American author Kiley Reid, whose debut novel, *Such a Fun Age,* is being adapted for the screen, began to research privilege long before it was a buzzword.

The Nanny Diaries

Kiley Reid worked as a babysitter in New York before fictionalizing her experience for the page. The resulting novel explores racism and liberal hypocrisy

By Rosie Kinchen

The best books should hold up a mirror to society, even when the reflection isn’t one you want to see — or at least that’s what I told myself when I put down Such a Fun Age, the debut novel from the up-and-coming American author Kiley Reid. One of the runaway literary successes of last year, the book tells the story of a young Black babysitter and the white woman who pays her to care for her toddler.

It’s a brilliantly observed skewering of liberal hypocrisy that has topped bestseller lists, become a book-club favorite (Reese Witherspoon chose it for hers), been longlisted for the Booker prize, and is now being adapted for the screen.