Such a Fun Age
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- Create Date：2021-04-11 11:56:15
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Kiley Reid
- ISBN：0593152379
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Summary
A Best Book of the Year:
The Washington Post - Chicago Tribune - NPR - Vogue - Elle - Real Simple - InStyle - Good Housekeeping - Parade - Slate - Vox - Kirkus Reviews - Library Journal - BookPage
Longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize
An Instant New York Times Bestseller
A Reese's Book Club Pick
The most provocative page-turner of the year。 --Entertainment Weekly
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。
The Washington Post - Chicago Tribune - NPR - Vogue - Elle - Real Simple - InStyle - Good Housekeeping - Parade - Slate - Vox - Kirkus Reviews - Library Journal - BookPage
Longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize
An Instant New York Times Bestseller
A Reese's Book Club Pick
The most provocative page-turner of the year。 --Entertainment Weekly
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。
Reviews
Susannah Crowell
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Poignant and sarcastic， casually ripping into its characters and painting no one as hero or villain。 Dripping in name-dropping trendy millennial-women-speak to keep you engaged if you're one of the many people reading it to hop onto the book club trend or those who don't read much or enough （woefully， me）。 Poignant and sarcastic， casually ripping into its characters and painting no one as hero or villain。 Dripping in name-dropping trendy millennial-women-speak to keep you engaged if you're one of the many people reading it to hop onto the book club trend or those who don't read much or enough （woefully， me）。 。。。more
Ellen Szostak
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Pleasantly surprised with all the feelings I felt while reading this one！ It was an easy read that could’ve gone further into some of the complexities of the problems these characters faced but given the length and easiness of the book it made sense not to。 There was one thing about the way this ends that made me bummed but then was like heck yeah this was done right but don’t want to spoil anything。
Rebecca Joseph
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This was definitely a tough one to rate。Over the past 5 minutes of writing this review I have switched between 3 and 4 stars and ultimately put down 4。My main reason for switching between the two is because of the lack of depth for Kelley Copland's character。 I don't want to give too much a way， but this book was beautifully written in terms of getting the reader entranced with the characters。 However， Kelley Copland's story had a lot of holes that I thought would of been filled by the end of th This was definitely a tough one to rate。Over the past 5 minutes of writing this review I have switched between 3 and 4 stars and ultimately put down 4。My main reason for switching between the two is because of the lack of depth for Kelley Copland's character。 I don't want to give too much a way， but this book was beautifully written in terms of getting the reader entranced with the characters。 However， Kelley Copland's story had a lot of holes that I thought would of been filled by the end of the book， but now I am just left confused。But， the reason I am giving it a 4 is because of the depth of the other characters and the story line。 the plot is truly intriguing and hands down one of the most eyeopening fiction book I've read。 The book tackles racism in terms of two white peoples interaction with Black people and it's interesting to see how one person can completely twist a story to appease their conscious。 And although I did complain about Kelley Copland's lack of depth and neatly finished ending his writing is thoroughly outweighed by how Reid writes about Alix and Emira。 I feel as if I know these characters and that really through me over the edge。All in all I love the concept so very much and I think the book is truly beautiful I just wish Copland's story was better explained。 。。。more
Bec
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A fun， rollicking， read with some astute observations， but a little overwrought。
Ali
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I read this for a book club and it was an interesting discussion。 The book is much lighter than the description and deals with issues of race and class in a relatively light， but still effective way。
Bam cooks the books ;-）
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RTF。。。
Rose
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Couldn't get past the writing。 Couldn't get past the writing。 。。。more
Eva
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I picked up this book because of the rave reviews。 Such a Fun Age was presented as a fresh voice addressing racism but it was full of the same tired cliches; the social climber who claims to not be racist （they have a friend of colour） but is very much a racist as far as conduct is concerned， people who have fetishes for people of colour and then the homeys that always have your back。 Overall， aside from the tired cliches the story line was reasonably engaging with a tidy resolution。
Brittany Williams
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 It was okay， the story line I liked until the end。 I don’t like how she never confronted her boss about everything she was feeling。 I wasn’t super excited about how they all went their separate ways and it made me sad when B was still ignored。
Soph Demore
