A review by caughtbetweenpages
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

this book made me furious in the most beautiful way. Not because I thought the book was "bad" by any means--I think it's excellent--but because the characters Reid created were so true to life that it was difficult to stomach a lot of the time. Emira being in a position in her life where she feels adrift and a little aimless, like she's fallen behind her peer group but doesn't have a plan or focus for how to catch up, is Very Real and I think will hit mid-twenties readers directly in the stomach (I know it did for me). I loved the chapters where we followed her closely. She didn't make "perfect" decisions and she had moments where she was petty or angry or just... young, and that was so refreshing. I loved her relationship with her friends and how clearly they all love each other, and her mutual adoration of Briar warmed my cold heart. In stark contrast were the Alix chapters and the Kelley scenes. It was so uncomfortable to watch these two people microagress a woman they both claim to love with White Savior bullshit and turn her into the rope they're playing tug of war with, and ultimately end up hurting her worst in their attempts to get at each other. And they all thought they were the moral victors of this thing! God, it was so good.
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