Though it took me a hot second to get into it, there was a point where I had to accept that this was less of a plot driven story and more character driven, and that is totally fine! I love a book with multiple perspectives highlighting different experiences, as well as similar experiences that affect other people differently. Chock full of funny lines and a very accurate depiction of college life that brought me back to all the social anxiety I felt when I was a student (not necessarily in a bad way). This cover is also so incredible.

Told from multiple perspectives, Kiley Reid delivers a compelling story set in 2017 at the University of Arkansas. Millie Cousins is a senior resident assistant, Agatha Paul is a writer and visiting professor, and Kennedy is university student trying to navigate social anxiety as well as start over after a traumatic experience. I really enjoyed this, I loved the multiple perspectives. I enjoyed the realistic storyline and viewpoints presented in the story. I think this book shows how much split second decisions can really change the course of someone’s life.

Kiley Reid really kills it with a character study. This book has little plot all vibes and I greatly enjoyed that. This brought me back to college and had me feeling like I missed it a little. How people interact and the people you see and meet during college was a nice treat. I think a lot of people will dislike this book because it is based all on vibes, but I had a good time.

3.5

After all the hype surrounding this book, I was expecting a lot more. I almost quit reading several times, but kept going, thinking something would happen soon. Instead, it just meanders through some not too interesting dorm drama and the repercussions as experienced by various characters. I liked the writing style and character development though most of the characters were unlikable ....so maybe that's why this one just wasn't for me.

I really wanted to like this one but I found it less of a story and more of a series of funny lines and observations. Thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for the ARC.

Another good book by Kiley Reid. It was slow to start but picked up and was a captivating read. Really great characters.

This cements Kiley Reid as an absolute automatic buy. The story follows Millie, an RA at the University of Arkansas in 2017, Agatha, a visiting professor, Kennedy, a transfer undergraduate student, and a handful of other undergraduate residents. Millie is trying to graduate, save money to buy a small house, and get a job. Agatha is doing research on student behavior while working at the university and connects with Millie while conducting interviews in the dorm where Millie works. Kennedy, trying to recover and reinvent herself following a traumatic event at her previous school, struggles with fitting in.

As in her "Such a Fun Age," Kiley Reid subtly and flawlessly illustrates the disparate ways that Black and white people move through space and experiences. Namely, how bad behavior and poor decision making is either youthful indiscretion, a mental health concern, or a potential career ender. She also showcases how white women who consider themselves to be friends and allies of Black women will frequently blithely implicate or involve them in situations that will have wildly inequitable consequences.

Kiley Reid is a phenomenal writer and I will recommend her work to everyone forever.

Thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise and was excited to read the book. I found parts of it to be a bit confusing, especially towards the end. The pacing was a bit slow at times and felt like the book could have used a bit more editing. Overall, I enjoyed the story and writing.

With some of the best “feel like I’m in the room with the characters” dialogue “Come and Get It” by Kiley Reid (4.5 stars) (Pub Date: Out Now!) is a tide pool view on characters that are both easily recognizable, but also quirkily unique in their decisions and actions that drive the story to crescendo, with the inevitable silt-settling. This wave of events, decisions, and actions (or lack there-of) picks everybody in the story up and sets them down again somewhere else and subtly changed.

Good Things: The dialogue, the dialogue, the dialogue. Did I mention the dialogue? These characters are sitting next to me and I’m just watching and listening as they talk their way around and into ‘situations’ and then bounce back out again. It’s like being that proverbial fly on the wall, which also mirrors how every one of the primary characters feels about their role in their own lives. This layered “light and breezy, but underneath amazing commentary on how we are all living our lives right now” story is simply amazing.

Opportunities: What happened, happened, and in the happening I could see the shape of things to come but, I think the author wanted us to feel like we were walking with the characters into their situations and that we couldn’t steer or back out of them even though we (and they characters themselves) sort of knew where they were headed. What I’m trying to get at is…I knew things weren’t going to be pleasant all the time, and because of that I shied away from reading it in the middle. I just didn’t want to experience what I knew was coming. But then…that’s what the characters were doing too, so Bravo to Reid for making her characters uncomfortable and relatable enough that I too felt uncomfortable.

