Ever since this book came out at the end of December, I have been seeing it all over bookstagram and in bookstores everywhere. I was lucky enough to meet @kileyreid at a local book event and she was the sweetest person. I got to hear all about her premise for this incredible book and it make me love it anymore. If you have not heard of this book yet, it is a story told from two perspectives, one of the African American babysitter, and one of the upper class white mom following an encounter of racial profiling in the grocery store near the family’s home. After this, Alix, the white mother tries to become closer to Emira, the babysitter, to ease the tension she feels. Such a Fun Age dives deep into issues of race, class, and age through the relationship between a woman and her babysitter while also critiquing the world we live in. If this book does not make you uncomfortable while you’re reading in some parts, then you are not reading deep enough because Such a Fun Age asks readers to reflect on the privilege that they hold. I highly recommend this book to everyone as it will be a timeless book for years to come.

It took me a while to finish this one but that is only because I was reading children’s books to my daughter in between reading chapters of this book. I look forward to reading more of her books. I found myself liking and disliking Alix throughout the book.

I'm disappointed with this book, to be honest. I thought it was going to be an interesting story about racial issues, but it was mostly just people in and around New York being mean to one another. Something about it reminded me of of The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll, although I liked that book better since it came together more dramatically in the end.

I enjoyed this book, and it was a quick read. However, I couldn’t find a way to like any of the characters, although perhaps that was the point? I did find it very thought-provoking in how conflicted I was on each characters feelings and perspective. It certainly brings to light the racism that still sadly exists today, even when not explicitly made known.

This one will stay with me for awhile. Friends, please read so we can discuss! There’s a lot that’s just unsettled.
Well-written, important debut. I look forward to what else Kiley Reid will write. Thank you for my copy of this book!

Such a Fun Age was a great, modern read that felt relatable, but at the same thing thinking back, there isn't much I could relate to on a personal level - which made it such a good read. Emira, a babysitter for the wealthy Chamberlain family, experiences an uncomfortable event when she is accused of having stolen the Chamberlain's daughter Briar in a grocery store. Out of that incident comes awkward times at work and a new boyfriend...But there is a twist with this boyfriend that makes the story that much more interesting.

This book had a storyline that felt like nothing I had ever read before in a good way, and I really liked the exploration of what it's like to be struggling to find your way after college, how you feel when someone you know has certain strong feelings towards someone you've dated, and what it takes to get out of those situations (of course I think the book does this piece in an exaggerated way, which was fun to read).

Four stars for me!

Such a Fun Age kept me asking, "What's going to happen next?", which was surprising and refreshing in a contemporary fiction book. The light-hearted but relevant story surrounding race, privilege, and relationships had me constantly thinking about my own experiences, opinions, and values. This title tackles so many important topics and I enjoyed both the e-book and the audiobook!

An engaging novel that will stay in your mind long after you read it. Kiley Reid manages to present a subtle exploration of race, class, and the way we use those around us to further our own objectives without making it too deep or heavy. Unfortunately, in order to further the story the main characters all turn out to be unlikeable in various ways, which I guess we all are, but I wanted to root for at least one of them and couldn't really.

This book managed to be incredibly enjoyable, but also be great fodder for amazing conversations about race and racism. It’s incredibly impressive feat by Reid. Reid was able to create a world filled with characters who were all terrible in their own ways, yet you couldn't help but feel sympathetic for them and still hope for their success in the world. Such a Fun Age is a novel that should be required reading for all adults.

In the very beginning of this story, a shocking event occurs. The rest of the story unfolds as we learn more about each character and their daily lives and backgrounds. The rest of the story is equally as compelling and I found myself reading this so quickly thanks to the excellent writing and flow of the book. At some points in the book, my jaw would drop at what I just read and what would happen next. This is definitely a book for a vacation read or one to keep you up late at night.

This book happily lived up to its recent buzz for me - it's juicy good reading (I mean, some of the drama these characters create in their lives and relationships!) but also presents some really pointed social commentary and timely issues for consideration, especially regarding race and privilege. So it's great for discussion, but the issues are woven in to the characters' interactions such that you don't feel preached to while reading, but you can go along for an entertaining ride. In the story, Emira is a young 20s black woman who is still figuring out what she wants to do with her life post-college; for now, she is babysitter to Briar, the 2-year-old daughter of well-to-do white lady Alix Chamberlin and her husband Peter. After a race-motivated incident with a security guard at high-end grocery store near the Chamberlin's home while Emira was babysitting, Alix decides she's going to make things right by developing a sort of mentor relationship with Emira. This well-intentioned but also quite misguided attitude leads to some squirmy situations, but it also reflects back this same fundamental misunderstanding and misguidedness that many white people might have, and their discomfort with figuring out how to address issues of race and privilege in their daily lives. The book went places I didn't expect (again, in the way of juicy good reading) when it delved into Alix's backstory and Emira's relationship with her new boyfriend, and it was great. Loved the sweet relationship Emira and Briar had, and I also liked how I happened to read, in the same month, two very different books about very different parts of Philadelphia - it made for an interesting pairing with the different angles on life in this book's wealthy neighborhood vs. one greatly affected by the opioid epidemic in Long Bright River.