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This was a really great read and I appreciated the storyline and all the important topics it touched on， especially racism！！ Would definitely recommend reading！
fernanda
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4。4， not a lot of creative writing， but the story makes up for it！ very interesting viewpoint of white characters that try to do the right thing and be a good person but break so many boundaries that eventually they become something else。 I wish I saw more personality growth from Emira’s end but I love how realistic she is and I loved her in general
Rachael Haley
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2。5 stars。Whilst this book covers important aspects relating to racism， I just found it very uneventful。 I didn't particularly warm to the characters and felt like not a lot really happened in the book。 I'm not sure what I was expecting。 2。5 stars。Whilst this book covers important aspects relating to racism， I just found it very uneventful。 I didn't particularly warm to the characters and felt like not a lot really happened in the book。 I'm not sure what I was expecting。 。。。more
Judy
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This debut novel did not really connect with me。 I did enjoy the relationship between Emira and little， chatty Briar。 However， the "big" twist seemed somewhat contrived to me。 I did like the way that the story ended， with Emira establishing a life for herself。 The ending was quite wistful， as Emira gets a glimpse of Brier and her little sister Catherine a couple of years after she had last seen them。Finally， I'm not sure how the title relates to the story。 This debut novel did not really connect with me。 I did enjoy the relationship between Emira and little， chatty Briar。 However， the "big" twist seemed somewhat contrived to me。 I did like the way that the story ended， with Emira establishing a life for herself。 The ending was quite wistful， as Emira gets a glimpse of Brier and her little sister Catherine a couple of years after she had last seen them。Finally， I'm not sure how the title relates to the story。 。。。more
Jennifer Yanos
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I really like this book。 It’s a fun story with surprising turns and interesting perspectives。 The characters are believable and endearing while the plot line is engaging。 I like how the perspectives went back and forth to some degree while still focusing on the main character。 Well written book。
allison
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I wish I could give this book 10 stars！ It was fantastic and so many levels！
Susan Haines
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A page turner that got me addicted like I was watching a mediocre Lifetime movie with a scandalous plot。 I don't think the author is particularly gifted with her prose， but she did craft a novel that would be an excellent book club read--especially for a mixed-race and mixed-gender book club， if there is such a thing。IMO the ending kind of falls apart， but again， that would be a good topic for discussion。Finally， there seems to be this trope， maybe based on Sex in the City， Girls， and Insecure， A page turner that got me addicted like I was watching a mediocre Lifetime movie with a scandalous plot。 I don't think the author is particularly gifted with her prose， but she did craft a novel that would be an excellent book club read--especially for a mixed-race and mixed-gender book club， if there is such a thing。IMO the ending kind of falls apart， but again， that would be a good topic for discussion。Finally， there seems to be this trope， maybe based on Sex in the City， Girls， and Insecure， that women all have 3 best friends with unique personality quirks and they get together for regular group outings and have dialogue that specifically shows those differences while sealing the deal that they are besties all the time。 （Maybe it started with Little Women？） It just feels very unrealistic and contrived to me。 。。。more
Jessica （librosyestrellas）
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3，5/5⭐️
Han
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（solid 4。5）omg im so glad i finally read this ！ i just knew id love it， someone said that it had little fires everywhere vibes and i love that kinda thing。 this is such an important book， really puts modern issues of race and performative activism into perspective。 i loved emira and her relationship with briar and tbh just emira in general i loved the way she thinks she's the coolest。 hated alix hated kelley。 （solid 4。5）omg im so glad i finally read this ！ i just knew id love it， someone said that it had little fires everywhere vibes and i love that kinda thing。 this is such an important book， really puts modern issues of race and performative activism into perspective。 i loved emira and her relationship with briar and tbh just emira in general i loved the way she thinks she's the coolest。 hated alix hated kelley。 。。。more
Lindy wilson
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Brilliant writing and a fascinating story。
Julie Decker
