonized Alix for employing black people in her house and making them wear a uniform -or sort of, in Emira’s case, but he didn’t even see the difference-, but he himself wasn’t any better, with his blind criticism for rich white people.
I hated him when he asked Emira to leave her job at Alix’s, mostly because he believed Alix was a bad person.
She wasn’t exactly good, but none of them was.
Alix’s friend Tamra too was wrong in believing that, since she was a fulfilled and well-off black woman, she has a right to “guide” Emira and encourage Alix to protect and take care of her, as if Emira couldn’t decide for herself.
Emira, full of insecurities and doubts, worried and unsatisfied as she was, was the best of them all.
Her relationship with Briar, Alix’s older daughter, was beautiful and moving.
It wasn’t the job of a lifetime, it didn’t give her benefits, a health insurance and vacations, but she was damn good at it, the most loving and caring adult figure in Briar’s young life.
I loved reading about her when she was with her best friends, Zara, Shaunie and Josefa.
Their relationship was so authentic and sincere and they were wonderfully entertaining, I loved the way they talked and how they supported each other.
I could really picture this book in my mind as if it was a movie or a series, every scene was so easy and enjoyable to visualize.
It made me think a lot and I particularly appreciated how it did so without telling me what to think or trying to suggest the “right” opinion.
It told a story, an important and exceptionally well-constructed one, and it definitely earned a place in my “best books of the year” list, but also as one of the best books in general, since I feel like I would revisit it in the future and strongly recommend it to many people.
I want to thank NetGalley, the author Kiley Reid, from which I expect to read many other wonderful and meaningful novels in the future, and G. P. Putnam’s Sons for offering me a free advanced reader’s copy which I deeply enjoyed.

I had a love-hate relationship with this book. I really liked the relationship Elmira, the 25 year old babysitter and four year old Briar. Elmira, a college graduate, doesn’t seem to know what she really wants to do and works part-time as a babysitter. She works for Alixa who is ten years older and has a successful blogging career. For Alixa, Elmira is just there until one night when Elmira took Briar to the grocery store and the police are called.

This book is easy to read even though it skips around. I found myself liking the characters one minute and not liking them the next. I also had to put this book aside several times and decide whether I would finish or not.

I do think this would be a good book for a bookclub as I can see lots of themes to discuss.

This is an amazing book that is a very quick read. This is very thought-provoking and I can see why Reese Witherspoon chose it as her book club pick for the month. I would definitely read more books by this author.

I feel like this is one of those books I had to give myself a few days upon finishing it to figure out what I thought of it. Overall I enjoyed reading this book and how the characters progressed throughout it. As we move through the story small nuggets of information are dropped here and there that help you to see things that have helped shape the characters into who they are. While we slowly found out more and more about Alix, I felt like Emira wasn’t fleshed out enough. It was definitely shown that Emira had opinions of Alix based on how she treated her older daughter, but I felt like there was a lack of examples throughout the book to make it as big of a thing as it was made to be in the storyline.
This book is definitely one that will stick with you for a while after you read it. I found myself discussing it with friends and family, and thinking of what I would have done if I were in multiple situations that were presented in the book. I look forward to any additional books by Ms. Reid

Emira Tucker is struggling with adulthood. She’s not quite sure what she wants to do. The only job she enjoys is babysitting two-year-old Briar. So, when Briar’s mother calls on a Saturday night asking if Emira can come and get the little girl she says yes. From there things in Such a Fun Age get bad fast. A store security guard decides that Emira has kidnapped Briar, because she is black and Briar is white. Someone records the event and only the arrival of Briar’s father puts an end to the harassment. But not to the fallout in Emira’s life and that of Briar’s mother, Alix. Suddenly, what was a straightforward arrangement becomes weighted down with good intentions, misunderstandings, and questionable motives.

There’s a lot to unpack in Such a Fun Age. Debut author Kiley Reid does an admirable job digging out and shaking off items most of us are going to find scratchy and uncomfortable. Alix takes the security guard encounter and uses it to build a ‘relationship’ with Emira. Taking a sudden and intense interest in Emira’s life—something she’s not done before. Initially, it seems well-meaning on the surface, but soon reads like self-serving tokenism.

Alix fantasized about Emira discovering things about her that shaped what Alix saw as the truest version of herself. Like the fact that one of Alix’s closest friends was also black…That Alix had read everything that Toni Morrison had ever written.

Which is cringe-worthy.

As Alix is pushing her friendship on Emira, Emira meets Kelley, the white man who recorded the store event. They’re soon dating and as Alix is trying to bring her into her circle, Kelley wants to pull her out. He questions everything about the job and how Emira is treated. He wants her to sue to the store. When she brings him to a party at Alix’s house it sets off a powder keg of reactions because Kelley and Alix know each other.

