The hype...THE SMART READ

Expect ‘the Sally Rooney effect’ with Kiley Reid’s razer-sharp debut novel. Such A Fun Age is one of the most buzzed-about books of 2O2O – and for good reason: it was in a 1O-way publishing auction and fans include writers Jessie Burton and JoJo Moyes, as well as Lena Waithe, who has already snapped up film and TV rights. From the first page, you find yourself rooting for Emira Tucker, a 25-year-old black woman in Philadelphia who works as a babysitter for a white family. Emira is big-hearted and confused and trying hard at adulting, and it doesn’t help that her friends seem to be getting their lives together while she’s seemingly stuck babysitting. Reid cleverly unveils the lives of Emira and her employer Alix, a ‘lean-in’ type entrepreneur, and she is brilliant at capturing relationships, as well as the obliviousness of white privilege. Smart, punchy, well-paced and with an irresistible twist, this smart page-turner will hopefully open eyes as well as entertain.