Such a Fun Age: Reese's Book Club

Super sharp and observant book. Reads like a thriller and keeps you on the edge of your seat in spite of being rather mundane subject matter. Didn’t think I’d like a book about a babysitter so much and I can’t believe it’s a debut - fantastic work by Reid. 4.5/5

I’m a bit confused because at first, I didn’t understand why Keilly kept saying Alex was prejudice and why Alex claimed Keilly has a black fetish. I heard both sides and felt both sides are twisted to what they believed. That’s natural. What I mainly had a problem with was how after 51% into the book, the author really started going full force to showcase just how prejudice Alex was. It felt forced and tried to make us dislike her more. I’m fine doing it all in my own. Same can be said about Keilly. He’s an arrogant and rude person.

The ending was okay but did the author have to have Zara sound so different just to create a scene? Just felt forced. My heart broke for Bri. She’s 2 1/2 years old and so astute and yet, she never had the chance to say “goodbye “ and doesn’t know what or why. Trying hard not to give things away.

I almost didn't want to finish this, but finish I did. From 60% onwards, I just flew through it, so gripped by the events I was that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was the first half or so of the book that left me feeling like this book deserves a 3, however, which was such a terrible waste.

Before the climax, the writing was pretty flat. There wasn't much happening. Alix and Emira were quite boring individuals as well. Alix, with her trying to blend into her new Philadelphia surroundings, and Emira, a girl experiencing a quarter-life crisis as she tries to figure things out. Things were quite repetitive for a while, especially when Kelley came back into the picture. Emira would go on dates while Alix tried to juggle the guilt she felt towards Emira for having to deal with that horribly racist situation while babysitting Alix's oldest daughter, Briar, at the supermarket.

But in retrospect, there were speckles of race intertwined within the story, just not as significant and heavily charged as the supermarket incident, where she was accused of having kidnapped Briar. This book touched on a lot of things that are thought-provoking. There can be such a thing as being too much of non-racist that the behaviour makes a person seem as if he is a racist. There is also the thing about confidence, how no matter how much we'd like to be happy for our friends, that we'd become jealous as we compare our situation with theirs... and this is so relatable. From 60% onwards, we'd see how Emira grows and learns about herself, and I enjoyed that a lot. And it was during this period that I began to appreciate Emira's unique personality. Even the way she talks is so distinctly her that I couldn't believe I didn't pick that up at the very beginning.

What I love most is the bond Emira shared with Briar, and vice versa, which is why these two are my topmost favourites while reading this. My emotions were in total chaos when Emira left. I couldn't help but hope for the very best for dear Briar, that Alix would come to love her daughter for who she really is. Briar, I gotta say, is the most interesting child any person would ever meet, and I would miss her.

If the first half were as well written as the second half, I would have easily given this a 5. It was interesting read nonetheless, and I'm glad I finished this.

I found some of the characters very annoying. The story contrived. It could have been a good book but it wasn’t. A fast read though.

Quite hard hitting, difficult to explain the emotions but definitely worth a read