I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

This book is so timely, considering how women of color are trying to get a seat at the table and *speak for themselves* while Emira is a babysitter for a rich white woman who thinks of herself as an ally. Alix may be an inspiring mentor to young women in her work in NYC, but that persona doesn't translate into her new life in Philadelphia. Her husband Peter makes a gaffe on tv as a news anchor, which richochets the events in the book. Someone throws eggs at their window in retaliation, Alix calls Emira to come babysit from her friend's birthday party. Emira takes her 3 year old precocious babysitting charge Briar to an upscale supermarket to get away for a bit. Emira takes Briar to look at frozen foods and has her dancing to distract from what's going on at home. Unfortunately, two people walk by who seem unfettered, but one calls security because of her own discomfort. The incident escalated, but could have gotten a lot worse. Emira's connection to her employer is seen differently by both of the women. I can see both perspectives, but cringed at the moments in which Alix acted like a "white saviour". She probably didn't know she was doing it. The book is a quick, thoughtful well written story, something that could happen in any city even my beloved Philly. Kelly is a cringeworthy character with him being unaware he can't/ shouldn't say the n word. He doesn't think his own role in what happened was wrong in any way. But the ending was satisfying.

Such a Fun Age is a unique book that covers a range of important topics, including race, social structures, finding yourself and taking ownership of your life and career. At times this book reads like a light read, with comedy and stories of dating in the modern age interspersed, however it covers some really important topics in telling the stories of Alix Chamberlain and Emira Tucker.

I expect this book to be a popular book club book in 2020 and look forward to discussing the topics it covers.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid was SUCH a wonderful book about coming of age, racial discrimination, and finding yourself. The book starts off with an event (the kind which is all too common nowadays) fuel by racial prejudice, but the book doesn't completely revolve around that event and instead delves much deeper into the situations surrounding that.

I LOVED Emira. She was ridiculously relatable, and a good beacon of light for a LOT of people. I liked how, unlike a lot of main characters in books, she didn't refuse help from her friends in making big decisions, but the decision was ultimately hers and she owned that decision as best she could.

I fell in love with Briar and what her character meant to Emira and to Alix Chamberlain. She represented so much more than just an inquisitive little three year old.

Overall, an incredible and important work by Reid.

What an appealing debut this is. Reid’s first novel is a fresh, funny, insightful assessment of how one young African American woman navigates her life between the Scylla and Charybdis of white privilege and inherent racism.

Twenty-six-year-old Emira Tucker has no evident chips on her shoulder nor axes to grind, and she’s not especially political either. She’s just a bright, articulate, open woman with a college degree who hasn’t yet identified where her working destiny lies. Meanwhile she has a group of intensely loyal girlfriends and a part-time job as babysitter for the children of white Alix Chamberlain, an aspiring self-promoter with limited time and self-awareness.

Reid brings energy and balance to the juxtaposition of these perspectives, Alix both self-critical and unaware, Emira insightful but non-confrontational. Meanwhile the dialogue crackles and snaps, both in Emira’s social group and Alix’s – she too is blessed with a group of tirelessly supportive mothers who reinforce Alix’s grievances and efforts to be ‘woke’.

The story beings with Emira responding to a late-night plea that she tend Alix’s oldest child, two-year-old Briar, after an emergency in the home. Emira takes Briar to a nearby upscale supermarket, only to find herself accused of kidnapping by a suspicious white woman and then a security guard. Her efforts to defend herself and Briar are captured on video by a passing stranger.

From these events spring Emira’s relationship with a white man who, it turns out, knew a much younger Alix from school days. Money, misunderstanding, race, reputation and so much more jostle in this modern, clever and careful book which also radiates with love. Emira’s relationship with tiny Briar is one of the novel’s notable strengths, for its fondness and emotional authenticity.

Nuanced and highly readable – and visual – this is a novel that treads deftly through a contemporary minefield. Reid’s perceptive, warm-hearted work will make waves, and deservedly so.

I couldn't put this book down. It was really refreshing and easy to read. Even though the book is funny and witty, it also deals with the deeper topic of race and specifically unconscious biases that perpetuate American society.

I loved the way that Kiley Reid developed each of the main characters- specifically Alix, Emira and Kelley. I found myself rooting for different characters throughout the book as we learned more and more about them (including the small twist at the end about Alix). I will definitely be thinking about this book long after finishing it today.

Beyond Alix, Emira and Kelley, I feel that Reid did a great job of painting Briar's eccentric personality and the dynamic between Alix and her two daughters felt very real.

Emira Tucker, an African American woman, was going to turn 26 years old next week....
....soon to get booted off her parents’ health insurance. She’s known for a while that her babysitting job - ( for Alix and Peter Chamberlain- white upper class couple with two small daughters), wasn’t exactly sustainable- but she needed to figure out things on her own.

Emira had a college degree...but she didn’t know what she wanted to do next.
In the meantime - Emira’s part time babysitting job covered - ‘ ‘barely’ - her monthly expenses.
She also knew that it wasn’t her job to raise 3 year old Briar. But for 21 hours a week, Blair got to matter to someone. And that mattered to Emira.

Blair & Emira were a unit!
Emira’s nickname for Briar...was pickle. Their relationship was heartwarming.
Briar was an inquisitive 3 year old....intelligent, odd and charming....and filled with humor.
Emira knew she was good at her job and it was gratifying.
Briar thought the world of Emira.
And Emira loved the ease in which she could lose her self in the rhythm of childcare.

Personally - I felt Emira was a valuable asset in Briar’s life...

Alix was often busy working - with her baby-toddler-Catherine-in-toe. Alix loved her job-loved being a working mother. She loved both her daughters and her husband.
Alix also loved Emira - the woman she paid to love chatty-adorable Briar.
Peter was working full time in TV journalism.... and wasn’t around too much.

Kelley Copeland, a white 32 year old male, was Emira’s new boyfriend.

“Emira and Kelly talked about race very little because it always seemed like they were doing it already. When she really considered a life with him, a real life, a joint-bank-account-emergency-contact-both-names-on-the-lease life, Emira almost wanted to roll her eyes and ask, ‘Are we really gonna do this? How are you gonna tell your parents?’”
“Who’s gonna teach their son that it doesn’t matter what his friends do, that he can’t stand too close to a white woman when he’s on the train or in an elevator? That he should slowly and noticeably put his keys on the roof as soon as he gets pulled over?”

Is there such a thing of being the opposite of racist? Is it possible for a white person to like a black person too much?

Alix Chamberlain, 33 years old, (who had a relationship with Kelly in High School and a ‘piercing damaging-to-others’, breakup...fifteen years ago), was saying....
“Kelley is one of those white guys who not only goes out of his way to date black women but ‘only’ wants to date black women”.
And....
“How difficult is it to tell someone, ‘hey, your boyfriend likes you for the wrong reasons?’”

One of Alix’s friends, Tamra, pitches in her point of view...
She thinks Emira is very lost.
I WASN’T SO SURE ABOUT THIS NEXT EXCERPT....but I thought about it along with many points of views examined in this TERRIFIC & REFRESHING debut...( while hiking this morning)....
“Emira is twenty-five years old and she has no idea what she wants or how to get it. She doesn’t have the motivation to maintain a real career the way our girls will have, which is probably not her fault but it doesn’t make it less true. What I’m saying is...
There are a lot of jerks like Kelley out there, but when they get hold of girls like Emira? Someone who’s still trying to figure herself out? That’s when I start to really worry. And the more I think about it, it makes a lot of sense she ended up with a guy like this. He’s looking to validate himself through someone else. She hasn’t caught on because she doesn’t know who she is”.
OUCH?

The storytelling, with the multi textured, well developed characters was fascinating, refreshing and thought-provoking.

Things were very complicated from the very start of this novel. FANTASTIC PULL-IN- opening scene.

The complexities of the inner thoughts from each of the characters added authentic truth.

Haven’t we all had thoughts we were not proud of? Do we beat ourselves up for our ugly thoughts - or just notice them and let them pass? ( ha, we’ve probably all done a little of both)...

