Such a Fun Age is written in a way that transforms the reader from their own couch to the lives of two very different women. Alix who has grown up and found who she is and Emira a young woman who at 25 has no idea what she wants to do with her life. Normally these two would not interact but Emira is the nanny/babysitter of Alix' amazingly charismatic daughter Briar. This book not only is a joy to read but has a deeper meaning of racial issues that still lie in our everyday lives and women in the workforce. This book starts with Emira being questioned as a young black woman having a 3 yr old white child in a grocery store late at night. This brought up so many emotions within me as a reader that I did not know existed. This is a brilliant book and should be read by everyone!

Somehow I managed to read a book set in Philadelphia for my last book of 2019 ("Long Bright River") and for my first book of 2020: "Such a Fun Age." I was first in line for my library's copy, and when I saw NetGalley had this as a "read now" title, I jumped on the chance to review.

This New Adult novel is Kiley Reid's debut. At the beginning of the book, 25-year-old Emara is a babysitter for a well-to-do family. Emira is black, her clients are white. At the client's request, Emira takes her charge, Briar, to a grocery store late at night while her parents speak with police about some vandalism to their home. At the grocery, a white woman spots the pair and alerts security to a possible child abduction -- they couldn't believe that a black woman would be with a white child at that hour of night. Someone records the scene on video.

This heavily character-driven story proceeds from this pivotal event, and the author explores topics including racism, the "white savior complex," privilege, differences in socioeconomic status, and young adults making their way in the world.

At first, I disliked a certain character, and when I saw how they were being used as a critical element in the plot, I was ready to jump ship. It didn't feel at all believable that it would happen (intentionally being vague here). I didn't like that aspect at all, but I stayed with the author to see what would happen. While I do wish the book took a different approach, I'm satisfied with how the book resolved.

Recommended for readers who enjoy fleshed-out characters (some likable, some not) tackling tough, current issues. It was hard to put down.

Content: language, some brief open-door sexual situations.

Thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for providing me with a free digital review copy in exchange for my review.

This is a fun story about how several lives intertwine and are impacted by race and privilege. I’m thrilled this was picked as a Reese book club pick for January.

Thank you Netgalley and GP Putnam for the advance egalley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Really good. Fast read but touching on many relevant issues, it would make a good choice for book clubs..

This entire book, along with its extremely satisfying ending, was incredible. It is going to be hard to review without spoiling integral plot points, but I will do my best.

This is the story of Emira, a 25-year-old Black woman, who works as a babysitter for Alix Chamberlain, a white mother of two who seems to care more about her work and what others think of her than she does for her two children, Briar and Catherine. Emira quickly falls in love with little Briar and her inquisitive personality, and their bond creates an internal struggle within Emira; how can Emira continue to work for Alix in a part-time job without healthcare benefits, but also how can she leave Briar with a mother who doesn't even always seem to like her?

This story highlights so many problems within the structure of our society. Reid's commentary on transactional relationships and the dynamics between people of different classes is like nothing I've ever read in a fictional story. This novel also highlights the struggle of the working class, and the choices or sacrifices people often have to make in the name of health care benefits.

In addition to addressing our country's many structural issues regarding class, Reid's novel heavily revolves around race and racism. The racial commentary in this story is very different than in any other book I've read before. Reid's story beautifully illustrates that racism is not always what it is usually portrayed to be; something that bad people do or feel. While there are many racist characters within this story, no one is labeled as "good" or "bad." In fact, all of the characters have both good and bad qualities. Through these characters Reid reminds readers that, kind, liberal, well-intentioned people, can be racist, too.

As a white reader, parts of this book were hard to read. I found myself rooting for the white saviors, and recognizing some of the racist thoughts that Alix had. The fact that this book caused me to further examine my contribution to a culture of white supremacy, is the proof of its brilliance. I will be thinking about this book , and the lessons I took away from it, for a very long time.

This book was captivating in many ways. The way that the story was told highlighted classism, racism, etc. that still very much exists in our country.

Super powerful look into race, privilege, white savior complexes, and employee-employer relationships. Briar is also my favorite toddler character I’ve EVER met. What a delight. Let me know if you read this book so we can discuss at length!!!

I don’t have the copy of Such A Fun Age with the super fun cover but it still deserves all the attention! I loved this book and I’m so glad it’s my first read of 2020. So many difficult-to-discuss topics in this book and it’s so naturally done... so easy to see that there are always multiple perspectives on an issue. It would be the perfect book club book!

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid is such a fabulous book. Her writing makes the book so easy and enjoyable to read that you have to pause a moment and think about all that is happening in the book.

This book is told through two different perspectives, Alex and her babysitter Emira. One evening there is a run in with a store security guard, Emira, and Alex's daughter. From there the story about race and privilege takes off.

This is such an important and relevant read. Once I started I could not put the book down.

Thank you to Netgalley , Putnam and Kiley Reid for the advanced reader copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book in about two days and that was because I wanted to savor it. It was so good and :"unputdownable." It was such a great story where none of the characters were flawless, but they all made me think. There was such an important dialogue on race and privilege and also a great story line. I would highly recommend this book to everyone and I'm so glad it's my first one of 2020.

Emira is a baby sitter for the Chamberlain family when she's accused of kidnapping her young charge because she's African American and the child is not. There is a man named Kelly present who films the whole experience, ends up eventually running in to and dating Emira, but is also the high school ex of her employer, Alix. The dynamic between Alix and Kelly was really interesting. In some ways the ending surprised and didn't surprise me at the same time.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the advanced copy of this well-done, quick to finish debut,

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid follows Emira Tucker, a young black sitter, who works for a privileged white family. Emira has a special connection with young Briar, an inquisitive and busy little girl. After responding her employer's family emergency, Emira becomes the victim of racial discrimination, which was videotaped. She eventually provides a response and chooses to change relationships over it.

