Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Such a Fun Age

by Kiley Reid

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 BOOKER PRIZE

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A REESE'S BOOK CLUB x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK PICK

"The most provocative page-turner of the year." --Entertainment Weekly

"A great way to kick off 2020." --Washington Post

"I urge you to read Such a Fun Age." --NPR

A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.

Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains' toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store's security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, 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 things 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," and the complicated reality of being a grown up. It is a searing debut for our times.

Reviewed by Terri M. LeBlanc on

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Such as Fun Age by Kiley Reid is an engrossing read.  The characters and their stories stick with you for days after you finish it.

I'll admit I wasn't 100% happy with the ending. All the anticipation for the releasing (on purpose or accidentally) of the video should have played a bigger role in the story if, in the end, it was going to be the impetus for Emira getting her well-deserved-on-her-own-terms happy ending.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Reading updates

  • 5 January, 2020: Started reading
  • 5 January, 2020: Finished reading
  • 5 January, 2020: Reviewed