PTW Pick - Such a Fun Age
Such a Fun Age is the debut novel from Philadelphia based author Kiley Reid. The New York Times Best Seller and Reese Book Club pick follows the life of 26-year-old babysitter, Emira. A lot changes in Emira’s already shaky, young adult world when she is accused of kidnapping Briar, the white toddler she cares for after they’re spotted dancing late night in an expensive grocery store. After a fellow customer and security guard confront her, the night takes a turn for the worse.
Emira ends up calling her safe, white male employer, Briar’s father, to come down to the store and diffuse the intense encounter. But not before being taped by Kelley, a white male who wanted to “help” Emira serve justice to the overzealous security guard.
Alix who is the 30-something white woman who hired Emira seems hellbent on proving her liberalism by becoming obsessed with Emira, her friends, and her future. She does all types of manipulative things to get closer to Emira, while Emira herself is simply trying to figure out the rest of her life. Emira still babysits yet watches the rest of her friends receive promotions, solidify their dating lives, and plan for vacations.
The book is an easy page-turner. I found that I’d read it in just a day and a half. In a very subtle and non-abrasive way, Reid tackles the complex realities of white privilege, microaggressions, and the blurred lines between employers and their children’s caretakers, specifically when it comes to white women and black women caretakers.
I appreciated the exploration of post-graduation life. The mid-20s is a time where you’re still trying to figure so much out, yet people expect you have clear direction and goals. In reality, Emira—and many others like her in real life—are simply lost.
Emira gets it from all sides in this book. She ends up dating Kelley, the guy from the grocery store only to wonder if he, too, is fetishizing black women and black culture. While she feels the need to get out from under Alix’s grip, she also feels indebted to Briar, who, like most young toddlers, will soon forget their caretakers as they age and become younger versions of their mothers.
Reid got a lot right in this book. She captured encounters with white moms, like Alix, who may have been more liberal, but find themselves in positions where their alignments change. Her character was troubling for me because it felt too familiar and maybe that was the point or a testament to Reid’s writing ability. Emira felt a bit whiny for me, but I also understood her simply being young and unsure of how to know what she truly wanted.
For a debut, I’d say that Reid hit this one out of the park. It’s been well received—Lena Waithe has already acquired the television rights. Hopefully, people will seem themselves in this book, even if it’s uncomfortable. After all, discomfort tends to be the best catalyst for change.
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