Staff Pick
I made the mistake of starting this astonishing debut right before I clocked into work and then spent the rest of the day desperate to get back to reading — it’s just perfect in every way. From the very first racist “misunderstanding," Reid challenges the all too common belief that good intentions are enough to right wrongs, enough to exonerate our bad behavior. To a person, her characters are achingly real and complicated in a way that made me carefully consider the broader implications of their public and private struggles. Such a Fun Age is fiction so true, so immediate, and so seamless, I felt like I was reading minds instead of pages. Recommended By Lauren P., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
An instant
New York Times Bestseller
A Reese's Book Club and Hello Sunshine Book Pick
"The most provocative page-turner of the year." Entertainment Weekly
"A great way to kick off 2020." Washington Post
"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.
Review
"Reid's debut sparkles with sharp observations and perfect details....Her evenhandedness with her varied cast of characters is impressive....Charming, challenging, and so interesting you can hardly put it down." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Review
"We're all familiar with the phrases white privilege and race relations, but rarely has a book vivified these terms in such a lucid, absorbing, graceful, forceful, but unforced way." Library Journal (Starred Review)
Review
"Briskly told and devilishly well-plotted....Smart, witty and even a bit sly, this penetrating social commentary is also one of this year's most readable novels." BookPage (Starred Review)
Review
"In her smart and timely debut, Reid has her finder solidly on the pulse of the pressures and ironies inherent in social media, privilege, modern parenting, racial tension, and political correctness." Booklist
Review
"This is an impressive, memorable first outing." Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
A Best Books of the Year:
The Washington Post NPR Parade Elle Real Simple Good Housekeeping Kirkus Reviews Library Journal BookPage LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 BOOKER PRIZE
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK 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.
Synopsis
A Best Book of the Year:
The Washington Post NPR Slate Parade Elle Real Simple Good Housekeeping Kirkus Reviews Library Journal BookPage LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 BOOKER PRIZE
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK 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.
Synopsis
A Best Book of the Year: The Washington Post NPR Chicago Tribune Slate Parade Elle Real Simple InStyle Good Housekeeping Vox Kirkus Reviews Library Journal BookPage LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 BOOKER PRIZE AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A REESE'S BOOK CLUB x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK 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.
Synopsis
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 x Hello Sunshine Book 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.
About the Author
Kiley Reid earned her MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was awarded the Truman Capote Fellowship and taught undergraduate creative writing workshops with a focus on race and class. Her short stories have been featured in Ploughshares, December, New South, and Lumina. Reid lives in Philadelphia.
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