"Such a Fun Age" by Kiley Reid

I first heard of this book because it was one of the picks for Reese Witherspoon's bookclub. Library waits for this title are unbelievably long, so I ended up getting a trial Audible subscription and listened to this book that way. It lives up to all the hype. Please read it if you haven't yet.

The book is about a young black woman named Emira who works as a babysitter for a white privileged family in Philadelphia. The wife - Alix Chamberlain - is a social media persona/businesswoman who is writing a book for young women about her experience and success. Her husband is a news anchor who one day makes an off-hand racist remark on air. The irony of the situation is that when in the aftermath someone throws a rock through the Chamberlains' window, they call Emira so she could take their toddler to a nearby supermarket while they talk to the police. At the high-end supermarket a customer becomes suspicious and "concerned" (in an extremely racist way) upon seeing a young black woman with a white toddler. The store security officer ends up questioning Emira and accusing her of kidnapping the child.

When you read the paragraph above, the story seems to be straightforward and all too familiar - a case of everyday racism and bias. But as you keep reading, the plot becomes very nuanced. There is Alix, a seemingly educated and intelligent person, who congratulates herself that her Thanksgiving party includes several black people, and who blatantly prefers her younger daughter Katherine to the outspoken and often embarrassing Briar, the toddler whom Emira becomes deeply attached to. Alix's bias and egotism is so deeply internalized she does not even realize why Emira is upset when the video of her encounter with security at the supermarket becomes public. Alix is so focused on making herself look good, she honestly believes she is not racist. She was probably my least favorite character in the book: just extremely fake and hypocritical.

Then we have Emira's boyfriend Kyle. He is white but has a lot of black friends and dates only black women. Am I the only one who found him a bit creepy? His bias might be less obvious than Alix's but it is clearly there and comes out when he least expects it.

The book also examines the various facets of female friendship, the pressure to have a successful career, what exactly a successful career means, and employer-employee relationships.

What I loved about this book is just how nuanced it is. Reid is a master at examining human characters and the myriad biases and privileges we all internalize and don't stop to examine. This book will make a great choice for bookclubs and discussion groups. 5 out 5 stars. I highly recommend it.