Such a Fun Age in Book Club for Introverts

Feb 27, 2020 Victoria Rodríguez rated it it was amazing

This is a book I read with a group of friends, I must say that I enjoyed it a lot. The story is a little complex because the author mentions some social problems that we encounter nowadays. Emira Tucker has a side job, she works as a babysitter for the Chamberlain's family. One day, Alix Chamberlain had an incident in her house, she calls Emira at not normal hours so she can take Briar, her daughter with her somewhere. Emira arrives from a party she was holding and takes the girl to an upper hig ...more

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Feb 15, 2020 Samantha Axtman rated it really liked it

I enjoyed Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid. It takes a look at tough issues such as race, class, and privilege and provides some thought-provoking commentary. There are two main povs: Emira, a 25 year old African American woman, who babysits for an upper middle class white family, and Alix, the mother of the family Emira works for. One night, as Emira is watching Briar, she is accused of kidnapping the child in a grocery store. The incident is filmed by a bystander, and in the moment causes frustrat ...more

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May 03, 2021 Cat rated it really liked it

I was really surprised that this was Kiley Reid's debut work! Such A Fun Age is witty and sharply written, and I really enjoyed reading it.

A friend of mine compares it to Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere in their review, and I think that comparison is pretty spot on, along with Big Little Lies by Lianne Moriarty (maybe it's just that Reese Witherspoon plays That White Mom so well?) At the book's core is the relationship between Emira Tucker, a Black woman who's babysitting while trying to f I was really surprised that this was Kiley Reid's debut work! Such A Fun Age is witty and sharply written, and I really enjoyed reading it.

A friend of mine compares it to Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere in their review, and I think that comparison is pretty spot on, along with Big Little Lies by Lianne Moriarty (maybe it's just that Reese Witherspoon plays That White Mom so well?) At the book's core is the relationship between Emira Tucker, a Black woman who's babysitting while trying to figure out what she wants in life, and Alix Chamberlain, a white woman whose daughter Emira is taking care of who's trying to balance motherhood/work with an deep need to be friends with her hired babysitter. I think what's a little more nuanced than Little Fires Everywhere (which is still a great book in its own right, and says more about planned urbanity and whiteness imo) is the levels of privilege even within ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic class. Tamra, for example, happens to be Black and is one of Alix's close friends, and later gets called a "Uncle Tom" by Emira's close friend, Zara, for approving of Alix's plans to meddle in Emira's life "for her own good", despite clearly being from and in a different place from Emira despite similarity in skin tone (further exacerbated when Tamra takes it upon herself to assume Emira's feelings and experiences with her hair, and physically puts her fingers in it to assess)

I think what this book does so well is that it really picks apart the (white) savior trope, and one of the critical nuances of racism and discrimination: you don't have to be a bad person or mean to be racist or discriminating. Your racism and discrimination doesn't have to be intentional, but it is most likely there! And even if it's not blatant racism or discrimination, it's worthwhile to consider how your privilege may be obscuring your empathy to someone else (or forcing empathy for someone else). It's played out particularly between Emira and Alix, but also shows up in her boyfriend, Kelley, in how he felt the need to act on her behalf in their first meeting, and continually (but nicely!) throughout the course of the book. It's played out in how the women of Alix's friend group treat her as a new mother in Philidelphia, and continually push her to "do better" and assure her that she's "doing the right thing" (like committing to teaching an unknown class in NYC so you have to commute twice a week from Philly via train? because it's "better for you", AND it "helps" your sitter?) So many things in this book were frustrating and fascinating, but I wondered how many people would also read this book and be on the side of the "saviors".

