What is the road to hell paved with? Such a Fun Age is like that. Over and over again.
Emira is 25 years old and about to age out of coverage from her parents health insurance. Her B.A. in English from Temple University in Philadelphia holds zero interest for her and her college friends are moving on to jobs with 401(k) plans, dental coverage and larger apartments with adult furniture. Emira works two part-time jobs that are okay but she's kind of lost and doesn't know what to do with her life.
One late night Emira is contacted by the mom of the toddler she babysits. Mrs. Chamberlain asks Emira to take two-year-old Briar to the grocery store so that the Chamberlains can resolve an incident at their home. While shopping for snacks, Emira is accused of kidnapping Briar and detained by security. Emira is black and Briar is white and everything that happens at the store is wrong.
This starts a collision course that affects many lives. Is it possible to have anything other than a transactional relationship between employee and employer? Are job satisfaction and the need for employee benefits disparate facets in the workforce? How does the concept of privacy and respecting the wishes of others come into play in an age of wild and varied social media and technology skills and use?
This novel also pokes at white wokeness, socioeconomic status and privilege. All three explode in unexpected ways.