Such a fun age, by Kiley Reid

Emira Tucker is almost 26.  Although the first in her family to graduate from college, she has yet to assume what she considers an adult life.  Working two part-time jobs, one as a typist and another as a babysitter for a well-to-do Philadelphia couple with a toddler, Briar, and infant, Catherine, she’s worried about soon being thrown off her parents’ health insurance.  The girls’ mother, Alix Chamberlain, has fashioned a successful career as a blogger/influencer and founder of LetHer Speak , but is similarly in a stalled place.  She’s accepted a book advance for a collection of her best and most influential letters but has yet to write a word.  Her husband, Peter, recently relocated the family to Philadelphia from NYC, a move Alix is unhappy about since it has separated her from a supportive group of friends and brought her back near Allentown, PA, where she grew up and fled from after a disastrous senior year in high school.  When there is a crisis at the Chamberlain home late one night, Alix calls Emira to ask her to take Briar away for a bit while the police are there.  Agreeing to her request, Emira takes Briar to an up-scale grocery store where the security guard accuses African-American Emira of kidnapping blond Briar.  This sets in motion the chain of events that develop both the plot and thematic ideas that underpin it.  Alix’s efforts to befriend Emira and prove how “woke” she is will backfire spectacularly.  White readers will squirm at her condescending and tone-deaf efforts, which is the author’s intention.  An engaging story with a message that is not heavy-handed.  Talkative, quirky little Briar, adored by Emira and largely ignored by her mother, in many ways steals the show.  310 pp.