Wow. What an amazing debut! I was blown away by this book. The characters, Emira, Alix and Kelley were just fascinating and I was annoyed by their actions but there for all the drama. The racial tension, the uppity white entrepreneur and the guy that connects them both.

I highly recommend this book to all women and its thought-provoking characters.

Thank you for the galley copy to review.

Everyone talks about the scene with Emira, the nanny, being accused of kidnapping as she walks in a store with the kid she's paid to watch, but the book really is about all the relationships between Emira and the child Briar as well as all of the adults from Emira's employers and their friends to her new boyfriend to her circle of friends. This book is a pageturner but also an thought-provoking look at racism and social class, particularly among women. The negatives for me were relying on a huge coincidence to drive the plot and the stop-and-go feeling of the pacing along with info dumping about Emira's life in the end.

4/5 stars.

The book, as a whole, was page turning and intriguing. The ending seemed rushed and uncalled for. I kept feeling like something was missing after I had finished.

Minus the last chapter, the book was remarkable. Racism, class discrimination, education differences, were all a part of this novel.

I really liked Such A Fun Age. I am not a POC, but I appreciated the inside look at what so many of them go through on a day to day basis. I always thought there was something off about some of Emira's relationships but it was interesting to watch them play out. I found that I could relate to Emira on some levels (like how we really have no idea what's going on in life when we are in our 20s) but then there were other times that I was really hoping she would just grow up. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. 4.25/5 stars.

From a debut author, I am super impressed with this book. The characters were so well developed, with such obvious and human flaws. The storyline wasn’t as full on as the blurb would suggest. Yes the incident in the grocery store was pivotal to the story but it also didn’t overshadow the majority of the story, which was a love story of sorts.

Throughout the book relationships are at the heart of the story, and the inevitable influence of race on the characters was believable. Racial and gender stereotypes, tensions and histories were threaded gently throughout the storyline and character arcs. No-one in this story is perfect, at times no-one is particularly likeable, but they are believable in their actions.

I would rate this book 4/5. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a complimentary egalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was such a good read. A commentary on society, but also a page turning drama. Every character was flawed, but not to the point where they were completely unlikeable. A great conversation starter book. .

What a great read! I am not a huge fan of books that touch a lot on current life politics but this was so subtle, I had no issues reading about the Clinton party or racism.

I found myself tossing between my love for Kelley and Alix. One second, I was rooting for Emira to side with Alix and the next I was hoping it was Kelley. Kiley Reid did such a good job of keeping me on my toes as I kept reading. That's a huge reason why I sped through the book so fast; I wanted to know who was right?! I will say that I wasn't a fan of what Alix did because it shattered my image of everyone and how the book would end. But I also understand why Kiley played it out that way she did so that we could get the closure we needed from Emira.

Another aspect I loved was how absolutely relatable Emira and her friends were. When I was in college, we were always going out to parties/bars and talking about hooking up with guys after and saying how fabulous we looked in those nasty ass bathrooms. I loved reading it all in this book because it had me reminiscing back to those fun times with my girls. Some of those sentences were said by us verbatim!

Such a Fun Age really talks about how fun your early 20s are but also how terrifying the future is. Society pressures you to get your life together and have a set idea on a career and for most of us, that's just not the case. Emira is a prime example of what that's like.

This book was a fun and easy read. I breezed though it on a rainy afternoon and moved on...I thought. On a basic level, it is just a good story, something good for when you don't want to read anything too deep. However, it only presents itself as such. Long after you put it down, it is sneaking back into your mind. A week later, I still find myself thinking about it!

This book was interesting. There were moments when I thought the story was going in one direction, and then suddenly, there was a twist. There were other moments when I guessed what was going to happen and it did. Although I could empathize with Emira, I felt for both Alix and Kelley. However, I cannot determine precisely how or what I felt about them. I couldn't empathize with either of them, but I know people like them. I like the ending; however, it felt a bit rushed. I wasn't quite ready for the story to end. I had hoped for a few more details.