I haven't stayed up late to finish a book in a long time, but I couldn't stop reading Kiley Reid's amazing novel Such a Fun Age (coming out Dec. 31, 2019). This is such a smart book, intertwining a sharp commentary on race, class, identity, motherhood, and privilege in an engrossing narrative.
The main character, Emira, may feel adrift and unsure about when she'll ever be like her friends who have "adult jobs," but she is also a sharp-eyed observer who stands up for herself and doesn't feel compelled to play nice. When she is accused of kidnapping her white employer's child by a woman in a high-end grocery store, she stays calm, stands up for herself, and doesn't let anyone off the hook for their racism. She isn't interested in the outrage shared by her employer and the white man who videotaped the incident; she just wants to live her life and do her job without being harassed - and she definitely isn't interested in being a viral sensation.
Circling around Emira's story are two white characters - the man who recorded her in the grocery store and the mother of the child she sits - each invested in proving how racist they aren't. They are each deeply problematic in different ways that propel the narrative. Emira rightly sees their attempts to "save" her as stemming more from wanting to feel good about themselves than really caring about her.
This is both a deeply troubling and satisfying read. I, for one, stayed up most of the night to see what Emira was going to do next.
I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
