Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Such a Fun Age

For a book with the word “fun” in it, this was not fun.

The writing is great. The story is done well.

Fellow white people, I hope you pick this up and take it to heart. The author did a wonderful job making this story feel so real. It feels like a friend could have told me this happened. I think it was really smart how the white main characters both say each other is racist. The visual drawn of them pointing at each other with blame is perfect. We are all part of the problem.

BIPOC friends:
I wouldn’t dream of telling non-white people to read this. To anyone not white, this book is full of traumatic shit. If you don’t want the triggers of racism, appropriation, and all that comes with it, skip this book. Know that it may be a good suggestion for your white friends and move on. Please go read something that won’t be painful.

Overall, I honestly wish this story had told us more about our main character and less about the overtly racist secondary characters. Though, I understand that would’ve changed the point the author was trying to make.

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seawarrior's review

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reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a gripping novel, with a poignant final paragraph. Emira's perspective drew me in immediately, she's still finding her way and doesn't fully see herself as a "real" adult, but still manages to possess more wisdom and self-respect than the older characters attempting to mold her do. Emira is a perfect foil to Alix in many ways, she's not invasively interested with the private life of others, nor does she have interest in using people to create more status for herself. Most importantly, she doesn't obsess over these things and herself to the extent that they trump her dedication to raising Briar, as Alix does. Tragically, Emira seems to have more affection for Briar than Alix, and is quicker to notice when Briar is upset or overwhelmed. I felt this created a really interesting and sad dynamic; Emira knows that her life will improve once she quits babysitting Briar, but finds it so difficult to leave that she's nearly willing to sacrifice her own self-interests, while self-interest is nearly all Alix focuses on, to the detriment of Briar and Emira.

While Emira and Alix are opposites, Alix and Kelley are eerily similar to each other. The pair both seemed to think of themselves as Emira's savior in a way, though Emira never asked for their help or wanted it. They both exploit Emira's presence in their lives to bolster their own self-esteem and sense of righteousness, and both do so in ways that insidiously seem loving at first glance, and are only brought to light by understanding the context of their past exploitation of Black people. I was relieved that by the end of the book,

Emira accepted that Alix and Kelley were both right about the worst parts of each other, but that she owed nothing to either of them. Going forward, Emira finds her way by trusting her instincts and the people who love and admire her even when she doesn't serve as a symbol to prove their goodness.

I would definitely recommend this book to others. It was a very entertaining and engaging read and provided social commentary on race and class without overly traumatizing the Black protagonist who led the story.

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rachel_here's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Such a Fun Age was such a good read! The story of Emira Tucker, a 25 years old black babysitter, and her white employer Alix Chamberlain, provided a really interesting insight into the topics of race, class, and identity in 2015 and present-day USA. But it isn't just an "issue book": beyond its themes, it is also a surprisingly touching story about growing up and choosing what is best for oneself.

The main characters were probably the best part of the novel in my eyes. Emira is at time quiet, distant and cool; at time outspoken and straight to the point; and even though she is lost in her career, she always has an opinion on things- whether she voices them or not is another matter entirely. Alix, on the other hand, is your typical progressive girlboss who tries to do the right thing to varying results; but even though she has good intentions, she lacks self-awareness to an uncomfortable degree. On the surface, it seems the two women have nothing in common: but as the novel progresses, it is clear they parallel and contrast each other in surprising ways. The dual point-of-view makes for extremely fun contradictions between what Alix perceives and what Emira perceives; and as the story goes on, these contradictions allow us to get a deeper understanding on who the characters are, why they do what they do, and how they construct their sense of self through their relationships (be they professional, familial, romantic, friendly... and how sometimes they blur into one another). Nothing is black-and-white: every character is flawed, but we still see where they are coming from, even though things progressively go out of hand.

The side characters were okay for the most part, if a bit unremarkable. However I was surprised to get so attached to little Briar: at 3 years old she is funny, odd, thoughtful, and absolutely adorable. If the relationship between Emira and Alix is the "mind" of the story, then the relationship between Emira and Briar is its heart.

Their part of the story was both heartwarming and incredibly sad, knowing Briar is Alix's least favorite kid and that only Emira truly loved her. In a way, where baby Catherine is a perfect copy of Alix, Briar is shaping up to be her own person, mostly thanks to Emira encouraging her curiosity and answering patiently her questions. When it becomes clear Emira has to leave the Chamberlains to complete her arc, I was really sad that this little girl would lose the one adult who truly cared for her and would perhaps not even remember her- which was suuuuper not helped by the novel's last line, which circled back to the main themes of the novel: that using others to get a good opinion of oneself won't lead to anything, and could even end badly. Let's hope Briar will not become like her mother, hung up on the past and overly reliant on other people's opinion and perception of her; and will instead take Emira's exemple, by becoming self-reliant and finding her own path.

Such a Fun Age is both a topical read and a good story that delivers beyond the timely issues it tackles, even if they take center stage. It is gripping (in a "talking out loud and smiling and grinding your teeth while you read" kind of way), funny, emotional; and it also allows to explore its characters and their actions in a nuanced way that makes you pause and think during your reading. I highly recommend it!

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uhhlexiconic's review

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challenging reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A book about boundaries and the ways white allies can be intrusive in their desire to help, Such a Fun Age takes a while to really get started and wraps up too neatly for the complicated set up. Still, its an incredible work in the insidious nature of white supremacy and the way the employer can force relationships on the employee.

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