A Perfect Page-Turner That Fits Into Today’s Time ‘Such A Fun Age’ by Kiley Reid
A debut novel that promises upcoming stories from a fresh, new voice
“The most provocative page-turner of the year.” — Entertainment Weekly
Such a Fun Age is full of heart covering a range of themes and topics such as race and privilege. The story is set with a young black babysitter, her employer, and their surprising connection. Alix Chamberlain is a woman who had made a living with her confidence-driven brand showing women how to get what they want. One night her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching Chamberlain’s toddler one night in a high-end supermarket. The store’s security guard witnesses a young black woman out late with a white child, the guard accuses Emira of kidnapping the two-year-old child. A small crowd gathers and of course, this event gets filmed making Emira both furious and humiliated. Her employer then makes it her mission to make things right.
Emira, like most young people, is aimless and broke she is wary of Alix’s attempts to help. At 25, Emira does not know what to do with her life and the video of her in the supermarket unearths someone from Alix’s past, intertwining these two women in a connection that will upend everything they think they know about each other and about themselves. This novel is both empathetic and piercing with its exploration of the “gray area” that is a transactional relationship, what it means to make someone part of a family, and the complicated mess that is the reality of being a grown-up.
2020 Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick (based on my previous articles on Odyssey a lot of the books I recommend come from Reese Witherspoon’s picks, I haven’t read them all but if you’re ever looking to look for a new genre and want to see recommendations a lot of celebrities have book clubs that have a good range). Such a Fun Age is such a great read, it is hard to put the book down because the story is so interesting and applicable to current events concerning race and privilege. So give it a read and you won’t be disappointed, I for one am looking forward to new work from this promising new and upcoming author.
