This is an impressive, memorable first outing.' - Publishers Weekly ' Such a Fun Age is a startling, razor-sharp debut. 'Reid crafts a nuanced portrait of a young black woman struggling to define herself apart from the white people in her life who are all too ready to speak and act on her behalf.Reid excels at depicting subtle variations and manifestations of self-doubt, and astutely illustrates how, when coupled with unrecognized white privilege, this emotional and professional insecurity can result in unintended-as well as willfully unseen-consequences. With empathy and piercing social commentary, Such a Fun Age explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone 'family,' the complicated reality of being a grown up, and the consequences of doing the right thing for the wrong reason. 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. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix's desire to help. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. The store's security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. 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.

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. 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.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid