I feel the need to start this review by discussing the title. Is the fun age that Briar is a toddler? That Emira is navigating her 20s? That Alix is looking back to her high school years without much fondness? Or that she’s navigating life as a working mom of two in her 30s? Or is the point of the title that you can find struggle no matter what your age is? Since such a fun age is often said with a hint of sarcasm, I’m leaning towards the last one.

It was interesting to be launched into the story via conflict (Emira being accused of kidnapping Briar) because it set the tone very early on (we all knew that video was going to be released). It started a very interesting dialog around race in the very beginning a) Emira being worried she was going to be fired for the incident and b) the Chamberlains being wary of coming across as racist and causing Emira to quit. To me, it really demonstrated how little each knew of the other and how they didn’t really have much of a relationship despite Alix wanting Emira to be seen as family.

A lot of focus is actually put on Alix’s high school experience coming to light when Kelley starts dating Emira. Apparently, in high school, Alix sent a note to Kelley with information about how to enter their house and it fell into the wrong hands. When Robbie and some other kids showed up to crash Alix and Kelley’s intimate evening, she called the cops on them causing Robbie to get arrested and lose his scholarship. This led to Alix losing any social standing she had and Kelley suddenly gaining it as well as the two breaking up.

Real talk: I felt like too much emphasis is placed on Alix calling the cops and Robbie losing his scholarship. This may be an unpopular opinion, but why is it Alix (then Alex)’s fault that he had coke in his pocket and that he chose to break into her house to take advantage of her parents not being home? Don’t get me wrong, Alix was a bit crazy for other reasons, but I sort of agreed with her that the driveway was long enough that they could see the cops coming. Where I disagreed was that she should have tried to ask them to leave first and that Kelley didn’t step up and do the same.

In the end, it seemed like a competition between Alix and Kelley to see who could be more “woke”. Alix trying to save Emira and Kelley insisting that Emira post the video he recorded (there are other moments too, but this one is ultimately why the two started to get to know each other). Neither person seemed truly supportive of Emira and I found that sad. Though she was still figuring out what she wanted to do in life, Emira is a strong thoughtful woman who pays attention to those around her. There were so many moments in this book where I found myself internally screaming “Emira you deserve better!” and then cheering when she walked out post-interview.

I went into this book a little skeptical but walked out thinking that it was really well done and wondering what Reid’s next novel will be like.

It’s hard to believe that our final book club of 2022 is just about here. For our December club, we’ll be reading: The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo. This is another book recommendation via Goodreads, specifically, their most popular new fantasy list. Let’s see if we align with popular opinion!

Immigrant. Socialite. Magician.

Jordan Baker grows up in the most rarefied circles of 1920s American society—she has money, education, a killer golf handicap, and invitations to some of the most exclusive parties of the Jazz Age. She’s also queer, Asian, adopted, and treated as an exotic attraction by her peers, while the most important doors remain closed to her.

But the world is full of wonders: infernal pacts and dazzling illusions, lost ghosts and elemental mysteries. In all paper is fire, and Jordan can burn the cut paper heart out of a man. She just has to learn how.

Nghi Vo’s debut novel The Chosen and the Beautiful reinvents this classic of the American canon as a coming-of-age story full of magic, mystery, and glittering excess, and introduces a major new literary voice.