At the end of last year, I really had slowed down on reading because I was swamped with work. So, I set a much lower reading goal (15 books instead of 55-60) for 2020 because I still have a large workload.
But, I also set a goal to actually ALLOW myself time to read instead of always putting my work first. This mentality has really helped me and I’m already six books into the year!
The latest book I read was a pick from Blanche’s Book Club: “Such a Fun Age” by Kiley Reid. I kept seeing this book on lists and on social media, but didn’t think much of it until I went to a book lunch, where someone explained what it was about. I knew I had to read it and bought it immediately. Here’s the scoop:
Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains’ toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store’s security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right.
But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix’s desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix’s past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.
With empathy and piercing social commentary, Such a Fun Age explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone “family,” and the complicated reality of being a grown up. It is a searing debut for our times.
The book kicks off with the incident mentioned in the book’s description, and although that is sort of the fuel to the fire… this book had a few twists that left me with my mouth hanging open.
I found it really easy to jump right into this world, mostly dealing with the relationship between Alix and Emira, and honestly, I’d probably read a trilogy of books surrounding them because they each have such complex stories, which I obviously enjoyed.
This book made me think so much about work relationships, race and cultures, and how our personal goals and desires can cross the paths of other people in our lives.
I am in a few online book clubs and this one has come up a few times, particularly the ending. I won’t spoil it, but it’s an ending that seems to have the masses divided. I found the ending fitting to the story, and very realistic.
I hope we see more books from Reid; she’s won me over! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the division between race, culture and class.
The next book Blanche’s Book Club will be reading is “Playing With Matches” by Hannah Orenstein.
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The Bitter Lemon 
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