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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this book. I highly recommend this book via audio because the narration is absolutely fantastic. It tackles difficult racial topics from multiple perspectives while still being interesting and engaging. I think anyone can find value from this book. Overall just really great.
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such a Fun age is Kiley Reid’s first novel- I keep wondering if the title is about Emiras age (as she is mid-20s) or the age we all live in (2020, or I think 2015 when the book is set).
Topic is white and good situated people trying to be woke and save people who are not white, or are poor, or uneducated or whatever. It also shows how these attempts are mostly meant well (or thats what those people keep telling theirselves), but are actually plain selfish and patronizing.
Plot: Emira is a baby sitter for Alix Chamberlain, an influencer who used to be successful in NY, moves to Philly for family reasons and is now semi-successful after her 2nd child. After a family incident she calls Emira mid-night to take their toddler out of the house as there will be police. Emira goes with Briar (toddler) to the supermarket where she is accused of kidnapping Briar as she is black and Briar white (maybe also since she is tipsy, in a party dress and carring a toddler in the middle of the night?). Someone (Kelley) films it, that guy later becomes her boyfriend. Kelley knows Alix from high school, where he according to Alix ruinied her Senior year, they both kinda hate each other, what is important for the story development. The story developes as Alix and Kelley try to do Emira justice but keep fucking in up, also because they hate each other so much. They both mean well, but do not see how they infertalize Emira and how racist, sexist and selfish their attempts at some point are.
Characters:
o Emira: She was well written, with perks and flaws. I often read the critique why she spoke so much slang with her friends, but being a mid-20 myself, I’d consider that quite normal. Only thing that made me super aggressiv about her was her constantly worrying about not knowing what to do in live and not having health insurenace anymore soon, but she didn’t do shit to find a better job, her friends literally had to force her to apply somewhere. I kinda hate this lethargy. Also the other main characters where so cringy, I wondered why Emira did not freak out more oftenly, if not openly at least in her thoughts.
o Alix: Gosh, she takes the mantra „be your own closest friend“ to a next level. Classic woke white city woman, who does not even hide that she does every „nice“ thing actually for herself. The way she tried to impose her will on Emira is horrible and seeing that TV scene in the end welp she even tried to push her own career and presents her self as the great saviour of her oh so poor black maid in TV - ooof. It was really gross how she exploited a racist incident Emira did not seem to care too much after a few days anymore. Though trough her thoughts you could see that she really thought she means well, which made her a complex character again. That was somehow destroyed in the end again, I think the twist in her high-school-story was somehow unnecessary.
o Kelley: welp, he did not try to seem super woke and he for sure wasn’t. I was so triggered, as he, like Alix, tried to impose his will on Emira in so many ways and I wanna be honest I did not like him from the first second, he did not seem as if he were up to any good. Turns out, he was not a weird/bad person in the way Alix described it, but still a weird guy.
Summary: I wanted to finish quickly, as it was intriguing how everything developes, though I think some plot twists were kinda unneccesary. The main-characters were mostly developed well, though some traits were annoying or I did not see their purpose for the story. All together, a good first novel, a good story, an important topic with some good examples of white saviourism and patronizsation and how it is problematic, though I was not blown away. Would say 3,5 from 5, let’s round up to 4.
Topic is white and good situated people trying to be woke and save people who are not white, or are poor, or uneducated or whatever. It also shows how these attempts are mostly meant well (or thats what those people keep telling theirselves), but are actually plain selfish and patronizing.
Plot: Emira is a baby sitter for Alix Chamberlain, an influencer who used to be successful in NY, moves to Philly for family reasons and is now semi-successful after her 2nd child. After a family incident she calls Emira mid-night to take their toddler out of the house as there will be police. Emira goes with Briar (toddler) to the supermarket where she is accused of kidnapping Briar as she is black and Briar white (maybe also since she is tipsy, in a party dress and carring a toddler in the middle of the night?). Someone (Kelley) films it, that guy later becomes her boyfriend. Kelley knows Alix from high school, where he according to Alix ruinied her Senior year, they both kinda hate each other, what is important for the story development. The story developes as Alix and Kelley try to do Emira justice but keep fucking in up, also because they hate each other so much. They both mean well, but do not see how they infertalize Emira and how racist, sexist and selfish their attempts at some point are.
Characters:
o Emira: She was well written, with perks and flaws. I often read the critique why she spoke so much slang with her friends, but being a mid-20 myself, I’d consider that quite normal. Only thing that made me super aggressiv about her was her constantly worrying about not knowing what to do in live and not having health insurenace anymore soon, but she didn’t do shit to find a better job, her friends literally had to force her to apply somewhere. I kinda hate this lethargy. Also the other main characters where so cringy, I wondered why Emira did not freak out more oftenly, if not openly at least in her thoughts.
o Alix: Gosh, she takes the mantra „be your own closest friend“ to a next level. Classic woke white city woman, who does not even hide that she does every „nice“ thing actually for herself. The way she tried to impose her will on Emira is horrible and seeing that TV scene in the end welp she even tried to push her own career and presents her self as the great saviour of her oh so poor black maid in TV - ooof. It was really gross how she exploited a racist incident Emira did not seem to care too much after a few days anymore. Though trough her thoughts you could see that she really thought she means well, which made her a complex character again. That was somehow destroyed in the end again, I think the twist in her high-school-story was somehow unnecessary.
o Kelley: welp, he did not try to seem super woke and he for sure wasn’t. I was so triggered, as he, like Alix, tried to impose his will on Emira in so many ways and I wanna be honest I did not like him from the first second, he did not seem as if he were up to any good. Turns out, he was not a weird/bad person in the way Alix described it, but still a weird guy.
Summary: I wanted to finish quickly, as it was intriguing how everything developes, though I think some plot twists were kinda unneccesary. The main-characters were mostly developed well, though some traits were annoying or I did not see their purpose for the story. All together, a good first novel, a good story, an important topic with some good examples of white saviourism and patronizsation and how it is problematic, though I was not blown away. Would say 3,5 from 5, let’s round up to 4.
Loved this book - I love that this book explored a bunch of interesting (and less often portrayed) relationships - employer and babysitter, best friends in different phases of adulthood, a babysitter and the child she loves, a black and white romantic relationship, a years after a breakup relationship. I thought where Emira ended up with Alix and Kelley and her own career was also different from so many "wrap this up with a bow" endings. And what a fantastic title!
Infuriating, unsatisfying, but thoroughly engaging read. Tackles complex issues of racism and, to a lesser extent, classism and sexism in what some have called a “lighthearted“ read. Despite being comedic at times, the tragic and insidious undertones of the personal and public danger Black women experience in their daily lives permeate the text. I was interested to see how the author would explore the invasive, self-serving, and non-consensual aspects of white saviorism and white feminism, but I was left wanting more. Overall, a good read.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced