The story of Emira, a 25-year-old who is struggling to figure out what to do with her life and is currently babysitting for a wealthy white woman in Philadelphia. During a visit to a supermarket, a security guard questions why Emira, a young black woman, is alone with a small white child and accuses her of kidnapping the child.
Although Emira wants to forget the incident and move on, her employer, Alix, and her boyfriend, Kelley, who she met at the supermarket, focus on it and if affects their relationships.
I loved that it was never clear who we should be rooting for and which character was telling the truth. Alix and Kelley tell different versions of their pasts and it is never truly clear who’s is the most accurate retelling leading both the reader and Emira to questions their motives.
At times, I felt the story paid too much attention to Alix/ Kelley when Emira was the most interesting character with the most interesting story but by its conclusion, the book returned its focus back to Emira.
The novel is a deceptively light read, tackling important issues while remaining highly readable. The novel has a lot to say about race, class and generational divides but it is done in a totally natural way and is woven seamlessly into the story.
I think the hype around this book is going to be huge and I am enormously grateful to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the advanced copy.

Thanks to netgalley, and to Bloomsbury for providing me with the digital copy of this novel.

Predominantly set in Philadelphia, where writer Kiley Reid lives, this was a really surprising read. That is a good thing, honest. The blurb and the opening chapters relate a story of a young black woman taking the white child she babysits for to a shop while her parents sort some emergency at home. While she’s there, she is accused of kidnapping the child and a heart sinking episode unfolds.

It quickly moves on from there though, and Emira’s character grows with each chapter she leads – her life, her friends, her hopes and dreams. The other perspective is her boss’, which is interesting as it shows both the similarities and the stark differences. They’re not too far apart in age – perhaps not even a decade – but their lives are in sharp contrast in lots of ways, which is really effectively communicated. For example, Emira always calls her boss ‘Mrs’, even though Alix is desperate to call her by her first name.

The story unravels like an onion skin, or maybe a ball of wool. Alix is uncertain in her life with two small children, in a city she doesn’t know very well and excluded from her old life in New York. She feels like a fraud, pretending she still lives in NYC in order to keep up her social media channels and progress her career as a kind of influencer. At the same time, she feels trapped in her life and hires Emira as a babysitter to ostensibly finish her book. On the other hand, Emira is in her mid twenties and watching her friends settle down with careers, houses and jobs and she has none of that security, as she doesn’t really know what she wants. She knows she loves being around the oldest child, Briar, but feels a bit uncomfortable about how Mrs Chamberlain wants to be her best friend.

The themes explored are complex ones – race, class, womenhood and the expectations placed on you from your own version of society. There’s also a strong thread around ensuring that you don’t assume you know about the characters you’re being introduced to.

This book was surprising because I had expected it to be about an arrest, a criminal record, an unjust court trial and in fact, that hook was quickly completed and it moved on to deeper, more complex narrative where all of the characters are well defined and real – I could see myself being at once friends with both of them and neither.

I’d be interested to see more from Kiley Reid, and I recommend this for something a bit thought provoking.

Wow. The writing in this book is so light and breezy and easy to read that it can take a while to appreciate the depths the author takes us to in Such a Fun Age. Combine the compelling writing with a cute font on the cover and this book is seriously deceiving.

You know, this book reminded me of some of the criticisms others and myself had about The Help. I feel like I have to be careful here because even now, ten years later, there are people who love that book so much that they kiss it before they go to bed each night. But The Help honestly seemed to me like a way for white folks to make themselves feel better about the way they behaved during Jim Crow segregation. Total white lady saviour vibe.

This book is like what would have happened if Abilene had called Skeeter out and told her to go be a hero somewhere else. Of course, Such a Fun Age is set in 2015 and not the 1960s so the circumstances are different but, alarmingly, not that different.

Such a Fun Age is about two women-- Emira Tucker and Alix Chamberlain. Emira is a young black babysitter for the Chamberlains' eldest daughter, Briar, and is currently juggling two jobs as she struggles to pay rent, keep her healthcare, and figure out what she wants to do with her life. Alix Chamberlain is a wealthy white blogger and minor social media celebrity who battles doubts and insecurities, all while on the surface maintaining a facade that she has everything she ever wanted.

When Emira is stopped by a security guard at a fancy grocery store and accused of kidnapping Briar, everything changes. The moment is caught on camera and, though Emira is determined to forget all about it, both Alix and the bystander who filmed it want to make things right and get justice for Emira.

It's a very engaging contemporary novel with a lot of nuance. Though it is clearly a critique of "white saviours", Reid is careful not to let the characters fall into one-dimensional stereotypes. She uses these fully-fleshed out characters to explore the way well-meaning white people often overstep and actually make black people's lives harder. "Protecting" and "helping" as a means of control is nothing new, but the author really shines a light on the way white liberals use these words to take over situations and narratives.

Plus it's also just a really great story about two very different women, all their quirks and habits, and what happens when their lives intersect.

