First off, this is a bummer review so I’m sorry. I think you want honesty here so—here it is.

i hate to be the one to swoop in here and leave one star buuuuuuut

The main themes of this book are the intersection of race and class/income but the author for whatever reason seems dead set against any character in the novel acting across these lines in a way that is genuine or that doesn’t have an ulterior motive.

There is no normal main character in this book, or anyone with the depth of today’s understanding.

In addition to the main character Emira’s constant griping about everyone around her being more successful/wealthy than her (does the author not think watching children is a real job? seems probable)—there are two white people in this book, one more horrible than the other (the first is an inexplicable woman who changes her name from “Alex” to “Alix” to forge a new identity for herself and the second is a 30-something man whose creepy pet name for women he dates is “miss”, which is not remotely real and again, inexplicable). Tamra is a black friend of Alix who also for whatever reason is written as having a white savior complex. The one white friend of the main characters’ friend group is roasted for having black friends and belittled by the group or the main character throughout. It is clear that it’s weird in this universe for any cross-racial relationships to exist, with the exception of the main character and the child she watches.

I don’t know if this was the intention, but this book is cynical (the reason being...?) and I despised the small and unnecessary additions the author made throughout the book referring to the white woman’s (Alix’s) weight, the feeling of guilt being compared to as if she’d been caught with frosting on her face in front of the fridge, how hot she felt thin, her friends having an intervention when she admitted she had been gaining weight, etc etc

Not good.

Despite the very serious topics of socioeconomic differences, race, privilege, fetishism, influencer culture, and motherhood, this book was a quick read. I hardly noticed the vaguely annoying plane ride I was on as I was so drawn into the story. Partly because of the great writing and fully developed characters, but also because Briar was an absolute hoot and I would have loved to hang out with her as much as Emira did.

The majority of the tension in the story hinges on a really big coincidence, but there have been enough odd coincidences in my own life that, paired with a fascinating tug-of-war story, I'm willing to go along for the ride. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'm keeping that part vague.

I loved getting to know Emira- to see how much she cared for Briar just as she was, to get to root for a character that is happy and content without the same kind of ambition that is celebrated in our culture, regardless of race, and to see an experience different from my own as a white woman.

I liked that while there were definitely people who were in the wrong, we see from each character's point of view why they at least thought they were doing the right thing, other than Emira who was a good advocate for herself and enforcing boundaries when she needed to. The story raises a lot of interesting questions about fetishism vs. having a type, and outward appearances vs. true beliefs. I'm really looking forward to discussing it as my first book club pick for my bookshop.

As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew it was my kind of book. I really liked this! The dialogue, in particular, is so well done.

Reid has crafted two compelling characters—Emira, a young black woman and recent-ish college graduate who, at 25, has yet to figure out what she wants to do with her life, and Alix, a wealthy white 30-something with two very young daughters, struggling to find the motivation to fulfill her publishing contract. Emira works for Alix's family, the Chamberlains, three days a week as a babysitter, taking care of the older Chamberlain daughter, Briar. As the novel progresses, Alix becomes increasingly obsessed with Emira. She wants to know everything about her, from her thoughts on religion and sex to her the kind of movies and music she enjoys—and, of course, she wants to know what Emira thinks of her, desperate to pull Emira further into her life. Reid's contrasting depictions of Alix and Emira's female friendship groups were a particular strong point. This is a beautifully-written, thoughtful novel, leavened by many well-timed moments of humor (toddler Briar, in particular, is deeply funny). A stellar debut!

The book was ok. It totally wasn't about what I thought it was going to be about. The description led me to believe the mom was going to defend her babysitter after a racist security guard accused her of kidnapping. While that sort of happened, it was not the story of the book. I'm not saying it was a bad book. It was ok. It could have been so much better in my opinion. Alix is just too obsessed with Emira throughout the story. Maybe that was the point. But then, the whole thing just sort of ended. Like the author realized she only had 5 pages left and a lot more she needed to tell so she just quickly concluded it. I was disappointed.

Such a Fun Age is a complex novel about race, love, coincidence, and real-life making ends meet. There’s a heavy aspect of it that intertwines feminism and irony, racism and, believe it or not, humor. It’s a great quick read and kind of reminds me of the help. Thank you, Net Galley, publisher and author for the arc.

This book was so exciting. I loved this book. When Emira, a young African American woman in her mid-twenties, is stopped by a security guard, a high-end market. The guard questions why she has a white child with her. This encounter sets off a series of events that will alter Emira's and other people's lives.

