What I have been Reading - February 2021

 

Such a Fun Age -Kiley Reid

In the midst of a family crisis one late evening, white blogger Alix Chamberlain calls her African American babysitter, Emira, asking her to take toddler Briar to the local market for distraction. There, the security guard accuses Emira of kidnapping Briar, and Alix's efforts to right the situation turn out to be good intentions selfishly mismanaged.

This book covers race, wealth, privilege and class. It also looks at the impact of social media and ‘wokeness’.

I felt that Emira was targeted for ‘saving’ by both Alix and Kelley but in different ways. That was probably because it looked like Emira was drifting through her life and had no real goals as is expected of most people nowadays. Emira though is not concerned about goals, she just wants the security of health insurance and enough money to cover her bills. She is good at what she does and it is obvious that she loves Briar and can see how Alix overlooks Briar for Catherine. Ultimately she stays true to herself and does what she wants even though other people want her to do more.

Alix and Kelley have very different backgrounds (even though they know each other) and different reasons for doing what they. I do feel that they both have issues with people of different races. I feel that Alix wants to protect them whilst Kelley wants to make it obvious that he is seen as not being racist and is ‘woke’ by generally only befriending African Americans, both male and female.

The story doesn’t have a true ending. The main storyline is wrapped up and then everyone just gets on with their lives.

The story was ok but it is one that I probably wouldn’t read again. I doubt I would have read it if it hadn’t been the book club choice.

 

Just My Luck – Adele Parks.

It’s the stuff dreams are made of – a lottery win so big, it changes everything.

For fifteen years, Lexi and Jake have played the same six numbers with their friends, the Pearsons and the Heathcotes. Over dinner parties, fish & chip suppers and summer barbecues, they’ve discussed the important stuff – the kids, marriages, jobs and houses – and they’ve laughed off their disappointment when they failed to win anything more than a tenner.

But then, one Saturday night, the unthinkable happens. There’s a rift in the group. Someone doesn’t tell the truth. And soon after, six numbers come up which change everything forever.

Lexi and Jake have a ticket worth £18 million. And their friends are determined to claim a share of it.

I heard about this book from a radio advert and as somebody who has often dreamt of winning the lottery this caught my attention. However, this book is a cautionary tale of how people can change once they do.

The story is told predominantly from 3 characters point of view – Lexi, Jake and their daughter Emily. It starts off with probably what everyone would do when they first win, go on a spending spree and it was hard to see which way the story would go. However, darker traits of characters appear and I found that I really disliked Jake and could not understand how he could do what he ended up doing. Lexi was the character I could most relate to, from her frustration at Jake’s spending without any thought, to her wanting to help other people as they are things  I would worry about if I suddenly won a huge amount of money.

I don’t know how I expected the story to develop when I bought the book but I certainly did not expect it to take the direction it took. I was expecting more of a battle with the friends wanting their share.

I also did not understand the last chapter. It tells a different story to the one that we have been led to believe.

 

Little Women – Louisa May Alcott.

This is a classic book and I am ashamed to say that I have never until now been inclined to read it. It wasn’t until I watched the film version (with Emma Watson) that I felt that I wanted to give it a go. I am not going to do the ‘blurb’ as everybody knows what the story, but after watching the film and the episode of ‘Friends’ when Joey is upset about Beth dying, I was surprised when the book ended at Meg’s wedding. After doing some research it turns out Little Women is often sold as Little Women and Good Wives combined. My copy from Vintage Classics (the cover is the one above) is not one of those.

The story embraces all the aspects of life I love and and strive for – family, happiness, thankfulness, genuineness, respect, love, honesty and kindness, and there are few stories published nowadays that cover all these elements as well. I like the fact that the book does go into more minute detail about the girls which is something that is not possible to do in a film. I was surprised at how young the sisters were in the book as the film gave me the impression that, with the exception of Amy, they were in their early twenties (Meg & Jo) or late teens (Beth), especially with Meg getting married.

It is obviously the book I have most enjoyed reading this month and I will be searching out a copy of Good Wives to continue reading about the March sisters.