This novel was a great, quick page-turner, although I hoped for more growth, learning and/or evolvement of the main characters and a deep-dive into the racial issues and how appropriate resolutions could have happened. Lots of missed opportunity here! Emira and her friends were very likeable. Alix and Kelley could have been too, but were not due to no growth, learning, or evolvement of these characters.

In addition, the final page was disappointing to me - it felt negative and a little off-center (with an unnecessary jab) from the overall message of the book.

I am so glad that I picked this book up for my last book of 2019. It lived up to all the hype I had read beforehand. It felt like I breezed through it even though the storyline had so many different layers. The two main characters of Alix and Emira were at such different stages in their lives but the combination made the reader want to know more. They are connected through something that I didn’t see coming, that was a great twist. It makes you think about how you would handle situations and just how politically and racially woke you are. Emira with little Briar, Alix’s daughter, was both touching and heartbreaking. The ending had me saying Wow. That added a layer all in it’s own.

Such a Fun Age is such a great book. It is an incredible debut from someone I know I will read again.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for a copy of this wonderful book.

I absolutely loved this debut novel! I hadn't read any of the blurbs ahead of time so I had no idea where it was going but what a story! I also like flawed characters and most of them--with the exception of Emira and sweet little Briar--were very flawed, but often well-meaning. Emira works as a babysitter for Alix, a successful wealthy white woman who adores Emira and her relationship with 3-yr-old Briar. But one late night in a convenience store when Emira is asked to leave because they believe she may have kidnapped Briar, everything changes for Emira as the incident has been videotaped. I loved how the characters acted and reacted in ways that surprised me, and even though they meant well, it was clear that often intentions were misguided. Reid speaks to countless themes: race, discrimination, wealth, jealousy, grief, and forgiveness; she leaves us with the satisfaction that the right thing can be attainable and even though goals can change, staying true to to oneself is ultimately the best path to take.

I liked this book, I just felt like I didn't get what I was wanting and expecting based on the synopsis. I do like how it all came together in the end. But ultimately I feel like there wasn't much happening throughout the book, it all got thrown in the last quarter of the book. That being said, I did enjoy Emira, I though she was a strong and well developed character. I didn't care for any of the other adult characters -- but that is ok, because I don't think the author intended for the reader to like them.

This was some debut. So many issues were considered, racism, privilege, parenting and obsession. Alix, Amira and Kelley were the main characters, so disparate but bound in unimaginable ways. There is so much I could say but no spoilers. What I will say is this book reveals the differences between us, culturally, racially and even by gender. There are so many, Oh heck no moments. Alix is the personification of obsessive, privileged and obtuse. What a current day, IG, news media world in which we reside.

This is the author’s first novel, which surprised me because the writing was so polished, and the dialogue was so wonderful.

While the themes in this book (race, privilege etc.) are heavy by nature, they are addressed in such a readable way that they prompt you to think hard about them, but don’t stop you from turning the pages with abandon. I also found the main character, Emira Tucker extremely relatable and likeable.

The audiobook was narrated by Nicole Lewis, who did a superb job with all of the characters and the pacing of the story!

[ I received an ARC on Netgalley in return for an honest review. ]

'Such a young age' is a page-turning story about "a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both."

Through out this book, we follow the main character, Emira, and her job as a babysitter for the Chamberlain's- who recently moved to Philadelphia and have two younger daughters, Briar and Catherine.
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Firstly, I would just like to say that I. Love. Briar. She was the most adorable, funny and curious child ever and I could see why Emira was so smitten with her. I loved their relationship with one another, and honestly that made the story all the more heartbreaking for me as the book progressed.

I really enjoyed reading about a character who had a supportive group of friends, and I loved that they were always there for her in times of need.
Emira's troubles, issues and worries were so realistic, it was honestly painful at times.

Kiley Reid explores many important messages with this book, and through the character's actions, we are often forced to consider questions like- what really constitutes someone as "family".
I definitely enjoyed her writing style and I liked how I was constantly surprised and shocked by the things that happen.

I found Emira's character to be really inspirational, along with her best friend, Zara, and I'm now a little sad to see them go.
But overall, this is an amazing book that I would definitely recommend and I'd love to check out more of the author's works in the future!

Rating: 4/5

Such a Fun Age is funny, thoughtful, well written, essential to our culture in this moment. I adore this great surprise fiction at the end of the year and the end of the decade. Thanks from readers for releasing one more great novel in 2019, and fans of this great book will do everything we can to keep it going in 2020. I don’t want it to be overlooked. If it had been released earlier in 2019, I’m certain it would be on many “best books of 2019” lists.

This was one of those books made for current events. It fits so well with the events that have been taking place over the past few years. As a woman in an interracial marriage, this book hit home for me. I have often experienced the exact same issues that have taken place in this book just for being married to my husband. This book was relatable, intense, funny and hear breaking. However this is very real with our works today. I loved the writing style and how relatable the characters were as well as the sequence of events. I always love a book that makes you think, is relatable, and is applicable to current events.

I was so excited to get an advanced copy of this book as the reviews for it were great. Unfortunately, while it was a quick and interesting read, I found this book to only be “okay.” I didn’t care much for either of the main characters, Alix or Emira, but that wasn’t even a real issue for me. While the book is thought provoking and interesting, at the end I found myself thinking that the storyline just didn’t come together in a memorable or fulfilling manner. I wanted to like this a bit more, but it’s a 3/5 ⭐️ star book for me.