book review/discussion: Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid; how to tell a book is for white audiences???

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[@rathi7129]

Thanks for the excellent review. I just finished this book and did not enjoy the reading experience. During the reading, I didn’t think that she did a good job of making any of the characters fully authentic or making me empathise with them. I came to KZbin immediately after finishing, to look for other opinions / more information and yours is the first one that I watched all the way through. And I have been thinking about the book more and more since finishing.... I agree with you about Kelley. I didn’t know before about black women fetishm (sorry 🙏🏾) but he just seemed very creepy, controlling, manipulative. I didn’t trust him at all. He presents as a nice guy, which is not the same as being a nice guy. I have experienced men like that in real life. That part when he said the N word and she feels uncomfortable but she suppresses that - I felt that that was authentic given that Emira is younger and not very confident, I think that is very common. I did feel a sense of grief and loss about the Emira-Briar relationship. That was the most believable by far and really well done. And if she had not been stopped in the supermarket, that might not have happened. Just because someone did not get shot in that incident, it was still scary for her and had repercussions for her in the end - she lost Briar who she absolutely loved. It does illustrate that these incidents do real harm, even if luckily no-one dies... I liked the diversity of personalities amongst the young black women and the fact that they are depicted as very aspirational and smart. Emira being less confident and quieter was not an issue for me - I did not think that she was drowned out by the white characters, it was just that Alix and Kelley were psychos. The only thing that I questioned in retrospect was that in the supermarket, she seemed like a different person but we all have different personas for different situations and no one knows how they will react in that situation. Anyway, thank you again for the review and I look forward to watching more. 🙏🏾😊

[@megancampbell3914]

One of the most interesting parts of Elmira was her disinterest in social media.

[@fatimaolumee4517]

I felt like Emira could have been characterised better, but not in the sense that she needed to “stand out” compared to the other characters. I just agree with you in that Reid could have fleshed out her character a bit more and let readers into her mind, especially in relation to Briar. There’s a chapter where Emira’s family is briefly summarised but I think if she fleshed out her relationship with her parents a bit more, (the lack of appreciation perhaps…or high expectations…not being what they wanted her to be etc.) we would understand why she’s so protective of Briar from Alix’s neglect as a mother.

[@interestedinblackbooks9941]

good point! Emira seemed super passionate about the treatment of Briar and more characterization of Emira could have given us insight into why.

[@fiyade6476]

Great review, thank you! I completely missed the hype, barely skimmed the back and went into it expecting a rom-com, so it was easy for me to enjoy it. I agree that more insight into Emira would have been great. It's clear that she's not a great communicator, but often that would mean she's got an active thought life. Even though I've never been a paid babysitter I really related to Emira in the workplace setting. I think she did not speak up around Alix not only because she is not self assured, but also because she is financially vulnerable and protective of her income. It was barely a decision for me to leave my personality at the door because I do not view work to be a safe place.

[@scottrudy7981]

Loved this review! You talk very eloquently and engagingly. Very refreshing take on this, i've read too many gushing reviews on Goodreads... I like your "mixed" review. I'm Anke, not Scott, and we're discussing this at our little book club tomorrow. Can't wait for the discussion... I might play this review for my friends. Am checking out more of your reviews now! xoxo

[@livforreading]

Not Chet Hanks Omg😂💀 now I’m def gonna picture him when I read this. Great review as always!

[@interestedinblackbooks9941]

thank you! HAHAH

[@buzzselous3757]

Yes! "Even if it wasn't, it's fiction!" Yes again! Characters should be characters, not archetypes. The point of fiction is to tell a story, not to be didactic. And this was a story, with real people. Excellent review, by the way. I wasn't particularly enamoured with the book, but I did enjoy it.

[@neonoires]

Hmmm I respect you insights but I do think Such a Fun Age is written for a white audience. I don't think Luster or Queenie are but this one seems to be more about white liberalism and "allyship." I think there are moments where we are able to laugh because we see white people like this all the time via dating apps and maybe at work depending on what you do. For example, I work in public relations in NYC and I see lots of white people like the ones mentioned here all the time. For me what makes me say a book is for white audiences is when it leans more into the education aspect. I feel like this holds a mirror up to white liberals and there's not much pay off for Black readers. I guess that could just be a case of books about Black women just being about our experiences without a moral and those sort of books are fine too but I didn't really get much from this particular reading experience as a young Black millennial.

[@JScottGaribay]

"Lean-In Clintonian Feminist" A very snappy description. Really dug this review. Thank you.

[@livicarlen7205]

by far my favorite book review. will be watching more of yours!!

[@interestedinblackbooks9941]

thank you!!

[@MegaDidi333]

Deeply insightful review thanks so much!

[@radicalwhispersASMR]

thanks for this review and the discussion on i.g yesterday ! i've beeen torn about reading it and this has given me a much better idea of why it's (and queenie and luster lol) such a miss for some people 🌚

[@interestedinblackbooks9941]

yeah! a lot of people to me are reacting to Black women characters who they feel are bad representations of Black women - but why does a fiction book by a Black author need to be good representation? honest representation > good representation

[@stayathomereader]

Great discussion! I have to reread this...my book club read it the peak of hype and I think you're right, it did sway me a little. But THANK YOU for calling out kelley.... when I brought up the Black fetishism my book club looked at me like I was crazy: thats not a thing! Okayyyy.

[@interestedinblackbooks9941]

oh wow - i'm surprised the rest of your book club didn't catch that. all i could see was fetishism! glad you caught it!

[@zamo_shangase]

It’s border line reminds of Queenie, how she let a lot of racist stuff slide cause she was scared to speak up

[@interestedinblackbooks9941]

yes! - i understand this is hard for some people to read but tbh that's not out of the norm so i appreciate these cringe but honest characterizations of Black women

[@lightningbolt478]

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on the sweetness of water. I’ve heard the same it for white ppl argument. I didn’t like this book one bit. I had to switch to audio and plow through it.

[@interestedinblackbooks9941]

thanks for mentioning this book! adding it to my goodreads rn

[@yomismo74]

I find curious that someone thinks Such a fun age is for a white audience because in my opinion one of the biggest flaws of the novel are its white characters who are more cartoonish that tridimentional characters. I think the main idea of the book is really good, to talk about race and racial discrimination using a non dramatic event which gets room to do it in a light way but in my opinion it doesn't work. The think that i remember liking is the fact that the main character is not ambitious, in american novels sometimes it seems the characters need to be supersuccessful and the main character is perfectly ok the way she is (and i think a lot of people could feel represented).

[@TheMaryweather]

I didn't finish Such A Fun Age so I can't speak on it. I think the fact that so much of Black stories are white centered and based on white reaction is one of main reasons why stories get labeled for white gaze. These stories that are considered for white gaze can appeal to Black readers so its messy - there is discussion in why it appeals to them. I'm really interested in getting deeper into all perspectives of Black people as it comes to this. So I can't wait to hear you unpack why you think Black readers are labeling books as for white gaze.

[@interestedinblackbooks9941]

thank you for this insight! i wanna do a separate video on this. i think there are historical and regional reasons for the "white gaze" comment that i want to get into.

[@nicolewynn6636]

Yes, I agree with this. I just finished the book and I felt that this book fleshed out the past present and future of the white characters much more than we saw with Amira. I agree that her story was told in the context of the white side characters, which made me want more of Amira's perspective. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Edit: I didn't know anything about this book before reading it and those are the vibes I got.