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Emira loves babysitting Briar， but she's not quite sure why Briar's mother， Alix， seems to want to get chummy with her。 Is it to prove over and over， awkwardly， that she totally isn't racist？ Race keeps coming up in ways that make things difficult， and this issue multiplies when Emira starts dating Kelley， who a） recorded a racist incident in a grocery store and later got her number; and b） turns out to be her boss's ex-boyfriend。 Emira just wants what her friends are all starting to get one by Emira loves babysitting Briar， but she's not quite sure why Briar's mother， Alix， seems to want to get chummy with her。 Is it to prove over and over， awkwardly， that she totally isn't racist？ Race keeps coming up in ways that make things difficult， and this issue multiplies when Emira starts dating Kelley， who a） recorded a racist incident in a grocery store and later got her number; and b） turns out to be her boss's ex-boyfriend。 Emira just wants what her friends are all starting to get one by one--stable jobs， security， health insurance--but seeing how people like Alix live has her being included in ways she's not necessarily comfortable with。 Eventually she has to figure out where her place is in the world and come to a conclusion about how much she can tolerate from these well-meaning white people in relationships with her。What really struck me about this book was how most of the interactions were relatively subtle when discussing racism--sometimes even to the point where Emira isn't sure whether something someone did crossed a line。 Some people still don't seem to realize that racism often doesn't look like the blatant displays you see on the sensationalistic videos。 But it's less about racism and more about how to have relationships with people who have privilege over you in certain ways and how they choose to use it。 I found Alix's behavior so creepy， especially toward the end， when she just started fixating on Emira， wanting her approval， wanting her to be like family， and wanting to be all in her business so much that she spied on her text messages and interfered with her e-mail。 The relationship with her boyfriend was more subtle than that but I still really liked what conclusions she came to even though it wasn't really what you'd expect。The thing I most appreciated was how specific and detailed the situations were between people--the conversation， the frankness， the way some people are not afraid to straight-up talk about race and privilege。 。。。more
Heather
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Interweaving the topics of race， wealth， and privilege in a way that makes you see multiple viewpoints。 Nobody in thia story is intentionally trying to do wrong or assume the worst。 Only the main character really transforms and finds her voice。 It is probably a sad parallel to life that many unintentionally do wrong and never stop to listen， learn， and grow on these topics。
Swankivy
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I really enjoyed how specific the situations were in this story--how the main character Emira felt about dating a white guy who was "woke" in a lot of the right ways but also had some questionable choices about how he "performed" that wokeness， and how she felt about her white boss trying to be friends with her and claim her as "family" when she's used to profiting off marginalized people's labor without really seeing what she's doing at all。 So many of the situations were so nuanced and realist I really enjoyed how specific the situations were in this story--how the main character Emira felt about dating a white guy who was "woke" in a lot of the right ways but also had some questionable choices about how he "performed" that wokeness， and how she felt about her white boss trying to be friends with her and claim her as "family" when she's used to profiting off marginalized people's labor without really seeing what she's doing at all。 So many of the situations were so nuanced and realistic--I really appreciated that it wasn't a bunch of over-the-top clear-cut instances of This Is Racist， and I liked that people who thought they were being good allies were still doing things that made stuff more difficult or uncomfortable for Black people。 I especially liked how the white woman Emira worked for acted like she was so embarrassed of her wealth and success but only to the extent that it made her feel like she didn't belong or wasn't cool with someone's perception of her， and proceeded to not actually make any changes in how she lived her life despite acting like she understood inequality。 I also really liked how connected Emira was with the woman's daughter， Briar， and how she saw her as a real person and respected her even though she was a three-year-old--that's how it should be， you know？The aimlessness and confusion surrounding early adulthood was spot on， and Emira's interactions with her friends were great。 The way people text and their social media habits， the spying Alix did on Emira's phone while convincing herself that she wasn't being intrusive， and the attitude she had toward releasing a video of her being harassed by security in an upscale grocery store were all so authentic-feeling， along with the discussions of these things and the complex feelings that go along with them。 Like when Emira wasn't sure how she felt about her white boyfriend saying the n-word （even though he was not "actually" saying it， etc。）， and like when she had to tell him not to take her to a certain bar， and like when she had to really ask herself what message it sends if a white guy literally never dates white women 。 。 。 there's no clear answer of "obviously this is a bad thing to do，" but it was always based on how the characters felt about what was happening。 I also wasn't sure at first if I was supposed to like and relate to Alix because right from the beginning I was wary of the way she made her living by writing letters to complain about not getting things she was entitled to and writing letters to ~just ask~ for things and she'd end up getting them， it was like 。 。 。 