#142 Such a Fun Age

 Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid 

Such a Fun Age follows the story of a 25 year old black woman called Emira, she is hired as a babysitter for a middle class couple and looks after their 2/3 year old daughter Briar. One night Alix who is Emira's employer calls Emira for some last minute baby sitting whilst the couple deal with an emergency at their home. Emira takes Briar to a local supermarket/grocery store and whilst the 2 are in the store the security guard has been alerted by a fellow shopper that they believe Emira has kidnapped Briar, this turns into a confrontation between the security guard and Emira that is caught on video by another shopper. Emira has to call Alix's husband to come down to the store as the police have been called and no one seems to believe Emira's version of events. This scene is the opening of the book and plays a very powerful role in the themes throughout the book but the story is about so much more than this one single instance. 

The chapters are split into POV's from Emira and Alix. Emira as a character was so relatable, her life has lost direction after finishing college and shes not quite sure what she should be doing next. When she is offered the role of being Briar's babysitter she just views it as a job and a way to make money but she soon falls in love with Briar and looks forward to spending time with her. I really enjoyed Emira's chapers much more than Alix's but i understand as a reader why it was important for them to be written in this way as both POV's are highly necessary for the overriding story. Alix works as an influencer and has 2 daughters, Briar is her eldest and she also has a baby too. Emira is hired solely to take care of 'spirited' Briar. Alix's husband is a news anchor and towards the beginning of the story he accidentally says something racist whilst on air which is another theme that influences the rest of the story. Alix takes on a very much 'white saviour' role in this story, her entitlement and privilige made for a very contrasting POV. At the beginning i was very willing to give Alix the benefit of the doubt but as the story went on i just lost more and more respect for her. I think Alix is so hyper aware of being perceived as racist that she almost does too much and winds up on the racism spectrum regardless. Parts of this were painful to read. 

This book is not what i was expecting at all, it was much more of a coming of age story than i thought it would be. Emira's character growth was done so well, i loved how all of Emira's friends seem to have their careers and lives figured out and are so much more financially stable than Emira and even though Emira enjoys her babysitting role she cant help but feel that she should have something more concrete in place. There is a romance throughout but it wasnt a very big part of the story overall. As a result of the grocery store incident Alix begins taking more of an interest in Emira and becomes almost obsessed by cyber stalking her and checking her phone when Emira leaves it to charge whilst shes at work. 

I really enjoyed this book. The writing was simple and a lot less literary than i was expecting from a Booker Prize Longlist contender. The writing is so clever and witty, i couldnt get enough of it and it kept me turning the pages. All the characters read as very real people and the story was accessible and relatable. I loved the drama in this story but also how it was about everyday life, it read like a soap opera. The topics covered were very heavy but told in such a light away that left the reader with some thought provoking situations. This was such a fantastic read, 4.5 stars. It would have been a 5 star read but im not the biggest fan of ambiguous endings, i liked things a bit more wrapped up but that was my only real issue with this book.