It would be so easy to judge - or point fingers at any one of our leading characters ( Emira, Alix, or Kelly) - or the supporting characters, too, for that matter....
but in my opinion - this novel provided an opportunity to get bigger than finger pointing...
instead it’s worth looking at the bigger issues at hand — and the humanity of the human condition.

Each character’s inner voice was worth examining...and worth putting our own judgements aside to ‘really’ get each one of their points of view.

TERRIFIC DEBUT, by Kiley Reid ( a new author to admire)

Discussion-book-
extravaganza!!!

This was an excellent read by Kiley Reid. Emira is an African American young woman who is babysitting for a wealthy family, the Chamberlains. One late night, Emira gets a call from the Chamberlain family and is asked to take the little girl to a high-end grocery store. There she is confronted with security and police full of questions about why she would have this little girl out so late.

This is a book about race, socioeconomics, and coming of age. It covers incredibly important issues and is written so well, it is hard to put down. I highly recommend this novel.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Such A Fun Age is the first novel by American author (and former babysitter), Kiley Reid. Before the late-night incident with her three-year-old daughter at the Market Depot, Alix Chamberlain barely noticed her black babysitter, let alone considered her thoughts or feelings. Emira Tucker was great with Briar, who was exhausting when awake, and Alix, a well-known feminist blogger, was meant to use her break from Briar to write her book. Mostly, she just enjoyed the company of her easy baby daughter, Catherine, and relaxed.

But now, thanks to a panicky call for help from Alix, Emira had been virtually accused of kidnapping Briar by a supermarket security guard. A bystander had caught the whole thing on his phone. Emira was disturbed about the incident, but not for the reasons everyone assumed. And she definitely didn’t want it made public, nor to pursue any legal action.

And suddenly Alix was paying Emira attention: not quite stalking, but surreptitiously invading her privacy. Now, Alix wanted the sort of connection with Emira that her New York girlfriends had with their sitters, and a cancelled flight at Thanksgiving gave her the perfect opportunity to show Emira just how worthy Alix was of a friendship. Dinner with her New York girlfriends and their children. Alix hadn’t reckoned on the boyfriend, though. Who could predict the direction it took from there?

What a marvellous tale Reid gives the reader. No suspension of disbelief is required for what happens, and the characters are entirely credible. Emira is smart and a little sassy, like her friends, but hasn’t settled on what she wants to do with her life and feels the career pressure to decide. She really needs a proper job that will provide health insurance, but she does love looking after Briar.

While the narrative is from two perspectives (Alix and Emira), the toddler plays a significant part: “On her own and at her best, Briar was odd and charming, filled with intelligence and humor.” Briar is relentlessly inquisitive and her questions and pronouncements are truly a delight.

Emira’s friends are a good example of genuinely loyal friends whose support and advice demonstrates their love. Alix’s friends provide support too, but their main concerns come from a different, perhaps less generous, place. The chasm that exists between the white privileged and the coloured less-privileged is deftly illustrated by the priorities that Alix and Emira exhibit, and the way their close friends provide support.

As well as exploring the topics of racism and feminism, Reid’s novel features misogyny and black fetishism, peer pressure and the dynamics of power. There is plenty of humour, some of it quite dark, and the final pages deliver a perfectly wonderful dose of irony. Topical, insightful, thought-provoking and funny, this is an utterly brilliant debut novel from a talented author.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Better Reading Preview and Bloomsbury Australia. Also by NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam.

Its always refreshing to read a fiction book that touches on important social issues and Such a Fun Age does just that. The story is captivating and you will be better for reading it. Recommended.

Be prepared for this book to make major waves in 2020! Such A Fun Age comes out December 31st and it is amazing. Kiley Reid does such an incredible job of telling a story about white privilege and racism in such an eye-opening, yet simple way. It was funny, relatable, and SO relevant... And it is her debut novel! *
This story is about an African-American babysitter named Emira who is accused of kidnapping by a store security guard while out late at night with the child she watches, Briar. The family is outraged and is extremely supportive of Emira. The mother, Alix, goes to great lengths to make things right and befriend Emira. Emira starts a relationship with the white man who filmed the encounter at the supermarket and she finds out they share a similar connection. It sounds like a fairly simple story, but the subtle actions and words from the white characters, and even the more affluent African-American characters, really opens your eyes to how the things you say and do can affect those different from you. I was blown away at how Kiley was able to show not only the complex emotions and thoughts of Emira and Alix, but she also totally nailed 3 year old Briar and her innocence (and hilarious antics). As a mom of 3 year old twins I LOVED this aspect of the book! 😂 Also, Emira and her friends are awesome. I want to hang out with them!

