Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Published on December 31, 2019

Synopsis:

Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living showing other women how to do the same. A mother to two small girls, she started out as a blogger and has quickly built herself into a confidence-driven brand. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains’ toddler one night. Seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, a security guard at their local high-end supermarket 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 it 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.

My Review:

I really enjoyed this book! It is very well written and centers around a very important topic. The plot is so realistic and reads just like an event one might see on a nightly news story. This stuff happens in real life, and I love that the author decided to write a story about the aftermath of such an event.

The characters were very well done! I started reading feeling one way about Alix and Kelley but ended feeling totally opposite about each of them. Both overcompensated. Alix by showering Emira with love and thinking she wasn’t racist because she had a black best friend. Kelley by surrounding himself with only black friends and women. I loved Briar! She is the sweetest three-year-old and loves Emira unconditionally. I also loved Emira who, for most of the novel, is stuck in a rut and trying to figure out her place in the world.

I highly recommend this book! Thank you so much to Putnam books for an advanced copy and the opportunity to offer an honest review.

Such a Fun Age is on sale today! Get your copy here.