The only thing that was a little disappointing was the way it ended.

A really great read. The cover and description made me think this was more of a YA novel, but it's not. The protaganist, Emira, is 25 years old when the novel opens. Despite being a graduate, she's drifting and working as a childminder for a white family (she's black). There are a couple of big scenes in the story - both of which take place at the house where Emira works. I dreaded reading them, the book had such an impact on me. I think this is a really brilliant, important book. It deals with two massive issues in the US today - race and class - in a funny and thought-provoking way.

This hugely enjoyable book is deceptive. At a light/quick read level it is a likeable plot driven page turner, which almost has the feel of YA. However below the surface it packs a lot in.

Beyond the plot, the characters take centre stage. They are smartly developed such that you are continually wrong footed by their motives, intentions and whether they are trustworthy narrators. Weaved throughout the narrative is an insightful and nuanced take on race issues told from multiple viewpoints.

I would thoroughly recommend this book.

With thanks to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy in consideration on an honest review.

I'm torn between a 3.75 rating and a 4 star rating. I suspect I need to give this book a bit more time to sink in to my brain.

This is a well-crafted, sharp and witty exploration of white privilege, satirizing 'white feminism' and white, middle-class social concern that often represents a base misunderstanding of the situation. It centres around a woman named Alix and her babysitter, Emira, who is racially profiled at a supermarket. We then see their back stories unfold and how Alix's previous behaviour has influenced her current self. I have to say, I rooted for different people at different times. Reid doesn't spell out the conclusion for you- rather, she unravels each layer until suddenly, you feel as though you're looking at a different picture to the one you started with. The writing is elegant yet snappy - I think this would do really well on the screen. There are a whole cast of characters involved here and they each felt defined and three-dimensional, which is hard to do in a book like this.

Ultimately, I enjoyed it. I think I need some more time with it to cement my thoughts, but it's a good book and I'm sure will be a very buzzy read when it comes out in January.

An incredible book. Any producer with sense would option it for Netflix or HBO. I look forward to hearing more from this author.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid a fair four-star read. I had major hopes for this story, and I enjoyed it, but I didn’t think it was worth all of the hype, most of it sure but not all of it. This is a very modern tale and told even a few years ago it would have missed its mark, but it has come at just the right time. My one negative is Emira, she just seemed like she didn’t have anything defining her and I know that’s how she is supposed to be written, a mid twenties girl not sure where she is going, she was just too believable at times, on the flip side I wanted to throttle Alix at times for her sheer mindedness. Maybe I wasn’t in the best place reading this I don’t know. One thing I am sure of is that this story will be picked up by lots of people.

At a first glance Such a Fun Age might appear like a light read, but once you read the synopsis, you will realise that's not the case. 

Such a Fun Age is a story about Alix, a privileged, white, mother of two and Emira, 25 year old black nanny with a bachelor degree. Alix is desperate to befriend Emira and invites her and her new boyfriend Kelley to a Thanksgiving family dinner. When Emira shows up at the door with Alix's high school ex who broke her heart, everything starts to go pear-shaped and Emira starts seeing both Alix and Kelley in a new light.
Such a Fun Age is about pretence, relationships but first of all it is about race. Both Alix and Kelley have racial issues they can't see themselves. This book is very easy to read due to the straightforward writing and realistic dialogue but it was not straightforward for me to figure out who's side I should be on. I think this is an exceptional debut novel and I'm keen to read more books from this author.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book and will be recommending it to everyone. Very early on, Emira is called late at night by the family she works for part-time as a babysitter, and is asked to take their 3 year old out of the house because the police are dealing with an incident. She takes her to a store, but is stopped by security and accused of kidnapping the toddler, as a black woman looking after a white child. This is the driving point of the novel, which follows the change in mother-babysitter dynamic and explores issues of class and racism, and white privilege in modern america. Whilst these are all complex issues, It deals with them in an extremely accessible way.

The characterisation is spot on, and the relationships feel authentic, despite being difficult. Emira is directionless in her mid-twenties, feeling like her friends are all succeeding and growing around her (very relatable), whilst she has the added pressure of finding a job with health insurance by the time she turns 26 (when she can no longer be covered by her parents). Carrying such a weight on her shoulders, she's desperate to forget the 'incident' in the shop, as it's just something else to deal with,, but the toddler's mother, Alix can't let it go.

Alix's desperation to connect with Emira is brilliantly cringey, and despite her often making the wrong decisions, I still sympathised with her. She's also at a strange time in her life - she has two young children, is living in a new area with no friends, is trying to stay at the top of her career AND be a good mother. The latter is something Emira takes issue with - she feels like Alix overlooks Briar, her funny, clever three year old, who Emira thinks is the best thing ever. Emira and Briar's relationship is such a delight, and stole the show for me. Kiley gets it just right.

Overall this ticked all the boxes for me - brilliant writing, a compelling storyline and characters you can't forget about. I honestly could not put this book down and would say it's one of my favourites so far this year.

