Such a Fun Age is a surprising and engaging novel. It's deceptively lightweight and compulsively easy to read, whilst also offering a powerful and unassuming exploration of race and privilege.

The characters are wonderfully well-developed. Reid turns the toxic white saviour narrative on its head without invoking any caricatures. I found Emira particularly relatable: a graduate in her mid-twenties who doesn't really have a clue what to do with her life. In many ways this is her coming of age story; she may be aimless, but caught up in a web of subtle and dangerous racial conflict, she finds her own voice and stays true to herself.

Smart and unaffected, and featuring 2019's most endearing fictional toddler, Such a Fun Age makes a great read.

4.5 stars for me. This was an irresistible story and set of characters, but with fascinating depth. The issues Reid explores are enormous and are important to all of us, every day, yet she wraps them in an immensely readable work of fiction. I just loved it.

How much do our assumptions about race, power, intentions, and desires affect a person, a relationship, or a society? How much of what we consider fact and truth is skewed by our histories, our prejudices, our privilege or hardship, or our inability to face uncomfortable realities?

Emira is drifting in a familiar twenty-something way, but she also cements her sense of self and what she wants more fully on each page (which is so satisfying to watch), and I *loved* her dialogue anytime someone needed a talking-to. She’s clearheaded and badass and loving and wonderful.

Alix and her friends were tough for me to take much of the time, yet Reid did make me feel some sympathy for her lack of self-awareness and her blunders. It feels notable that her frequent missteps (disastrous high school past, misrepresentation of where she lives, lack of promised book pages, husband’s racially insensitive comment on tv, small-minded pettiness and obsession with weight, looks, and past wrongs, etc.) don’t negatively affect her life for the vast majority of instances.

Emira and Briar are two of the best characters I’ve read in ages. I wasn’t totally hooked by the ending but really wasn’t going to be fully satisfied without an endless Emira-Briar lovefest. Side note: I’d love a spinoff in the form of an alternate reality series in which they have adventures together for the rest of their lives. ❤️

I was provided with an advance copy of this title by Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great book. I like that it is written as a fun story, but really has much deeper meaning and a good lesson. The ending really wrapped things up and helped me understand a lot of what had happened and why. I would recommend this book to others.

Such a Fun Age is an easy read with deeper themes about race, class and privilege in today’s society.

Such a Fun Age is about two women-- Emira Tucker and Alix Chamberlain. Emira is a young black babysitter for the Chamberlains' eldest daughter, Briar, and is struggling with the realities of life as a young adult. Alix Chamberlain is a wealthy white blogger and minor social media celebrity.

The story starts when Emira is accused of kidnapping Briar while caring for her at a fancy grocery store in the Chamberlain’s neighborhood. The aftermath of this incident is the central arc of this story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will recommend it to friends and family.

I didn't know what to expect when reading this book. The topics touched on are so relevant at this time.

I've never wanted to savor a book so it wouldn't end, until this one. It reads very casual, but I had to slow myself down to catch all the great insights and messages hidden behind every sentence. It's almost like chick lit with depth, I loved this combination. The synopsis doesn't give the book justice, I think it's about so much more than just race: work relationships, friendship, innocence of childhood, dating, and finding yourself. The various perspectives on all these topics are interwoven so well, it's impossible to choose a side. The characters are perfectly flawed, likable, and dimensional. I loved them all and didn't want the story to end because I enjoyed spending time with them so much! A very rare 5 stars from me. I can't wait for more from this author.

On the surface this excellent debut novel from Kiley Reid is a fun account of a young woman finding her feet and standing up for herself but it cleverly goes much deeper than that to highlight issues around racism, feminism and privilege.

Emira Tucker is a 25 year old college graduate who has no idea what she wants to do with her life. Her girlfriends are all forging ahead in their chosen careers but Emira is taking her time to find what she wants to do, although time is running out as she will need a job with health benefits once she can no longer be included on her parents insurance. In the meantime she is juggling two casual jobs, one with the Green Party and one babysitting a toddler called Briar three days/week.

Briar's mother, Alix Chamberlain is a successful motivational speaker and blog writer, married to a journalist and TV anchor man. She's made a career out of teaching people how to write successful letters and resumes and is now planning to write a book. She's too tied up in new baby Catherine to have much time for Briar, an intelligent, ever curious child constantly asking questions. Fortunately Emira loves Briar and can give her all the love and attention she's missing out on, at least three days per week.

Alix had never paid much attention to Emira until a late night incident in a grocery store where Emira is suspected of abducting Briar by a store guard (because why else would an African American girl not wearing a Nanny’s uniform be with a white baby?) and Emira is filmed on a bystander's phone standing up for herself. Alix suddenly becomes interested in Emira and decides to make her a pet project. However, when Emira accepts an invitation to attend Alix's Thanksgiving party with her boyfriend, their relationship suddenly becomes complicated when Alix is filled with horror at recognising Emira's boyfriend.

