Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid #BookReview

Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living showing other women how to do the same. A mother to two small girls, she started out as a blogger and has quickly built herself into a confidence-driven brand. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains’ toddler one night. Seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, a security guard at their local high-end supermarket accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make it right.

But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix’s desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix’s past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.

With empathy and piercing social commentary, Such a Fun Age explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone “family,” the complicated reality of being a grown up, and the consequences of doing the right thing for the wrong reason.

Title: Such a Fun Age Author: Kiley Reid| Publisher:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons| Pub. Date: 31 Dec 2019|Length: 320 pages | IBSN:  9780525541905| Genre: Contemporary Fiction| Language: English | Triggers: NA| Rating: Starred | Source: libro.fm

Such a Fun Age Review

The main themes of this novel centre around race, relationships and ‘white saviour complex’. Reid has managed this in such a clever and subtle way that has you questioning a lot of choices made throughout the book, and picking sides as you read. This novel is such a hot topic right now but more importantly it feels so real and is totally believable, through the relationships explored throughout between Alix (rich white lady) and Emira (her black babysitter), plus Emira’s new boyfriend Kelley (7 years her senior and also white). Somehow, Alix and Kelley are both blind to their racial issues and don’t even seem to realise how they behave. Each character is wholly their own with a totally unique voice, even 2 year old Briar who brings her own charm to the novel.

Also, you know what I found kinda refreshing? The fact that Emira is a 25 year-old with no idea what she wants to do with her life. We have such expectations set upon us from such a young age these days where we are supposed to have everything figured out, and that is definitely not the case for a hell of a lot of people.

I’m not normally a big fan of contemporary fiction, however, I actually ended up really loving this book, it is so incredibly readable. You can truly feel the heart and soul that Reid poured into this book. I listened to the audio copy of this book and the narrator, Nicole Lewis, does such a fab job, you can’t help but pay attention and stay engrossed throughout.

I am SO happy that this was my last read of 2020, it rounded off my year really well and I cannot wait to see what is next for Reid.

4.5 stars to this debut novel!

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