A common criticism of the book (that I think adds to my question of how many people would be on the side of the saviors) is that Emira doesn't know what she wants to do with her life; she doesn't have a passion or a dream career, she's just good at working with kids. I've seen some reviews call that frustrating, but I think that's a really common mindset in my generation of peers - many of my friends have grown disillusioned within their fields because of how the "if you work your dream job, you never work a day in your life" mentality then leads to lack of boundaries between work/life, and work can become your life. Many others are just working whatever job to make ends meet, with an emphasis not on field but on whether it can offer health insurance (so they can afford to go to therapy). I think that positioning Emira in this place, especially in comparison to her own circle of friends, is really poignant. She's just trying to survive on her own and make enough for rent and health insurance, and that's okay.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and felt myself in kind of a limbo space by the end - there's not really a right person or answer or emotion by the end, and maybe that's okay. I'm really interested to see what Kiley Reid is writing next, because her writing is sharp and the relationships are textured and critical. ...more

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Jul 23, 2020 Abbie Day rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio

3.5 stars!

Overall I enjoyed it. It was a really strong start, however the events in the blurb happened far sooner than I anticipated and from then on things seemed to 'dwindle' and I felt kinda lost.

I loved Emira's bond with Briar, and I really felt sorry for her because of her parents. Alix was very pretentious and the father was so absent I can't even remember his name! Emira and Kelly's relationship didn't feel genuine (but the plot-twist was really entertaining!).

I felt better with the end, ...more

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Jan 28, 2020 Trisha rated it it was amazing

This is a debut you will want to tear through and then ponder. It is one of those books that hits the sweet spot of being a whole lot of fun while also having a whole lot to say.

Such a Fun Age features an unforgettable cast of characters written with such honesty that it’s easy to empathize with and judge each of them, sometimes simultaneously. I warn you though that I also think they can be perceived as stereotypical. Its brisk, sharp dialogue is incredibly funny, awkward and real. The book is ...more

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Mar 12, 2020 Taylor Martinez rated it really liked it

This book was much different than what I expected it to be. I thought the police incident would be the main part of the story and in a way it was, but not how I expected it. The mother's obsession with Emira was off-putting but so was the boyfriend's "woke-ness." Weirdly, I loved him as much as I didn't and although he made me cringe at times he was cute and looking out for her best interests. The ending was satisfying in its own way, again not quite what I expected but still very good. I'm most ...more

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Mar 09, 2020 abrimmingbookcase rated it liked it

I had really high hopes for this book. I think because it was so hyped, I was a little more disappointed that I didn’t just love it.

The story was good, if a little predictable in spots. Unfortunately, the pacing was hard for me. We spent a while in character development but there were so many peripheral friends that I had to keep referring back to remember who was who. The story starts off with a big event and then we don’t really have more action until the last few chapters when several things ...more

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Dec 31, 2019 Andrea (Hammock and Read) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc

Wow! This book is a stand-out book of 2019 and will be for most in 2020. I not only loved the book, it gave me so many feelings! I went in not even knowing the plot just that people liked it and I was not only shocked and surprised but then found it it was her debut novel- well just give Kiley all the stars! It's brilliant!! It covers race, privileges (in many forms, childhood, motherhood, your past coming back that can definitely hurt or help your future. So many important topics in one books a ...more

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Feb 03, 2020 Missy rated it it was amazing

I have been sitting on my review for this much loved debut book. There are no words to correctly describe the way it made me feel. I absolutely loved this book.
"If you didn't cringe during certain scenes, you missed the point." - Rachel Epstein.
And that's exactly my feelings.
Emira Tucker, a black woman is Briar's babysitter, who is a white toddler and Alix Chambers, Briar's mother called one night to see if Emira could help with Briar after they had a bad evening. Emira takes Briar to the groc ...more

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Feb 10, 2020 Carrie rated it it was amazing

Such a Fun Age is a fun, fast-paced read that packs quite a punch underneath. Kiley Reid handles all the shades of how race AND class impact every one of us. It may make you feel uncomfortable acknowledging some of your own biases and prejudices. It will definitely make you think.

This one would be great for a buddy read or book club if you haven’t read it. And if you’re trying to read more Own Voices this year, I’d recommend it in a heartbeat. It was my first five star read of the year. “I don’t ...more

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