A review by ivy93
Such a Fun Age, by Kiley Reid
2.0
I have chewed over what I think of the book for an entire day now. I enjoyed the writing, it was breezy and created a nice setting. But I didn't like how the story was resolved and I picked this up with a lot of expectation hence the lower rating.
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* Spoilers ahead *
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Two things that bothered me:
1. The last twist of Alix finding out the unopened letters. At that point, it doesnt even matter. It's a needless twist. I felt like it was put there to clearly establish that she was the one who was in the wrong. It was disappointing as a reader because up till that point, the book was building to shades of grey that both Kelley and Alix show with respect to racism.
2. Robbie and uniforms. I feel like the plot catalyst wasn't strong enough. While Robbie may have made a silly mistake as a teenager, so did Alix. The point of disproportionate consequences is directed at the system. But even the author chooses to villainize Alix here. Secondly, uniforms. I thought they were a plot device to show Kelley's convenient obfuscation of realities. But it was a true grievance felt by Emira as well?! And it wasn't hinted at at all previously.
------------------------------
* Spoilers ahead *
------------------------------
Two things that bothered me:
1. The last twist of Alix finding out the unopened letters. At that point, it doesnt even matter. It's a needless twist. I felt like it was put there to clearly establish that she was the one who was in the wrong. It was disappointing as a reader because up till that point, the book was building to shades of grey that both Kelley and Alix show with respect to racism.
2. Robbie and uniforms. I feel like the plot catalyst wasn't strong enough. While Robbie may have made a silly mistake as a teenager, so did Alix. The point of disproportionate consequences is directed at the system. But even the author chooses to villainize Alix here. Secondly, uniforms. I thought they were a plot device to show Kelley's convenient obfuscation of realities. But it was a true grievance felt by Emira as well?! And it wasn't hinted at at all previously.