This book will keep you up way past your bedtime just to see how things will turn out. Full of nuanced characters and a very current plot, Such a Fun Age will keep you slightly off-balance and questioning how you would react. Emira is a character that you’ll love for her feistiness and strength of character.

I was drawn in by the description of this book. However, I feel extremely underwhelmed. All of the characters in this story come off as petty and childish. Reid forced an odd connection to propel this story and provide turmoil. Even though she is an author of color I felt as though I was reading a story about a young black woman written by a well-to-do white woman, which was awkward and off-putting.

I would have abandoned this book, but I needed to see if it wrapped itself up/redeemed itself in the end. It did not.

Kiley Reid’s debut novel is a gem!
This story is real and sadly... current. It makes you face the harsh realities of racism and privilege while also showing what it means to stand tall when life tests you.

I dare you not to fall in love with Emira and her quiet strength or Briar, the scene stealing toddler.

Beautifully developed characters and hard hitting issues makes for one book I know will top the charts upon release.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

I realize I'm in the minority here, but...uneven writing, badly drawn characters, stilted dialogue, especially between Emira and her friends. And the story itself could have been better, especially the ending.

A wonderful novel well written the characters come alive .Addresses important issues race class wealth,An icidebt of Rachel injustice a young black Nanny accused of a crime ,the adults wealthy members of society ,The effect this act has on all of them told With intensity and humor I Flew through this novel looking forward to more from this debut author.#netgalley #penguinputnam

An excellent debut novel, I am sure is one of many in the future by this wonderful storyteller. When I started reading, I didn’t think the story would appeal to me. The writing drew me in and the storyline and characters hooked me.

Reid’s ability to interweave social themes with narrative is very well done. From aimlessness of youth to privelege to transactional relationships to romance and social justice, all is relevant to our world today.

In a word...unexpected. Going in I thought I knew what was coming, but I was surprised. It's refreshing to read a story where there is no clear cut "right" or "wrong", "good guy" or "bad guy", etc. The characters in this story are flawed, because people are flawed. Reid is able to show that each individual has their own perspective, their own motivations. Maybe what we know about ourselves is completely different from how the world views us. Maybe we don't truly know ourselves at all.

I haven't stayed up late to finish a book in a long time, but I couldn't stop reading Kiley Reid's amazing novel Such a Fun Age (coming out Dec. 31, 2019). This is such a smart book, intertwining a sharp commentary on race, class, identity, motherhood, and privilege in an engrossing narrative.

The main character, Emira, may feel adrift and unsure about when she'll ever be like her friends who have "adult jobs," but she is also a sharp-eyed observer who stands up for herself and doesn't feel compelled to play nice. When she is accused of kidnapping her white employer's child by a woman in a high-end grocery store, she stays calm, stands up for herself, and doesn't let anyone off the hook for their racism. She isn't interested in the outrage shared by her employer and the white man who videotaped the incident; she just wants to live her life and do her job without being harassed - and she definitely isn't interested in being a viral sensation.

Circling around Emira's story are two white characters - the man who recorded her in the grocery store and the mother of the child she sits - each invested in proving how racist they aren't. They are each deeply problematic in different ways that propel the narrative. Emira rightly sees their attempts to "save" her as stemming more from wanting to feel good about themselves than really caring about her.

This is both a deeply troubling and satisfying read. I, for one, stayed up most of the night to see what Emira was going to do next.

Kiley Reid's "Such a Fun Age" is a thought-provoking and thoughtful novel that tells its story through multiple voices. The first chapter is a stand-alone star, and reads like a short-story (reminiscent of Updike's A&P). At that chapter's conclusion, I wasn't sure if this book was a collection of short stories as the narrative voice changes immediately in chapter two. Reid tackles important and contemporary themes and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

Does it matter if the assumptions made about you are true or not? Does it put your behavior in a different light when someone has your backstory? Or should your actions be judged by its own merits? Does ignorance and lack of awareness ever justify giving someone the benefit of the doubt or cutting them some slack? 

