Finished: Such A Fun Age (Reid) What a good book! Emira is a 25 year old African American woman who babysits 3 days a week for a wealthy family, mainly responsible for 2 year old Briar. Alix and Peter are the couple, but most of the story is really about Alix and Emira. Alix is a successful business woman with two young daughters. One late night, an egg hits and breaks their front window, and they call the police. Not wanting Briar to wake up frightened, they quickly call Emira while she's out with her girlfriends and ask her how quick she can get there to get Briar out of the house. She drops everything and rushes over, but she's dressed for a night out and party and not in her regular conservative clothes she wears at the house. She walks with Briar three blocks down to the fancy grocery store and they walk through the aisles pointing out things. (Something Briar likes to do). A security guard stops Emira and asks her if that is her child. She says no, she's the babysitter, and the guard doesn't believe her. He thinks she kidnapped Briar! The situation escalates and Emira finally convinces the security guard to let her call Peter. He's there within three minutes and clears everything up. Of course, the security guard apologizes to Peter, but not to Emira. Emira is completely humiliated. As she steps outside, another white man, Kelley, a few years her senior, approaches her and says he filmed the whole thing; that she should press charges. She has no intention of letting that video go anywhere, so he agrees to delete it, but not until he sends it to her email so she at least has a copy if she wants to change her mind. Kelley and Emira get to talking, and when she runs into him a few days later on the train, they hit if off again and end up becoming a couple who care very much about each other. Emira is upset with herself for having her college degree, but not having figured out what she wants to do with her life. She's still on her parents' insurance and has only temporary jobs...the babysitting and a typist job. Her three best friends who we see a lot in the story, are all working and successful, but they are 100% there for each other, and for Emira. Alix also has three best friends who are all moms of young children, but they all live in New York. Alix and Peter have just moved from her beloved New York to Philadelphia and she hates it. I'm not going to spoil the book, but Alix is still traumatized by something that happened between her and her high school boyfriend. And to be honest, it was all her fault. Alix is a bonafide narcissist. She's not even sure she likes her own daughter Briar, because she's so chatty and busy all the time. She adores her baby Catherine who is only a few months old. After all...Catherine looks just like her. ugggg. Anyway, something happens and a previous relationship is revealed that throws Alix, Emira, Kelley and all their friends into an unstoppable drama that includes that video being releases against Emira's wishes. Accusations are made. Racism is always bubbling right between the surface. It's a really good story and has an appropriate ending. You will find yourself rooting for Emira and her loving, close relationship with the precocious little Briar. :-)