Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

WATERSTONES FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH FOR JANUARY 2021

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2020 

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS DEBUT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021

When Emira is apprehended at a supermarket for 'kidnapping' the white child she's actually babysitting, it sets off an explosive chain of events.

Her employer, Alix, a feminist blogger with a 'personal brand' and the best of intentions, resolves to make things right.

But Emira herself is aimless, broke and wary of Alix's desire to help.

When she meets someone from Alix's past, the two women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know - about themselves, each other, and the messy dynamics of privilege.

This is the calling card of a virtuoso talent ... I had thought of ending this review by predicting that Kiley Reid may be the next Sally Rooney. But Such a Fun Age is so fresh and essential that I predict instead that next year we’ll be anxiously awaiting the next Kiley Reid - Guardian

What a joy to find a debut novel so good that it leaves you looking forward to the rest of its author’s career . . . A tantalisingly plotted tale about the way we live now . . . Such a Fun Age speaks for itself; I suspect it will turn its writer into a star - The Times

Will fire off a million debates . . . The pages sing with charisma and humour - Sunday Times

Razor-sharp . . . Reid writes with a confidence and verve that produce magnetic prose . . . A cracking debut – charming, authentic and every bit as entertaining as it is calmly, intelligently damning - Observer

Smart, fast-paced and beautifully observed, Reid tackles timely themes around race and political correctness with wit and verve - Mail on Sunday

Witty and incisive . . . What Kiley Reid’s debut novel delivers is a more compelling indictment of humans, of how we interact with ourselves and each other, than most writers could muster . . . A dazzlingly clear-eyed study of relationships: between partners, mothers and daughters, peers and friends - Financial Times