Race and the current social issues were addressed in the plot. The plot moved between the past and presented to get a complete picture of the characters. The characters were well developed and felt very real to me.

In many ways, this was a coming of age story as the reader can watch Emira grow and determine what she wants from her life.

This is so much more than I was initially expecting. I was completely enthralled from the very first page and it just kept getting more and more interesting!

This book has some of the best drama I’ve read about recently. It was incredibly gripping!

I think my favorite part was how unreliable the characters in this book were. I never knew who to trust and it kept me turning the pages as fast as I could.

It does deal with racism quite a lot, but in a way you don’t see much, so I felt that was interesting and unique.

Our MC is a babysitter, so we have some childcare related parts. I really loved Emira and Briar’s connection. I loved how much she tried to make the kid have a good time, help her out on not feeling so lonely and just overall be there for her. The mom was quite an interesting character to read about, both on a romantic and a maternal level. She definitely wasn’t there for her kid as much as she should be and we can kind of see the effect of that in Briar’s life, and the repercussions that may appear in the future.

I really enjoyed Emira’s circle of friends. I felt that they were super connected and there was something very real about their friendship. How much they helped each other, even if we mainly saw them at party-out moments, it was still present there.

There’s a lot of white lies gone wrong, weary intentions and disrespectful situations in here that I loved to read about. But the best topic might have been how we have the need to compare ourselves to others. How we see other people’s lives and how we feel that our age we should also be doing that but instead… You know? I really liked that aspect and it really spoke to me. I do believe there’s an age for certain things, but then again everyone is different. Other people might have things you want in life at a sooner or later stage and that’s okay. Just live your life the best you can, doing what you love and try to achieve your goals. Comparing ourselves will only make us feel bad and unappreciative of what we have and what we’ve achieved. I really loved to see Emira figure out her life and see her feelings throughout.

The book’s wrapping up was quite quick, but it also gave an overview of how her life went after it all, which is not as common anymore, so it was a nice change.

It was emotional and exciting and full of drama, and I really enjoyed reading it and would recommend it!

I inhaled this book. It was wonderful and, even better, the ending was spot on. I can’t wait for this book to come out. It’s perfect for any book club or discussion group.

Received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own


I got annoyed several times while reading this. Not at the story it self but at certain people. The idea behind the story sounded interesting but didn’t feel well executed. We kinda move away from the story about race and color and move to the story about Kelley and Alix and who’s right and wrong. I thought that it was gonna to talk about racial profiling and treatment, a book where you’re given something to really think about, but it only made me roll my eyes and get mad at certain characters. It’s short and easy to read but that might be the only thing great about it.

Such a Fun Age was a perfect book for this busy time of the year. Captivating and engaging, this novel brought to light many important subjects in an easy-to-read way.


From making a career through blogging, to interracial relationship, trying to do the right thing and overall showing some trivial moments that we tend to blow out of proportion, Such a Fun Age is ultimately a “comedy of good intentions” as the author herself called it in her speech at BookExpo Librarian Breakfast.

Kiley Reid’s narrative writing is so easy to absorb. It makes the whole reading experience very pleasant , as you get lost in the story not worrying about the words she used, the construction of sentences. This is definitely one of those books that you fall so deep into that you stop noticing the flip of the pages, and the story starts playing in your head. And this is what I love the most about reading, the possibility to get lost in the narrative.

In Such a Fun Age we follow Emira, a 20 something African American girl, who just finished her grad school and is still trying to find herself and her place in this world. She is working as babysitter at the Chamberlain family, looking after their older daughter Briar, and struggling to make the ends meet.

What surprised me the most as I was reading the story was how vivid and true Emira’s experiences felt. And after I watched that speech that Kiley Reid gave at BookExpo, I found out that many subjects that made it into the book were drawn from her own experience. She babysat for many families in New Your City during her twenties, so she knew exactly what it felt like being with the children she cared about, seeing the dynamic of various families and how they embraced their babysitters.

That’s why Emira’s character could practically walk from the pages of the book and become real in a matter of seconds.

I really loved her relationship with Briar, the Chamberlain’s daughter. Their dynamic was so fun and sweet that I could see from the very beginning how difficult it would be for Emira to leave her job and eventually move on to something more permanent and stable, as she planned to do. Because that would require leaving Briar and that would be the most heartbreaking part.

The book begins with Emira taking Briar to the shop late in the night at request of Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain, where she was accused of kidnapping their child. The whole situation spirals out of control in a matter of minutes.

And from that point, we are introduced to different opinions on the matter . While Emira just wants to forget about the whole thing and never, ever talk about it. Alix Chamberlain, the mother of Briar, and Kelley, the white guy who filmed the whole thing, think that they know what’s best for Emira. Each of them try to persuade her to get justice or revenge, thinking that they are doing the right thing.

This book shows just how careful and mindful we need to be when we try to interfere with other’s lives, even if it’s out of the best intentions.

I realised that I could keep talking about this book non-stop, as there are still so much to cover, but that would make for a long and probably tedious review.

In such a short book, Kiley Reid managed to create so many characters - Alix, her husband Robert and their daughter Briar, each of them unique on their own; Emira and her girlfriends - Zara, Josefa and Shaunie; Kelley and his relationship with Emira; not to forget Alix’s girlfriends from New York.

This book doesn’t really have a “villain”, instead it focuses on good intentions that sometimes might be for the wrong reasons.

I loved this book! It struck the perfect balance between a sweet love story and the issue of racial inequality in our world. Emira and the other characters were very developed and I loved how Kiley Reid brought us as readers into the story like we were living the drama right along with the Chamberlain family. It seemed like Alix wanted to help Emira and do the right thing but in the end she cared too much about how she looked to society. Great book that was not too deep but deep enough to make me think but also could enjoy on the beach during vacation. :)

I liked this a lot. It's interesting because the jacket copy both is and isn't what the book is about - yes, the incident in the grocery store is the catalyst for the plot, but the book isn't about shopping while black or microaggressions or internet call-out culture or Beckys so much as it's about the relationship between these two particular women at this particular point in time. Reid did a great job of inhabiting both Alix and Emira fully. They both felt real and distinct and it was clear what both wanted and needed from the other and the distance between those desires. Reid's sympathies seem clearly with Emira, but that's ok - she gave Alix space to be a fully realized character with complex desires even while highlighting that the things Alix wanted from Emira weren't neccesarily reasonable or in line with Emira's wants.

This book seems light at times, but I was particularly struck by the way that it treated Emira's uncertainty about her future as reasonable, as opposed to her family and Alix's friends, who are all shocked that someone in their mid-twenties may not have their future all planned out. It's ok to not know what you want to do with your life! The novel took care to depict Emira's search as both a necessity - she needs health care - but also to make clear that it's ok not to have your job be your life - your life should be your life.

Honestly, I thought the most interesting character was Kelley, mostly because we never saw inside his head and it's clear that both Alix and Emira are right about him, in different ways.

It took me a couple of weeks to truly get into this book. 20% in and I was bored. I did not like the writing much and everything felt so awkward. I especially didn’t like Kelly and Emira’s relationship. You can tell there was a age gap and I don’t know it felt kind of forced. Also he said the “N” (idc if it was because he was repeating a story”) he said it with the hard R. Idk this book just didn’t vibe with me. It could have been my mood or the writing style.

There’s nothing more exciting than a debut author who is willing to tackle a controversial subject and does so with style and poise. Reid does just that with this incredibly well written, fun, relevant novel. I laughed out loud, I cringed, I connected with the characters, and I absolutely can’t wait to see what Reid does next. Her storytelling felt like a combination of Liane Moriarty and Angie Thomas, and lets be honest, could there be a better comparison?!

Alix Chamberlain is a women’s rights activist whose earned her 15 minutes of fame. As a youth, Alix found herself in some compromising situations and was labeled racist by her peers. Haunted by her past and cognizant of her white privilege, Alix desperately tries to appear “color blind” in many awkward and inappropriate ways.

When she and her family move to Philadelphia from NYC, the Chamberlains hire a babysitter to help with their two girls a few days a week. Emira is a mid-twenties Black woman who doesn’t quite have life figured out, however, she quickly forms a meaningful bond with Alix’s older daughter, Briar.

Alix and Emira’s lives intersect in an unexpected and uncomfortable way, launching Alix’s past to the forefront. Desperate to form a stronger connection with Emira, Alix sacrifices her reputation and integrity.

Reid did an incredible job of highlighting a major issue our nation faces today. Her writing, though often lighthearted, dealt with the hard topics of race and privilege in a meaningful way that was easy to connect with.

I absolutely recommend this book to anyone and everyone!

Reid did a great job writing the authors. You really got to know them and feel for them.

I really enjoyed Emira and loved how she really cared for the little girl, Briar. You can feel the love and attachement there within the pages.

This is a light read compared to what I’m use to reading. Controversy, heartbreak and high school take backs.

3/5 stars

Even though she is already 25, Emira Tucker still does not really know which career to follow. Her degree does not really lead to anything and that’s why she is currently doing two jobs: transcribing records and babysitting Briar Chamberlain. Briar’s parents are new to Philadelphia and happy to find somebody to take care of their small daughter. When one Friday evening their house is hit by eggs, Briar’s mother Alix can rely on Emira to leave a friend’s birthday party to come immediately to their home to secure little Briar. When Emira is accused of having kidnapped the girl in the middle of the night, a bystander films how the black babysitter is assaulted. After all is sorted out, Emira only wants to forget about this episode, but it will become a decisive moment in her life.

Sometimes you start a novel and get totally immersed in it and practically read it straight from the beginning to the end. Kiley Reid’s “Such a Fun Age” belongs to this type of story. I got hooked from the first page as she quite casually addresses so many topics worth pondering on while creating suspense and offering also much to laugh about. I am still not sure which perspective the novel should be read under, the feminist or the race or if little Briar with her very special way of making sense of the world is the aspect most worth looking at in depth.

What I liked most was actually to see the vulnerability and lack of confidence that both protagonists share. This is wonderfully transported by the author since she uncovers the gap between the outer image and the feelings from inside. Alix is a highly successful woman who appears to be sure of herself and knowing exactly what she wants and what she is doing. When we enter her thoughts, the picture we get of her is totally different, there is hardly any aspect of her life she doesn’t struggle with. Emira also seems to be content with her jobs, but secretly she envies her friends for their ‘real adult’ jobs and feels like the only one who never actually grew-up. Briar is too young to express true self-awareness, yet, she seems to be aware of the fact that she is different somehow and does not easily bond with others. I really adored her sensuous and intense way of approaching the world surrounding her.

I thoroughly enjoyed the read, especially since it highlights the fact that you can never be too sure that what you see is really how the other person feels.

Such a Fun Age is a surprising and engaging novel. It's deceptively lightweight and compulsively easy to read, whilst also offering a powerful and unassuming exploration of race and privilege.

The characters are wonderfully well-developed. Reid turns the toxic white saviour narrative on its head without invoking any caricatures. I found Emira particularly relatable: a graduate in her mid-twenties who doesn't really have a clue what to do with her life. In many ways this is her coming of age story; she may be aimless, but caught up in a web of subtle and dangerous racial conflict, she finds her own voice and stays true to herself.

Smart and unaffected, and featuring 2019's most endearing fictional toddler, Such a Fun Age makes a great read.

4.5 stars for me. This was an irresistible story and set of characters, but with fascinating depth. The issues Reid explores are enormous and are important to all of us, every day, yet she wraps them in an immensely readable work of fiction. I just loved it.

How much do our assumptions about race, power, intentions, and desires affect a person, a relationship, or a society? How much of what we consider fact and truth is skewed by our histories, our prejudices, our privilege or hardship, or our inability to face uncomfortable realities?

Emira is drifting in a familiar twenty-something way, but she also cements her sense of self and what she wants more fully on each page (which is so satisfying to watch), and I *loved* her dialogue anytime someone needed a talking-to. She’s clearheaded and badass and loving and wonderful.

Alix and her friends were tough for me to take much of the time, yet Reid did make me feel some sympathy for her lack of self-awareness and her blunders. It feels notable that her frequent missteps (disastrous high school past, misrepresentation of where she lives, lack of promised book pages, husband’s racially insensitive comment on tv, small-minded pettiness and obsession with weight, looks, and past wrongs, etc.) don’t negatively affect her life for the vast majority of instances.

Emira and Briar are two of the best characters I’ve read in ages. I wasn’t totally hooked by the ending but really wasn’t going to be fully satisfied without an endless Emira-Briar lovefest. Side note: I’d love a spinoff in the form of an alternate reality series in which they have adventures together for the rest of their lives. ❤️

I was provided with an advance copy of this title by Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great book. I like that it is written as a fun story, but really has much deeper meaning and a good lesson. The ending really wrapped things up and helped me understand a lot of what had happened and why. I would recommend this book to others.