This is a fun read but is also a very thoughtful novel cleverly highlighting what happens when we make assumptions about the life of a person of different ethnicity or economic status. I really love the characters in this novel - Alix who is sell centred and has no idea what it’s like to live Emira’s life but wants to mold her into a vision of what she thinks it should be and Emira who is a little directionless at the moment but smart and knows what really matters in relationships. Briar is also a wonderful character – a precious, inquisitive little girl who Alix fails to appreciate, but who has a lovely, warm bond with Emira. I’ll certainly be looking out so see what Kiley Reid writes next!

A fresh look at racial tensions and class. I loved this book! All of the characters were pretty well-developed and I loved reading each one's point of view and trying to figure out what was the most accurate.. It really drove home for me that everyone has different experiences the exact same incidents and how that shapes our lives.

Have you ever read one of those books that can either be a fun read or one that tackles a lot of issues?  This is both!  My review will be short because I think it would be easy to give away spoilers.  I have read so many reviews that say to read this slow, so that's what I did.

I like Emira's character.  Even more I loved Emira and Briar together.  It made me wish they were mother and daughter because they just clicked.  They had the most beautiful relationship.

Alix Chamberlain on the other hand.  She's a driven lady who seems to always get what she wants, but that has not always been the case.  This is where it gets touchy.

The scene in the grocery store was hard to read, because it's not too far off from reality.  I liked how Emira stood her ground.

The way the author broached this touchy subject was spot on.  I think this book is an important read because it deals with real world issues.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of this book.

Grab your copy December 31st, 2019.

Book Rating: 4/5

An unputdownable read about race and privilege today. Emira is a babysitter for a white family in Philadelphia, she is out with their young daughter when the police are called on her on a possible kidnapping charge. The story unfolds with surprises with each character's reactions to the video that was taken that night. I highly recommend this to all friends, family, and patrons. It made me rethink how I approach race and coming from a place of privilege. Excellent read.

I understand why this book is getting a lot of buzz (that's not always the case!) It's a powerful, compelling story told with humor and grace, even when it's pretty sticky.

This is a complicated story about race and class. Alix Chamberlain is a wealthy, somewhat famous, privileged white woman. Emira is her nanny, a young black woman with a bachelor's degree and uncertainly about what she wants to do with her life. The one thing she is certain about is her love for Alix's oldest child. Alix calls on Emira in a crisis, asking her to get the child out of the house for a while. They go to a high end grocery store where Emira is approached by security, accusing her of stealing the child. This is only the beginning of the intertwining of these women's lives.

While the novel obviously explores race and class, it's also a deep look into the messiness of human relationships. It questions what drives us in work and friendships, and how we respond to external pressures. The characters are flawed and realistic. I felt intensely for all of them at various points. The author doesn't try to keep everything neat and clean, which I appreciate because life isn't that way. Her writing is sharp and modern, the dialogue felt real.

I highly recommend this book for readers of literary fiction.

You think this is going to be a fun and frothy book based on title and cover. It goes so much deeper than that. This was a terrific book and I would recommend it to everyone.

This was such an easy book to read, but one that I expect is going to sit with me for a while. I expect this one to get plenty of hype in 2020.

At first, the plot seemed predictable based on how these stories seem to always go, but Reid overturned all of the key tropes we see in white saviour stories of this kind, and really hit home how black women often have to fight to maintain a sense of self while also standing up against broader social injustices and the idea of how everyone expects them to act. Without spoilers, I also really liked the ending - it wasn’t the ending that I wanted as a reader, but it’s one that was faithful to Emira as a character, so it was satisfying in that sense.

There were a few small things that required some suspension of belief (like a 25 year old woman who spends most of her spare time at bars with friends not having social media and using email to communicate socially) but the story was so engrossing that I was prepared to go along with them.

After reading a review that compared it to an alternate version of The Help, I couldn’t help seeing parallels all throughout the story. It was such an easy-to-read book, but with a lot packed in to think about. It’s definitely one of those stories that will stay with me and I don’t want to forget.

Both of the white characters thought that they had good intentions, but I think the key message is about who really has the power in the situation. There’s a women’s studies class I’m in where the theme of social injustice often comes up. People will say things in discussions like, “We need to give them opportunities to _____”, “We should allow them the chance to speak at ______.” And the professor continues to gently remind us of the language we’re using - we, them, allow, give.

