Such a Fun Age

Author: Kiley Reid

Genre: Contemporary, realistic fiction, race

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

After hearing about the premise of this book for months, I finally picked it up.

In the midst of a family crisis one late evening, white blogger Alix Chamberlain calls on her African American babysitter, Emira, for help, asking her to babysit her toddler, Briar. Emira takes Briar to the nearby supermarket; while they're there, the security guard accuses Emira of kidnapping Briar. From there, the story begins...

This book left me... confused. The comments made by the characters in this book about race were definitely important. It was clear to me that what they said was insensitive. However, my issue with the book lies in what the message of this book is supposed to be. After finishing the book, my main takeaway was just the fact that some people are just so messed up. Perhaps this was meant to be a satiric commentary on the way things are in real life?

SPOILERS AHEAD. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

The plot points did not help. For example, we find out later on that Emira was dating this guy that turned out to be Alix's ex-boyfriend in high school. Convenient much? Taking into account that perhaps this was the author's way of evoking the actions that Alix would go on to do, I didn't mind it that much. However, afterwards, the way the story wrapped up really left me thinking.. Huh. The characters, with their messed up way of thinking, did not change. The only change throughout the book is that Emira stopped babysitting Briar for Alix, and everyone went on with their lives. What was the point then? Or was the point that nothing really changes much in life?

After finishing the book, I felt like the message kind of just went over my head, which is why I found this book just okay.