• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
FanFiAddict

FanFiAddict

A gaggle of nerds talking about Fantasy, Science Fiction, and everything in-between. They also occasionally write reviews about said books. 2x Stabby Award-Nominated and home to the Stabby Award-Winning TBRCon.

  • Home
  • About
    • Reviewers
    • Review Policy
    • Contact
  • Blog
    • Guest Posts
    • Lists
    • Neurodivergence in Fiction
    • Why You Should Read…
  • Reviews
    • Children’s / Middle Grade Books
    • Comics/Graphic Novels
    • Fantasy
      • Alt History
      • Coming of Age
      • Debut
      • Epic Fantasy
      • Fairy Tales
      • Grimdark
      • Heroic Fantasy
      • LitRPG
      • Paranormal Fantasy
      • Romantic Fantasy
      • Steampunk
      • Superheroes
      • Sword and Sorcery
      • Urban Fantasy
    • Historical Fiction
    • Horror
      • Debut
      • Demons
      • Ghosts
      • Gothic
      • Lovecraftian
      • Monsters
      • Occult
      • Psychological
      • Vampires
      • Werewolves
      • Witches
      • Zombies
    • Science Fiction
      • Aliens
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Alt History
      • Cyberpunk
      • Debut
      • Dystopian
      • Hard SciFi
      • Mechs/Robots
      • Military SF
      • Space Opera
      • Steampunk
      • Time Travel
    • Thriller
  • Interviews
    • Book Tube
    • Authorly Writing Advice
  • SFF Addicts Podcast
    • SFF Addicts Clips
    • SFF Addicts (Episode Archive)
  • TBRCon
    • TBRCon2022
    • TBRCon2023

Review: Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid

July 25, 2020 by David W Leave a Comment

43923951. sy475
Amazon
Audible
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository
Libro.fm
Goodreads

RATING: 7/10

SYNOPSIS

When Emira is apprehended at a supermarket for ‘kidnapping’ the white child she’s actually babysitting, it sets off an explosive chain of events. Her employer Alix, a feminist blogger with a ‘personal brand’ and the best of intentions, resolves to make things right.

But Emira herself is aimless, broke and wary of Alix’s desire to help. When she meets someone from Alix’s past, the two women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know – about themselves, each other, and the messy dynamics of privilege.

REVIEW

I am officially a fan of Reese Witherspoon’s picks for her book club and decided to pick this up! Her choice of books are always on point but I’m not really sure about this one.

Such a Fun Age follows the aftermath of Emira (an African American babysitter who was employed by Alix Chamberlain, a white blogger, to babysit Briar) being accused of kidnapping Briar in a grocery store. The themes and issues raised in this book are very novel to me. I was introduced to the concepts of transactional relationship (a relationship where both parties are in it for themselves), white savior complex (refers to a white person who provides help to non-white people in a self-serving manner) and racial fetishism which I have never come across before in other books. Of course, the issues of racial inequality and domestic racism are also the highlight of the book. Such issues are well interwoven with the plot of the story which makes it intriguing to read.

However, there are also some problems with the story. Firstly, the dialogue between the characters are too casual to the extent that I feel that there’s not much depth in their conversation. There’s too much “Uh oh…”, “Ummm…”, “Ooops…”, “Uh Huh….” in the dialogue and it is quite distracting and annoying. Secondly, the characterizations of both female protagonists (Emira and Alix) are a bit dull to me. To be honest, I dislike both of the characters. Emira seems to be very lost in her life and Alix has a selfish and arrogant personality. I only enjoy reading the interaction between Emira and Briar, which to me is quite believable and well done. There is also the problem of the ending of the story (which I think most reviewers share the same sentiment with me). It ended so abruptly and I feel that the layering of the plot with the racial issues has gone to waste.

But still, I think this is still a refreshing read and it deserves a 7/10 star rating. If you enjoy reading books which incorporate racial issues, Such a Fun Age may be the pick for you! 

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: import

About David W

Believer, Hubby, Girl Dad. Owner/CEO of FanFiAddict. Works a not so flashy day job in central Alabama. Furthest thing from a redneck and doesn’t say Roll Tide. Enjoys fantasy, science fiction, horror and thrillers but not much else (especially kissy kissy).

Other Reviews You Might Like

Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse

Review: Blindspace (Book #2 of The Common) by Jeremy Szal

Review: New Yesterday by Frasier Armitage

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Sponsored By

Use Discount Code FANFI For 5% Off!

Follow FanFi!

Sign up for updates and get FREE stories from Michael R. Fletcher and Richard Ford!

What Would You Like To See?(Required)
Please select the type of content you want to receive from FanFi Addict. You can even mix and match if you want!

FFA Recommends

Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book

Recent Reviews

Recent Comments

  1. Adrian M. Gibson on Author Roundtable: Indie Marketing (with Kian N. Ardalan, Ryan Cahill, Aparna Verma & Gourav Mohanty)March 23, 2023
  2. zidane on Review: A Fractured Infinity by Nathan TavaresMarch 14, 2023
  3. Gary Weston on Bender’s Top 10 Fights in Fantasy BooksMarch 14, 2023
  4. David S on My Top 15 Favorite Male Anime Protagonists (So Far)March 13, 2023
  5. Komikinime on My Top 15 Favorite Male Anime Protagonists (So Far)March 11, 2023

Archive

Copyright © 2023 · Powered by ModFarm Sites · Log In