Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

It’s been a while since I’ve read one of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club choices, but I just couldn’t ignore the rave reviews for Such a Fun Age by @kileyreid and I’m glad I didn’t.

The story is about a young woman named Emira who is trying to find her place in the world. As her friends lives all start to fall into place, she finds herself working a couple of part-time jobs, one of which is working as a babysitter for a child she adores, Briar. One night Emira is apprehended at the supermarket and accused of kidnapping the white child she is babysitting which sets off an explosive chain of events.

What an absolutely brilliant book, I just adored reading this one. Reid tackles some really big issues; race, privilege, class and parenting and she does it brilliantly. She really got me thinking.

The story is told from the points of view of both women and found their characters to be really interesting. I felt great affection for Emira; I was just willing her on the whole way, and the relationship she has with Briar was so lovely to read. Then there’s Alix Chamberlain. A character who made me uncomfortable, at points I really liked her and at times I just couldn’t understand her at all.

There’s a reason Reese Witherspoon choose this one for January and that’s because it’s a great choice for a book club. There’s so much to discuss, some of the characters’ decisions made me stop and think about how felt about the situation and consider how I might have reacted.

If you haven’t yet read it, I would highly recommend it; it’s thought-provoking, timely, funny and touching. I loved Reid’s writing and very much hope this will be first of many books from her.

What are you reading and loving at the moment?