This is the perfect novel for teaching bias, prejudice, social skills and thoughtfulness as well as digging deep into the racial tensions in our society. I hope this author continues to write - I would love to see more from her. I see she was chosen for book clubs and that this is award winning. Excellent and superb debut.

While I liked the writing, I could not STAND Mrs. Chamberlain. She acted like an entitled snot. I really liked Emira though, and loved the end when she stood up for herself.

Such a Fun Age is an interesting and intriguing look into race relations, privilege, and motherhood in today’s world. It’s 2015 and we meet Alix Chamberlain, a writer who recently moved to Philadelphia from New York City with her husband, a news anchor. They have two small daughters, Briar and Catherine, and have hired Emira to babysit Briar three days a week. After an awful incident at a local market one night where a security guard suspects that Emira kidnapped Briar, Alix is outraged and wants to make things right.

This book has A LOT of hype around it, and I understand why. The issues in society that Kiley Reid chose to take on are huge, and she writes in a way that makes me not want to put her book down. The relationships between characters, such as Emira and Briar, are beautiful and pure. I loved how much Emira loved and cared for Briar. Emira’s group of friends also felt very realistic, and I loved the glimpses into Emira’s thinking while her friends are getting promotions and boyfriends.

However, I had issues with a few of the characters. Alix, for one, is abysmal. In the book, she never seems to parent Briar, she engages in a lot of fat shaming talk, and interferes in Emira’s life far too much. I had another issue with her and Emira both at the end of the book that I’d LOVE to discuss in DM’s (so it doesn’t get spoiled). Kelly, Emira’s love interest, could have been more developed as well. One of Alix’s friends, Tamra, didn’t set well with me also.

All in all, I enjoyed this book, and will definitely read Kiley Reid’s future books. I predict this book being a very popular and widely discussed book club pick this year, and hopefully, there will be a lot of conversations that lead to change.

This is ferociously engaging and expertly plotted, with one of the most explosive Thanksgiving dinners ever, difficult for the characters to live through but HUGELY pleasurable to experience on the page. It teases out all kinds of issues having to do with race in a story about a young black babysitter and the white lady she works for who you will love to hate. There are also great depictions of female friendships, a sexy romance, and a delightful, realistically quirky preschooler with a big personality.

I think it is often unfair to a book when it has so much hype around it before it even comes out. Many times the book cannot live up to the expectation. For me, that's what happened with this book. I read the book in about two days, so if nothing else, it did keep my attention. Once or twice there was a twist I didn't see coming and that was enjoyable. I also enjoyed the main character and was certainly rooting for her. it just always seemed like there was a depth that was missing. I believe that was the point- to highlight the microaggressions in our society, but the writing seemed to lack the power to really bring on the "ah ha" moment I was waiting for. I seem to be in the minority, as this title is getting rave reviews from many, so perhaps it's just that I didn't get "it." Overall it wasn't terrible, just not as good as I was expecting it to be.

Such a Fun Age brings up important conversations beginning with the very first chapter. I fell in love with Emira and Briar. 5 well deserved stars!

Such a fun Age was a quick easy read. I thought it was okay. I didn’t feel connected to characters like I hoped I would. But I know I’m in the minority on my feelings. Just wasn’t for me. Thank you for an advanced copy and wish nothing but the best for a successful release.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Emira is a 25 year old black woman who is a babysitter for Alice and her upper class white family. One night while at a grocery store with little Briar, she is accused of kidnapping the child. This happens at the very beginning of the story and the book proceeds to follow the characters connections with each other and so many questions about race, class and privilege.
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What I loved:
➡️ Lets start with the cover. Because it is gorgeous and I’m so glad I bought it in hardcover as well.
➡️ Emira and little Briars relationship. Broke my heart that her mother didn’t treat her like she should have. And Emira was so sweet with her! There were definitely some similarities to The Help here.
➡️ Loved to hate Alix (and her friends). Ugh. Fat talk. Desperate to be liked. Trying so hard not to appear privileged. Yuck. But I think that was the idea. She was honestly a bit of a sad character.
➡️ The way this author made me question myself. 💗💙
Excellent read that I highly recommend.

Such a fun age- Kiley Reid
I am torn on what to say. This wasn’t one of my favorites. I had a hard time getting into it. I thought Kiley did a very good job writing it but it just wasn’t for me. I listened to it on audio and I did love how the narrator told the story.
#betterwhenbooked #readwithsarah #bookstagram #suchafunage #kileyreid

I loved the characters in this book! The plot.was timely and addressed racism in a new, interesting way.

I think I began this book with high expectations based on the current buzz. The book didn't wow me. I thought it had potential that it didn't quite get to given the impact of the topic.