And that is where Such a Fun Age starts to lose me. Reid perfectly captures Emira’s character—her confusion about what to do with her life, her fears about losing her health insurance, and her loving relationship with Briar. She is relatable. So, why give emphasis to two characters who are nothing more than the drunk uncles at the party? They’re cardboard caricatures and through them events escalated to the point of disbelief and annoyance on my part.

Which is not to say they ruined the novel. Thanks to her finesse, Reid circles round and lets the larger story prevail. It’s just that I felt such confidence in her writing that adding these outrageous elements was unnecessary. It detracted from the nuances of Emira and even little Briar and the many shades of racism she exposed. Such a Fun Age is still good reading, but, given the hype surrounding it, I expected more.

Blogger Alix Chamberlain has built herself a brand empowering women. When she moves to Philadephia, she feels overwhelmed by her two young daughters and comes to rely on her babysitter, Emira Tucker. While watching Alix's two-year-old, Emira is shocked one day to be stopped by a grocery store clerk, only because she is black.

So many people are raving about this book, and I can understand why. Reid certainly sparks a conversation about racism and privilege, as both Alix and Emira's boyfriend have completely different views on the same event. Of all the characters, Emira felt the most realistic, which is a shame because it killed me that she seem to completely lack any ambition. I do wish the writing had been better; the backstories were important, but their placement felt so clunky. If you are willing to forgive the writing a bit, you'll find it a thought-provoking read.

This book lives up to the hype. Kiley Reid has crafted a easy to read, funny story, that explores some deep issues surrounding race, white saviorism, privilege, transactional relationships and unconscious bias. It's so digestible and easily consumed, and my goodness it made me think and reflect on the issues Reid explores.

I loved Reid's writing style, the pace and humour she uses, and how she builds her characters, warts and all, reflecting a little bit of ourselves in each one. I adored the relationship between Emira and sweet little Briar, and the ending between the two of them touched my heart. Alix and Kelly both infuriated and frustrated me, I couldn't find much redeeming in either of these characters.

This book is a fab read. You'll be seeing it around a lot and it's one that I highly recommend.

I came across this book on Reese Witherspoon’s book club, Hello Sunshine, so I was delighted to be approved for an Arc. Love, love, love this book, it takes the sensitive topic of race division in the USA. It moves along at a fast pace, a real,page turner, educational but funny at the the same time. This book is definitely one that will be added to the list of “to reads’ at our women’s work book club. Thanks to all for the arc.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Read. This. Book. Right now. I am in love with everything about it, from the characters to the writing to the plot.

Emira is 25 (soon to be 26) working part time as a nanny and typist, and trying to figure out her life. While her friends have steady incomes, health insurance, and can go for nights out without checking their bank accounts, Emira is still trying to find her passion in life. The biggest thing she looks forward to each day is being with her babysitting child, Briar. Inquisitive, smart, and talkative, Briar is largely ignored by her mom Alix (pronounced a ridiculous way) but is the center of Emira's world. After a night of a taped confrontation between Emira and a grocery store security guard, everyone must walk on egg shells and navigate the aftermath.

Kiley Reid has penned a beautiful social commentary that has a top layer of wit and humor, but deeper layers of finding oneself and the truth, the problems with the "white savior" who wants to save the day, and confronting and denying the past. Reid does an excellent job of zooming in to specific thoughts and actions that her characters do and then zooming out to examine the truth and consequences. I will recommend this book to literally everyone, but especially those who enjoy complex stories with flawed but deeply thought out characters. Love, Love Love

Such a Fun Age is the story of the dynamics between babysitter, Emira, and her employer, Alix. I didn't find either character too likeable, but I couldn't put this book down. This novel tackles deeper issues like race and employer relations in a page-turning package. I really enjoyed Kiley Reid's debut novel.

Timely without being preachy, I enjoyed every page. The characters are three dimensional, the plot is well paced and the entire book calls into question our motivations for why we do what we do. Strong ending and a winner all around.

Enter the first major discussion point novel for 2020. No doubt it will be loved (or hated) by book clubs everywhere. It examines race, class, well intentioned interference (or was it?) and an array of really really dislikable characters.

Erima works as a babysitter for a privileged family (Alix - uurggghh, even her name is pretentious) when one night she is accused of kidnapping her small, adorable charge - Briar, simply because it is late, she is wearing party clothes and she is black. So begins a deluge of people interfering in Emira's life and telling her what to do.

It was an uncomfortable and complicated read - but sometimes we need to leave our comfort zone to be part of the conversation.