Such a Fun Age

　　為了丈夫的新工作，Alix不得不帶著兩個幼兒，從曼哈頓搬遷到費城。身為知名部落客，Alix所打造出來的個人形象是自信的典範、眾多女性們的心靈雞湯，而她正準備全心投入撰寫新作時，這個新來乍到之處，卻沒有任何一位認識的親友能夠幫她帶孩子，所以當她找到Emira這個完美人選時，她根本覺得自己中了頭彩。無所事事的25歲黑人女孩，唯一最擅長的就是帶小孩。

　　Emira自己雖然很喜歡帶小孩這份工作，但周遭的朋友一個個找到人生道路，或是走向婚姻殿堂，回頭看自己卻還只是個兼職保姆，又將失去父母的醫療保險，經濟上面臨問題，讓Emira覺得自己的人生很失敗。尤其在一次帶著2歲大的Briar出門時，竟被商場的保全人員誤以為是她綁架了白人小孩，更讓她覺得自己的人生被狠狠地羞辱一番。

　　這起事件讓Alix與Emira的雇傭關係更顯複雜，一邊想要盡快讓這起誤會完美落幕，另一邊卻對過分熱情的協助感到警戒。同時商場出現的意外人物，竟又牽扯出一件，關於一個黑人少年想邀約白人少女前往畢業舞會的，令人不愉快的種族歧視過往。在過去和現在的衝突中，迫使Alix、Emira兩人重新檢視自我，也重新審視了彼此。

　　檯面下的階級意識、膚色界限，以及那些建立在錯誤認知上自以為正義的行為，都在作者犀利的筆鋒下，一切「黑白分明」。(文/博客來編譯)

　　A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.

　　Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains' toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store's security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right.

　　But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix's desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix's past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.

　　With empathy and piercing social commentary, Such a Fun Age explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone "family," the complicated reality of being a grown up, and the consequences of doing the right thing for the wrong reason.