I read this book pretty quickly, I found it compelling and through provoking. I actually have a lot of feelings about it that I won’t put in this review because I don’t want to give any spoilers but overall I think it’s an important read. It puts the dynamics of race, class, entitlement, and even mothering out there on the table to be discussed. The characters and the character development is great, some characters are likeable, some lovable (like Briar obviously), some relatable, and some perfectly hate-able.

So basically, run out and get this book. Read it with a friend/book club. It’s worth it.

I really enjoyed this book!! Had no idea about plot beforehand, so had no expectations. But I legit didn't want to put it down! The story was good, the characters were interesting and I especially loved the subtle and nuanced ways the author got me to think about bigger issues. It was fun to read a book that's been getting so much hype this month and I thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read it. I would definitely read books from this author again and I've already been recommending this book to friends and coworkers.

This was a phenomenal and thought-provoking debut novel. The story and characters pulled us in, and addressed difficult topics with a funny, light approach. It lived up to all of the great reviews we have been reading. Looking forward to reading Kiley Reid’s next novel!

This book was a great story with really well developed characters. It is a really good lens to look at how racial relations can impact us in ways that we don't always realize. It is an especially searing view on white people who see themselves as "woke." It's an especially prescient look at how our culture currently deals with racial issues without always taking into consideration the people who are more directly impacted. I really recommend this book.

I honestly don’t know what to make of this book. The title doesn’t make any sense to me; I’m not sure whose age it’s referring to: the thirty-something mom who is struggling to create some picture perfect life, the young babysitter who is trying to figure out where her life is going, or the toddler at the centre of it all? I didn’t much like any of the characters except for the child and the babysitter. I thought the boyfriend was a jerk and though the theme of racism is a prominent theme throughout the book, there were times when I thought it was pushed too much and other times when it was barely addressed at all (I thought the police coming to their house could have been used a bit more against the Chamberlains). Overall, I wanted to like this book given how much I had heard about it and also because it became a Reese’s book club pick, but I was disappointed. 3/5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

This book was well written and dealt with some important issues, but it just wasn’t for me, I didn’t feel too invested in the characters and their stories.

I think Such a Fun Age is a worthwhile, readable, and relevant debut. It’s a book that’s really important for the themes and topics it touches on and gives light to. Specifically here we have a story that deals with race, privilege, entitlement, white saviorism, and class. For that I’m grateful for this book and the heart/intention the author clearly poured into it. I hope it’s one that lands in people’s hands and gets read and talked about, makes us pause, think, and act. I’m excited to think of the wonderful discussions this book will generate.

Now, here’s where my controversial two cents comes in. To put it bluntly, I thought that the writing and story itself fell short and I couldn’t handle the dialogue, which unfortunately caused me to not be totally invested in what was in front of me. Overall it was just missing that “pull” I had hoped for. There was also a whole lot of strong language that I didn’t find necessary, which just happens to be a personal pet peeve of mine. On the other hand, something I truly did appreciate was the cast of characters we get to meet. They were so real and flawed, and each contributed a unique perspective throughout that kept me holding on.

I can absolutely see why this book is so hyped and everywhere right now. Am I glad I read it? In several ways, yes I am. But am I going to sing about it from the rooftops? Probably not. Yet I do believe that no matter where you land on the loved it/hated it scale by the end, you can definitely find things to take and walk away with from this book as I did.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for the complimentary copy.

This book reads like the perfect combination of a timely examination of crucial issues like race, class, and feminism, and the sort of juicy soap opera drama that keeps you hooked week after week (or in this case page after page). Such a Fun Age is so smart, so multi-layered, and so deftly written --the way Reid has developed her characters is so true, and her method of lending them all sympathy without letting any of their actions go without being scrutinized is whip-smart. This is the kind of book you sink your teeth into, but get even more out of upon discussing with others (makes sense that Reese snapped this one up for her book club) and upon re-reading. A surefire standout of 2020.

This story follows two women who are at varying stages of their lives: Emira, a college graduate, still trying to find her purpose in the world and Alix, confident and career-driven, yet still stuck in the past. Emira babysits Alix’s daughter, Briar and when she is accused of kidnapping Briar, they are faced with the harsh reality of racism and classism.⁣
While the story overall was lighthearted, it very much deals with real life situations. As much as Alix tries to bridge the gap between social classes, it comes off as forced and as if she is trying too hard to do the right thing. This book has such wonderful character development, giving each person their own meaning. Even Briar was given her own cute personality. I thoroughly enjoyed this story! Thank you Netgalley and Putnam Books for the ARC.