These are the questions I mull over when I lurk on the Instagram accounts of black activists, and these questions came to mind reading Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. I say lurking, because more often than not, I choose to remain an observer, a learner-- sometimes, because it is clear that the post is directed at a black audience, and therefore, not my place to chime in,  and sometimes because I have nothing productive to add to the conversation, if you can call the one-upping and virtue signaling happening in the comment threads a conversation.

Such a Fun Age would almost be a comedy of errors if the whole situation wasn’t so pathetic.


It only seems right that a novel whose central plot revolves around a racially charged incident should be written by a black author. I want to read that story through a black lens, not a white one. Emira, the central character and one of two narrators, is a fully fleshed out, multi-dimensional figure. She is not stereotypically anything and the language used in the dialogue doesn’t make me cringe in the same way it does when a white author uses the same language.  No matter how many times a white person watches in horror as yet another racist incident unfolds on social media, no matter how many black friends a white person has, no matter if a white person is married to a black person, no white person has internalized the stress that comes with the relentless and steady drumbeat of American systemic racism (looking at you, DeBlasio).


On the other hand, I have trouble agreeing with reviewers who say that the characters in this book are complex because Alix? She is not complex. She is a standard-issue rich white lady who drips with insecurity about everything and everyone, centering herself in moments where it ought not to be about her. She's earnest, she's twee, she begs to be seen as different, as "not like everyone else." Her high school self lacked the self-awareness that would've given her pause about calling the cops on a black classmate trespassing in her swimming pool.


And that, I think, might be the point of Such a Fun Age. Emira is desperately trying to be Emira, the babysitter in the midst of  a quarterlife crisis, who lives in a shitty apartment, watching the clock count down to her 26th birthday, when she'll booted off her parents' health insurance. She and her white boyfriend dance around the issue of race,  but Alix's narration manages to throw a light onto Emira's blackness while also centering her herself.  She desperately wants to shake off the high school incident that came to define her, because no one but the reader knows Alix's backstory, how she arrived at the moment that she decided to call the police. Does it matter, though? Does it change anything? At the end of the day, a black kid still suffered the consequences of the cops being called on him by a white classmate. And Alix is still a standard-issue white lady, with all the privilege that affords.


I love Emira. Alix, not so much, though I understand her. Overall, I enjoyed this book--it gives the genre a little meatiness and moves away somewhat from the coziness that the chick lit genre seems to embody--almost like when everyone's favorite sitcom decides to "take a risk" and tackle a pressing social issue of the day.

This book is something like a German horror film that is unsettling from the start, but is fine. Until the creepiness ratchets up a bit. And then a bit more. And you're uncomfortable, but also OK, because nothing is too scary yet. And then suddenly you're terrified, and you're sure everything will end in the worst possible way. At first this story seems like too many stories we see in the news. A young, black woman takes her toddler, white baby-sitting charge to a grocery store. She is accused by a white woman of kidnapping said toddler, and a passerby records the incident. However, although this event is the catalyst for the events that follow, this book digs deep into the thoughts and motivations of Alix, the toddler's mother, and Emira, the babysitter.

This book is a mass of feelings, emotions, reasoning, and bias. It would make rich fodder for book club discussions, but there's a lot to unpack in this book. Alix is a white woman who has made a place for herself as an influencer, and motivational speaker. (Think Rachel Hollis.) She has a complicated past that isn't much talked about except for one major incident in her senior year. Emira is a black woman who isn't that invested in her future. Unlike her friends, who are eager to be out making money in the professional world, Emira just floats. She is anxious about her lack of funds, but doesn't know how to get herself into the next phase of her life. In a creepy way, the two woman compliment each other in a way that has nothing to do with race. Alix sees in Emira a young, unencumbered woman who has the freedom to be anything Alix wants her to be. Emira sees in Alix a woman who could push her life in a direction she's not sure she wants. . . but hasn't completely made up her mind. In the middle of this is Kelley, the (white) man Emira is dating, who is also caught up in Alix's life as well. The best thing about this book is that it so well portrays the ickiness (this is a word now) that women of color face. It's a bit complicated to explain, but it's very stressful to see yourself through the eyes of others who want to make you over in their image because they think that's what would make you happy. Alix's quiet obsession with Emira borders on fetishizing. Kelley's determination to see Emira only for herself, and to always do the right thing by her is also controlling in a way. Luckily Emira has great friends, who literally save her from the white people when she needs it the most.