Interesting and insightful, this is definitely not what I expected from the blurb of the book. It provokes thought from the reader and debates, and definitely made me consider roles, race and stereotypes.

I very much enjoyed it.

Wow!! I really didn't have any expectations about this book and I was totally blown away. What a great read! I loved everything about it; it's a brilliant story that kept me on the edge of my seat, plus it really opens up so many debates about race, status, wealth, class and education, all of which are covered in such an intelligent way. I fell in love with Emira and Briar, while the character of Alix was so complicated that it kept me guessing right until the last page. I loved how well all the stories intersected together, it was so brilliantly written. One of my favourite books of the year.

A great book.
Excellent dialogue and amazing characters. So much skill in the writing of this book.
Very different from other books.
A must read

I very much enjoyed this book.

Emira works as a sitter for Alix, taking care of her toddler daughter Briar. One night Emira is accused of stealing Briar and the story continues from there.

A real strength of this book is the depth of the characters. Each one was carefully written and each felt real and genuine. I loved the relationship Emira had with Briar- relationships between all the characters were well managed and described.

I found this novel thought provoking and it made me think about how I would have reacted in different scenarios.

A great book by this talented author! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid is an enjoyable debut novel about race, privilege, childcare and the world of work.

An interesting and thought provoking read. The characters and story come across very believable. Very relevant with issues of today and makes you think about how you would react, both as a parent yourself and also at the person being accused. A good read and certainly keeps you hooked.

Such a Fun Age is a brilliant examination of white privilege, race and class in modern America. Emira is a black nanny, doing a number of part-time jobs to make ends meet. She ends up being a pawn in between her employer Alix, and her boyfriend Kelley. Both are competing to be more woke than the other, and neither are at all.
Emira gets a late evening call to take two year old Briar to the grocery store. Whilst there, she is, predicably, accused of kidnapping the child. The incident is filmed, and becomes a cause for both Alix and Kelley, who have a long standing grudge with each other.
Alix is a blogger, and tries to leverage Emira's misfortune into an opportunity for herself. Alix also thinks she is helping Emira, but is ridiculously deluded. Kelley thinks he is such a good guy for dating a black woman, and is hard to see who is worse.
Emira is caught between the two, and must decide what is the least worst course of action. A terrific read.

An excellent story about what it is like being a coloured person in a middle-class white culture.
It is a coming of age story but the person it concerns, Emira, comes of age much later than many.
Emira struggles to find a purpose and what she is really interested in - apart from dancing and drinking and going out - her teenage and college life never seems to end even though she has got her degree. Alex tries to help her, but fails to understand her and her background. And then we have a strange man - helping Emira - or not?
I found it difficult at times to understand the speech that the girls shared as it was very particular to their culture but mostly got the gist - I think.
It is tricky to think about your domestic help and what they might want from life - especially when they come from such a different culture to you. and when your immediate impulse is to help them find their way.
Truthfully we had a mother's help with a degree and we did help her find her next job - after 2 years with us as we taught business skills and she helped with our own business as well as the children, and she came from a nice middle class white family so i have not been confronted with his dilemma personally. But I suspect I would be an Alex!

What a brilliant read! So well written and with characters that appear fully formed from the outset, ‘Such a Fun Age’ is the perfect family-centred novel for our times. Focusing on the fraught-with-difficulties relationship between the parent and child carer, Kiley Reid also explores race, self-conscious liberalism and economic hardship as she tells the story of Emira, her employee Alix and their daughter Briar.
Alix is an anxious person. Successful in her own right, she is still desperate for approval. Like many in this social media conscious age, she is forever wondering what her lifestyle choices look like to all around her. Is she liberal enough for her friends? Do they approve of her parenting choices? Can she even remember who she really is deep down? Kiley Reid contrasts her with babysitter Emira who wishes that race didn’t have to be such an overriding issue in her relationship with Alix. She neither needs not asks for Alix’s friendship, finding the latter’s courting of her perplexing and, at times, irritating. Whilst Emira is a great babysitter who genuinely cares for Briar, sadly that doesn’t appear to be Alix’s main concern.
This novel challenges us to think seriously about our own attitudes to race and class. It is an important read whilst also being extremely funny in part. Kiley Reid shows us clearly just how tediously self-referential white middle class liberalism can be. I loved Emira’s response both to her employer’s overtures and to the liberties that Alix takes. And what brave decisions she takes in the novel’s final pages. You go, girl!
My thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this book as the cover/title didn't seem to match the synopsis. Emira is a young black woman who has taken a babysitting job with a white family. She's asked to take the child to the store one night when there is an emergency at home and a security guard accuses her of kidnapping her. There's a really interesting social commentary here about wealth, status and race. Alix, her boss, becomes borderline obsessed with her and this is where the book gets a bit unpredictable! I found this a really gripping and interesting read and would thoroughly recommend it.