Last weekend I finished reading Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid. I actually added it to my To Be Read back in January when Reese’s Book Club listed it as the book of the month. Silly me, I thought it was a thriller—which is so not my jam—so I kept prioritizing other books before it. As the year went on and racial injustice tensions exploded, I kept seeing it pop up as a recommended read on my social media feeds so I bought it. I finished reading it in less than a week and that’s pretty fast for me considering it wasn’t a rom-com. (Visit my Book Club page for more book reviews and recommendations!)

Summary

Such A Fun Age follows the story of two women from two different backgrounds. Alix Chamberlain, a White mother of two young girls, and a confident go-getter who makes a living showing other women how to be and do the same, and Emira Tucker, a young Black woman, and Alix’s babysitter, who feels the pressure of society telling her she should know what she wants but doesn’t.

The story starts with a rock being thrown through the Chamberlains’ window and Alix calling Emira to babysit her two-year-old daughter while Alix and her husband deal with the police. Emira knows she could use the extra money, so she leaves the drunken birthday party she’s at work.

Emira takes Alix’s daughter, Briar, to a grocery store because she knows how much the little girl loves the nut section. While they are there, Emira and Briar are confronted by the store’s security guard and a White woman shopper who accused Emira of kidnapping the toddler. Of course, the entire confrontation is filmed by a bystander (because it wouldn’t be 2020 without that happening). Humiliated, Emira asks the bystander to delete the video to which he complies.

When the video mysteriously goes viral on Emira’s 26th birthday, both women discover something about the other as well as themselves.

My General Impression of This Book

Kiley’s writing is easy-to-read and I didn’t find myself backtracking to understand a section better. She did an exceptional job of developing each character and their backstory. One night, I was so enthralled by the story that I stayed up ‘til midnight quietly screaming, “Nooooo!” over and over during the juicy parts.

One thing I do want to note is that I wish Emira had a longer epilogue that explored her life into her 30s. The “closing” of Emira’s late 20s felt rather rushed and there was a part of me that kept wanting her to want more. At the same time, I think her character was supposed to be written as non-confrontational and content with life.

Let’s Keep the Conversation Going

Have you read Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid? What did you think about the story and the characters? How do you think this book relates to the racial injustice we are still experiencing today?