It’s because it goes deeper than the personal - inequality is embedded within our social structures. But at the same time, if we start to recognize how racism and inequality aren’t just in the big things but the little things too, continuing to check ourselves and learn and recognize our power and privilege, we can be allies instead of false saviours, and see things continue to change.

Such a Fun Age was a wonderful read that I tore through in one sitting. Kiley Reid has a unique way of writing in a light, nearly comical way about heavy topics like race and privilege.

This book follows two women. Alix is a white 30-something who has had a comfortable life with a great deal of personal and career success. Emira is a mid-twenties black woman whose life lacks a plan. She babysits for Alix's family part-time and develops a deep love for her charge, two-year-old Briar. The book opens with Emira being nearly arrested at an upscale supermarket when another patron accuses her of kidnapping Briar (after making judgements about a young black woman and a white child). After this, Alix and Emira's relationship deepens as Alix seeks to make Emira a true part of their family. Without spoiling the book, it explore the motivations of both Alix and Emira's love interest (also white) in helping and protecting Emira.

This book was excellent. I actually found portions of it laugh out loud funny. While it is written in a casual style, it tackles interesting issues of race and how it can affect how people relate to one another. Alix is the embodiment of white privilege, and her attempts to befriend Emira are often cringeworthy. Emira struggles to balance her need for a steady job with her own pride. There is an interesting twist towards the beginning that makes these relationships even more complex. I think this will be a huge book in 2020.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid had me turning pages right away from the opening scene where one of the main characters 25 year old Emira is accused of kidnapping the precocious toddler Briar she babysits for in a neighborhood supermarket. Briars mom is another main character a wealthy blogger named Alix. Add in a twist that Emira starts dating the guy that both witnessed and took a video of the “kidnapping” , and also has a connection to Alix which I won’t give away.

The characters are well developed and the themes of race/racism , social media -in this instance being the cell video of the “kidnapping”, the use of social media apps such as twitter , as well as Alixs career as a blogger are relevant to these times. The way the story was told was unique and kept me interested, and also cringing at some of Alixs behavior, as well as surprise when the twist that you as a reader know is coming is revealed to Alix at a gathering and what ensues from there. I am still thinking about this books themes and its characters days later and will definitely recommend it to others.

Alix Chamberlain is a remarkably well-written antagonist!
About halfway through this book, I typed a quick note into a google doc: "I can’t wrap my head around why a successful, financially well-off wife and mother would be so hung up on some silly high school mistakes. It seems incredibly over-dramatic and superficial." At this point, I was angry at the book and the author for being shallow and fake until I had an epiphany that my anger should be directed towards Alix Chamberlain because that was the author's intent. I was soooo wrapped up in Alix and her flaws that I completely forgot she's a fictional character and someone made her the way she is for a reason. None of Alix's flaws were overtly malicious... she's just a regular person with some issues and that's what makes her such a great antagonist for this story.
Side notes: Emira is a so great and relatable as a young woman making the transition into adulthood and Briar is a precious little bean of a child.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Penguin/Putnam for allowing me to read this ARC!

I really liked this book! It was easy to read and very engaging. I liked how it talked about race relations. I will look forward to more books by this debut author. I have ordered this book for the library and am excited to recommend it to my patrons. GREAT BOOK!!!

This book is tricky. As many other reviewers have said, it starts off as a light and fluffy book about a college graduate working as a babysitter for a seemingly privileged family. Once you get past that, the story really begins!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release December 2019.

Such a creative way to explore deep subjects, I'm still in awe of this book!!!

It was so hard to put this book down, it had such an interesting plot, it was fast-paced and the way the author intertwined both worlds, Alix and Emira's was really surprising.

I felt as if this book talked what people wanna say, but most of the time don't have the courage to, with the plot of a black babysitter being accused of kidnapping a white child, which let's be honest, it's something that black people face a lot, and the fact that her white employee tried to help her, by finding ways to get Emira's life better, but actually helping her own situation. I know it doesn't make any sense, but reading the book you'll understand. All the hippocratic ways Alix found to get involved in Emira's life, were so well written. I was furious at her, but at the same time, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. That woman was so smart.

The link between the two women, the bystander who recorded Emira's being accused at the store, although surprising like I mentioned above, in the end felt a bit flat for me. That plot was built in such an interesting way that left me with lots of expectations and anxiety. Once "concluded" though, left me missing something. Perhaps the author could've focused a bit more in there, or perhaps it's me, who wanted people to pay for their mistakes.

What I most loved about this book though, was the fact that we get to follow Emira's life and how she starts to mature and understand what she wants from life. It was such a deep and beautiful process and I saw myself in her in so many times. In a world of white privilege, where people tried to look down at her because of the color of her skin, Emira proved that all that BS didn't determine who she was and her worth. Highly recommended!!!