There's a lot more that could be said about this book, but like I said, it's a lot to unpack. It makes for a quick, intriguing read, and will leave a lot of thoughts to turn over in the days to come.

I thought the characters were really well written - I liked Emira's voice throughout the book, and Alix's creepy weirdness. And Briar was perfect for a three-year old!
This was a super quick read that kept moving, even as it addressed a lot of hard issues.
I can see a lot of people in their 20s really enjoy this book - it seems very in tune with how I imagine young people live now (I am old)!

Compelling and timely. I couldn't put this book down and literally gasped out loud more than once while reading it. The characters are real and believable and have stayed with me after reading. Recommend if you want a fun but also thought-provoking read about motherhood, race, childcare, and emotional labor.

I think this book was meant to address the generational differences between young adults (20's vs 30's) and also the socio-economic, and racial divide between people. The two main characters are both sympathetic to the reader, but are not quite genuine. The setting is reminiscent of many other modern "women's fiction" novels, and rang fairly true. The plot seems like it's going to take a deeper turn to explore racial injustice, but it doesn't pull it off successfully. Instead it goes into the age old trope of pitting women against women over a man.

A wonderful book -- it explores important timely issues of race, class, and privilege, but as serious as these issues are, the narrative never gets dragged down or overly heavy. In short, it's that rare book -- one that has something important to say, but also keeps you turning the pages with an engaging plot and great characters. This is one I plan to recommend for book groups.

LOVED this book. When a black woman is almost apprehended at a grocery store when a security guard believes she stole the white child she's babysitting, it sets off a reaction with the family. It's mostly a story about the babysitter and the mother of the child. I found the dialogue AMAZING, and the dual narratives completely believable. Excellent read.

This emotional and engaging debut novel explores race and class in Philadelphia. Emira, a 25-year-old black woman, babysits for ambitious white mommy blogger Alix Chamberlain. The well-developed characters hooked me, and I couldn’t put it down. Would make an excellent book club pick. For fans of Celeste Ng and Liane Moriarty

I am loving all of the nanny books that keep coming lately. This is a very powerful debut that touches on a lot of complex and touching points. I am currently working as a nanny, and could relate so strongly to Emira’s feelings of being torn away from and drawn to her job.

Sharp, quick writing gives way to ultra-relevant topics in this contemporary, realistic novel. The story is fun without being frivolous and so candid when bringing up real concerns like health insurance, it was refreshing. It was also great to see topics like interracial relationships, underemployment, and socioeconomic status covered with frank storytelling. Loved this one, can't wait to recommend it to young adult readers looking for themselves in stories.

This is a promising debut from a much-needed voice in contemporary fiction. The dialogue and events come across as real and believable.

Emira Tucker, a 25-year-old black woman, is the part-time babysitter for a wealthy white couple and one night she gets a call while she is at a party to come and take 3-year-old Briar out of the house for a while due to an emergency. She takes the young girl to the grocery store and is then accused of kidnapping the child and her interaction with the store security guard is videotaped by a fellow grocery shopper. The rest of the book builds up from that first chapter and goes back and forth between Emira's point of view and the viewpoint of Alix Chamberlain, the mother of Briar.

There are some flashbacks (all from Alix's viewpoint) but the story is told in a completely understandable way and easy to follow along with. This was a book I could not stop reading. The writing style is sharp and authentic and draws you in. You will not regret giving this book a try.

I read this as an ARC through NetGalley.