if you could make Karening a profession， you know？ And the focus on how they could save her husband from the racist gaffe he made on television versus what it meant that he said it at all was really good writing。 When things just slip out that just happen to be racist， yes， they do represent what you think， and it doesn't make any sense to keep claiming it's just not who you ARE etc。 I wasn't sure about how I felt about the fast-forward ending--that felt a little weird， and until then I really appreciated the way the perspective was handled， but at the same time I guess I do like to know how they were doing years later。 I really liked Emira and I wanted her to get what she wanted， and I know that when I left the teaching world I had some of the same feelings she did upon realizing she couldn't be a nanny to this beloved child anymore--like will they remember me and was my interaction with them formative in any way？ 。。。more
Catherine Cummings
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Great read！ Read really fast。 Engaging throughout。 Highly recommend！
Sarah Burton
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Wow ok so。 This book， I did really like it。 It felt very light and breezy even though it was based on quite a deep and sensitive topic。 Update: had to stop reviewing as I started having a panic attack， and honestly， think this book may have caused it。 Because it stirred quite a lot of emotions in me at the end。 Does it make me want to rate the book lower？ No because I'm a mess and can't be trusted with correct judgement， but am I impressed that it moved me that much？ Yes。 Wow ok so。 This book， I did really like it。 It felt very light and breezy even though it was based on quite a deep and sensitive topic。 Update: had to stop reviewing as I started having a panic attack， and honestly， think this book may have caused it。 Because it stirred quite a lot of emotions in me at the end。 Does it make me want to rate the book lower？ No because I'm a mess and can't be trusted with correct judgement， but am I impressed that it moved me that much？ Yes。 。。。more
Amy Andrews
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This is such an interesting read， it's hard to even surmise it in a concise way because there is so much going on a micro level！ Really impressive， and a completely different take on some of the themes that have become so prevalent in modern literature。 Highly recommended。 This is such an interesting read， it's hard to even surmise it in a concise way because there is so much going on a micro level！ Really impressive， and a completely different take on some of the themes that have become so prevalent in modern literature。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Eva
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“accurate portrayal of performative activism” is exactly how to explain it。 very casual writing and a quick read
Soph
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Very interesting， made me think about the subtleties of race inequality and fetishism。 Easy to read and engaging text。 Want to similar books like this understand racial inequality
Julie
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I don’t know how to feel about this book。 It some really heavy topics around racism， particularly around how some white people treat other races because it makes them look good。 This book was often uncomfortable to read because of the subject matter and cringe worthy situations， but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good book。 The story was very character driven， and most of the characters are unlikeable- but that is the point。 The plot is simplistic and a little predictable。 But maybe that was the I don’t know how to feel about this book。 It some really heavy topics around racism， particularly around how some white people treat other races because it makes them look good。 This book was often uncomfortable to read because of the subject matter and cringe worthy situations， but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good book。 The story was very character driven， and most of the characters are unlikeable- but that is the point。 The plot is simplistic and a little predictable。 But maybe that was the point？ This story takes a deep look at problems in our society and the white savior complex。 。。。more
Bethany Miller
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The light version: bubblegum novel。 The thoughtful take: a commentary on modern society， working mothers， fame vs popularity， discrimination， culture differences， NYC vs Philly， family dynamics， girlfriend tribes， and minding your own business。 #reading #books #bookstagram #reesewitherspoonbookclub #suchafunage @kileyreid
Cassie
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I'm having a really hard time loving this book。I was so excited to read it after all the praise it has received， but I just couldn't。 Maybe because I haven't experienced disadvantage as it's talked about in the book。 I would/will encourage my children to read it， but I won't pick it up again。 I'm having a really hard time loving this book。I was so excited to read it after all the praise it has received， but I just couldn't。 Maybe because I haven't experienced disadvantage as it's talked about in the book。 I would/will encourage my children to read it， but I won't pick it up again。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Such a Fun Age
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Such a Fun Age&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Such a Fun Age&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0