Book Review: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Such a Fun Age
by Kiley Reid (Reid)

Emira Tucker is a 25-year-old African-American woman living in Philadelphia and working as a babysitter. Alex Chamberlain is a white blogger/speaker with two young children; she is Emira’s employer. Emira, dressed for going out, had been in the middle of an evening with friends when she received an urgent call from her boss. Eager to help, she came over to get Briar (a toddler) out of the house for an emergency, and took her young charge to the store. Noticing a difference in race, a shopper and security guard questioned Emira to see if she had kidnapped Briar. The novel begins with an uncomfortable situation, and raises important questions about race. Which conversations should take place? Which conversations are offensive? Social media further complicates things. White privilege and several layers of minimization on the white supremacy pyramid are raised: tokenism, white savior complex, racial fetishism. This is a great book club book.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendon Kielyor Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano.]

[ official Such a Fun Age and Kiley Reid web site ]

Recommended by Jodi R.
Anderson and Bethany Branch Libraries

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

New Booklist on BookGuide: Living Black in America

In light of the recent social turmoil, inspired by an act of racial disparity and violence, the Lincoln City Libraries’ BookGuide readers advisory site has put together a booklist that features a list of African-American authors' writings on the experiences of living as a Black man or woman in America, and the race, racism and race relation issues that continue to permeate the American landscape into the early 21st century.

Check out Lisa's list of recommended materials at the following link on BookGuide:

Living Black inAmerica

Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give
by Angie Thomas [YA Fic Thomas] 

Starr Carter is torn between two worlds and struggles with having separate identities in each. When she witnesses a horrific event she must decide who she really is and where she stands. Well-written, heartbreaking and timely, this book will appeal to teens and adults alike. Read it before you see it!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try All-American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, or Monday’s Not Coming, by Tiffany Jackson.]

[ publisher’s official The Hate U Give web page ] | [ official Angie Thomas web site ]

Recommended by Jen J.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Between the World and Me by Ta-Hehisi Coates

Between the World and Me
by Ta-Nehisi Coates [305.8 AfrYc] 

The book was written by the author as a letter to his son. Though only 152 pages, it is of a dense nature, which offered me a lot of information. The author examines the racism, oppression and fear that he has experienced as a black man, while also examining the history of race in the United States. History is his passion, and I learned about historical figures outside of our country as he recounted stories of leaders he had admired and then saw through a new perspective. Within America, he shared experiences of his life at Howard University, his life visiting the South, his time spent examining life in the south side of Chicago, and his visit with the mother of a friend . . . a friend who had been shot and killed by the police. I found this to be intense reading, and would highly recommend it for individuals and book clubs. My favorite author, Toni Morrison, called this required reading.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Book of Harlan, by Bernice L. McFadden.]

[ publisher’s official Between the World and Me web site ] | [ official Ta-Nehisi Coates Twitter feed ]

Recommended by Jodi R.
Gere Branch Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!