I had to sit with this book for a while to sort out how I felt about it. Although I found this book engrossing and all the characters relatable and sympathetic in some way, I found none of them were particular likeable because they were just so FLAWED—like humans are. Reid has written such great characters that I found myself thinking about them and their decisions for days after I finished the book, and I still feel a squeeze in my heart whenever I think about the relationship between Emira and Briar. Thanks @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!

Alix Chamberlain gets what she wants, and has made a career of literally that: writing letters to companies for free products and teaching others to do the same. She has a beautiful house in Philadelphia, a successful husband, and two young children. She also has Emira Tucker, a mid-20’s babysitter, to help watch her oldest daughter Briar. Emira is lost; she has a degree but isn’t doing much with it, she has friends whose lives are taking off around her, and she barely enough money to scrap by. That’s why when Alix calls Emira late one night for some last-minute babysitting, Emira cannot pass up the money. The night goes south when Emira and Briar head to a bougie grocery store. Emira, an African American woman, is accused of kidnapping Briar, a while little girl, by the grocery store’s security guard. Though the situation is diffused, Emira is left shaken. A random bystander captures it all on film, though Emira is not interested in taking her experience to social media. The bystander, a man named Kelley, gets to know Emira. But Kelley has a surprising connection to Alix’s past... and Alix can’t quite get Kelley out of her head.

This book was not at all what I was expecting. Take a cute cover and title along with a romance/drama description and you’d expect a fairly formulaic contemporary family drama. However, the plot moves far beyond surface level troupes and plot points. I thought Such a Fun Age presented race in a very interesting way. Every white main character surrounding Emira is proudly progressive, yet they play the stereotypical “white savior” role that we see so frequently in the media and in literature. I found Emira to be witty and relatable, and I was genuinely rooting for her. There are MANY cringey moments in this novel, which I’m sure was the authors intention as they add to the character development of Alix. I found the ending to be a little rushed, but all characters well developed and the plot points realistic. I can hardly believe that this is author Kiley Reid’s debut novel, and I am very excited to see what she does next! Thank you NetGalley for my advanced readers copy!

Such a Fun Age is the debut novel by Kiley Reid. This is one of those books that is written in a light and engaging manner but is deceptively heavy-hitting. It a compelling contemporary fiction novel that dives into racial issues from two very different standpoints as well as how we identify with ourselves and with one another.

We meet two women, Emira Tucker and Alix Chamberlain. Emira babysits for Alix's young daughter Briar and after a late-night incident where Emira is stopped by security when she is out with Briar, everything changes. While Emira deals with the aftermath of this incident, Alix resolves to make this "right". 

While this book is absolutely engrossing to read, Reid also takes on the issue of "white savior" narratives. I appreciated that Reid created multi-faceted and incredibly detailed characters within these narratives. While I couldn't entirely relate to either of these women, I felt I understood them and a lot of this came from knowing their backstories.

I appreciated that Emira and Alix were both imperfect in their own ways which I think added so much nuance to this storyline. Such a Fun Age was a fascinating and thought-provoking read and I just enjoyed Reid's writing style so much. I predict this one will get a lot of buzz when it is released at the end of December!

