Book Review | SUCH A FUN AGE by Kiley Reid

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Publication: December 31, 2019
Publisher: GP Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Fiction
Rating: ★★★★

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. - Goodreads

Kiley Reid chronicled an absorbing story from the standpoint of two different women –different history, different status, different colors.

Alix Chamberlain has everything moving up for herself, except, she is no longer living among Manhattan’s finest, meaning there are no rich friends and no in-laws to rely on. Down in Philadelphia, she needs help taking care of her children if she wants to finish her debut book in time. So she was very fortunate to employ Emira Tucker as Briar Chamberlain’s part-time sitter. Meanwhile, Emira is grappling for resources, whose major concern at present is being twenty-five and soon-to-be kicked out of her parents’ health care. Beneficially, Briar is her “favorite little human” and happy as a pea to stay as her sitter for as long as possible. Then a much unforeseen, but not surprising, incident happened at a nearby grocery store, wherein Emira was stopped by a security guard and accused her of kidnapping Briar. A lot has span off since – news got around, people came and people went, privacy and consent were breached. Culpability may be the operative word here. This story shows that any good intention, no matter how noble, can be soiled by any hint of personal agenda.

SUCH A FUN AGE is a breezy story on the surface that it is easy to miss some minute details that Reid has meticulously incorporated. With a closer look, it has multiple layers, and peeling back reveals that only a keen observer can write a story like this one. Her use of English argots is rich and realistic, giving a partition to fully visualize the characters. In her debut, Reid provided distinctions and displays of insecurities, and incisively shows how they manifest generally in everyone. These pages are clearly a product of hard work and good research.

Start your year 2020 with this one!

About the Author:

Kiley Reid (born 1984) is an American novelist. She is a recent graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop where she was the recipient of the Truman Capote Fellowship. She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Such A Fun Age is her first novel.

*Thanks to GP Putnam's Sons and Edelweiss for the galley in exchange for this unbiased review.
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