I couldn't read this book fast enough, and I am a little tired writing this review because I stayed up to finish it. The racist moment that drives this novel is exactly the right length to be brief but completely unsettling. The way the main characters, black babysitter Emira and white employer Alix, are used to address class and race kept me reading late into the night. Emira, the smart, excellent babysitter who is watching her friends settle into careers without having a direction for herself was so relatable. I know too many people have had too much to say about millennials and their struggles to find jobs and their purpose but she felt so human to me and not preachy at all. And I could say so many things about Alix because I feel like I know a few Alix's. There is a lot of privilege in Alix's interactions with Emira that are funny and awkward and just so well written. Once the book really began to weave in the story of Kelley, the guy who videotapes that racist moment, I knew I would have to read until I finished (I have known a few Kelley's too). This is a really great debut novel and I hope the author keeps writing on race and the privilege it brings for some in such a nuanced way.

Such A Fun Age is primarily about two women, Emira and Alix. The book begins with Emira babysitting Alix's daughter, Briar late at night. While in a grocery store with Briar, Emira is questioned by the police who believe she might have kidnapped the child. The whole incident is filmed by a white bystander. In the aftermath, Alix, a socially conscious, liberal white woman, is determined to make things right with Emira. As Emira becomes more enmeshed in Alix's life, the video from the grocery store is unearthed, bringing someone from Alix's past into Emira's present.

This is an impressive book, especially for a debut. The characters are very well drawn and are perfectly set up to examine the way class and race shapes who we are as people. This book especially has much to offer in terms of commentary on well-intentioned, liberal white people. I was more compelled by Alix as a character rather than Emira throughout. Hearing her inner dialogue as she tried to justify her actions was very interesting. Her motivations as a character were also more clear than Emira's. I wish that I understood who Emira was besides what was laid out at the beginning: someone who is anxious about money with no real future path mapped out. However, I do think the two women played off of each other nicely throughout the book, providing key tense moments.

Other reviewers have mentioned that the ending feels sudden. I would agree, but I think the conclusion perfectly wraps up the story as well as gives really fascinating and conclusive insight as to the psychology of the main characters.

This is Kiley Reid's debut novel and I look forward to reading more from her and seeing where her writing goes. I appreciate that it is a stand alone novel (yay!), but it seemed like there was a fast wrap-up for the ending...and then an epilogue so the reader knew where Emira ends up in her life.

This is the story of Emira, a 25 year old black woman who holds down two part-time jobs and shares an apartment in Philadelphia. It is also the story of Alix/Alex and Kelley, two white people in their early 30's who knew each other in high school and are both involved with Emira - Alix as her boss, and Kelley as her boyfriend.

It is the story of white privilege and relationships. Race is hugely important and is addressed throughout the book, without feeling like it is a hammer hitting the reader on the head. This may be an eye opener for white folks, since racism shows itself in lots of ways - some (most?) that aren't glaringly obvious to the dominant culture.

This is a refreshing book because the protagonist doesn't have super abilities or a drive to be someone different or do something great (with a capital G). She is a good person who enjoys what she's doing and still has to pay the rent and get insurance and be a grown-up, even while feeling like maybe she's not really a grown-up? Her friends are all more successful than she is, and they all have one another's backs.

There is so much to like about these characters. And when you get that suspicion that not everyone is likable, it kind of feels bad. But it also feels real. Bonus points for the Philly backdrop - I love when the setting feels like another character.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This one definitely was more than I expected. From the description it didn’t sound like it would blow my mind but I really loved it. There’s so much more to the story than you think. Many of Emira’s moments with Briar made me cry!

Such a Fun Age is such a fun read! Kiley Reid gives us serious topics, wrapped in a sharp, engaging story that features well-developed characters. The main character is Emira, an African American twenty something who is searching for her true calling. In the meantime, Emira babysits for Alix's children and she's good at it. Alix is white, successful, and a former NYer. The story that unfolds is one of complicated relationships, unresolved pain, racial tensions, and family bonds. Readers who enjoy coming of age stories, new adult fiction, and realistic characters with a touch of wit should check this one out.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid perfectly captured the angst of being a new adult, not being sure of yourself, what you want, or who you are.

Read if you: Want a thought-provoking novel from a promising debut author.

There's a lot going on here: twenty-something life, interracial relationships, class privilege, and racial profiling. Not to mention a wild coincidence between two characters that Reid manages to make believable and suspenseful. Looking forward to following Kiley Reid's further novels.

Many thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and Netgalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.