Final Thoughts: I really liked it, and honestly I didn’t think I would…but I loved the reminders of dorm life, the way young people live in this liminal “whatever…” space where real life hasn’t started but childhood is done. I loved reading the dialogue between the friend groups, and the inner monologue of some of the individuals. It was slick and clever, and in the end I highly recommend it. But I still don’t get the title, or the cover imagery and it’s driving me bonkers that I have missed some cool cue that I should be able to pick up on, so if you know what the author intended to imply or explain with the title and the image of a Pig on the cover…please comment and tell me.

I appreciate the opportunity afforded me to have an early read of this story by netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons The opinions in this review are expressly those of ButIDigressBookClub and are intended for use by my followers and friends when choosing their next book. #butidigress #butidigressbookclub #comeandgetit #kileyreid #suchafunage #jordymademedoit #netgalley #netgalleyreviewer #arc #arcs

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Publishing Review 2/22/2024

such an interesting novel. i loved her first book and this one lived up to my expectations. i cannot wait for her third book

this book made me so anxious that when i read it before bed i had actual nightmares.

that's a compliment.

everyone in this book is such a bad person, and also not a bad person. literally nothing that anyone says is 100% true or fair. it's awesome. this is peak unreliable narrator book — it has about 100 characters and none of them can be trusted. you don't realize how often books have a voice of reason until you can engage in the chaos nightmare that is nobody doing so. how exhausting and stressful

I had high hopes for Kiley Reid's new book. Come and Get It follows the lives of college students at the University of Arkansas, the relationships of college students sharing a dorm room, of college RAs, and of a professor who becomes intertwined in their lives. It takes a very long time to get to a point in the book where there's some direction to the story. But in place of plot movement, the story really is about strong character development instead. There are themes of racism, classism, sexual identity, bullying, ethics, mental health and overcoming tragedy. While I finally did get invested in reading further to see what would happen, it was because I got connected to the characters, even if I didn't like any of them! But there isn't much that really happens in this story in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the pubisher for a copy of this e-arc.

Ultimately, I liked this book but I really struggled getting through the first half through 3/4 of it. If you have patience with a slow burn, then this might be a good book for you. Reid did a good job creating realistic characters and the plot feel very real and real-time paced. At the beginning I had a hard time caring about the characters because it was so slow, but by the time the plot quickened I had become invested in them.

Kiley Reid's characters are no doubt well-developed in her novels (I previously read "Such a Fun Age.") In this book, we meet Agatha, a published author and gay, white woman whose relationship has imploded and who has moved to work as a professor at a Southern university. We also have Millie, a young African American woman who is working as an RA in the dorms to pay her way through college.

The book is radically different than Such a Fun age and I do have to recommend "Such a Fun Age" as a better book. Although I did enjoy reading about the college students whose dorm Millie supervises as an RA and each of their lives, the book just didn't hold together as well as her previous novel. Read it for the characters, especially the students, whose lives and backgrounds couldn't be more different, but if you read her first book, don't expect as much. Worth reading, however.

I'm sorry to say I didn't enjoy this storyline. It felt like a YA novel. I became quite frustrated at the lack of direction in the plot. It just meandered. I appreciate the advanced copy and can say I read the entire book, so it was entertaining on some level.

"Come and Get It" by Kiley Reid is a captivating exploration of power dynamics and societal inequalities, woven through the intertwining perspectives of Millie a 20-something college student and Agatha a professor at the University of Arkansas. Reid skillfully navigates the complex terrain of race and wealth, shedding light on the pervasive microaggressions faced by black individuals and the unequal distribution of wealth along racial lines.

I was expecting a more plot driven narrative however this book is more of a character driven exploration, delving deep into the nuanced experiences and internal struggles of its protagonists. Through their eyes, Reid exposes the corrosive nature of corruption, illustrating how money and power can distort human relationships and moral compasses.

One of the book's greatest strengths lies in its unflinching examination of the systemic injustices that plague our society. Reid fearlessly confronts uncomfortable truths, challenging readers to confront their own biases and privileges. By shining a spotlight on the insidious nature of wealth disparity and the subtle yet very damaging effects of everyday racism, "Come and Get It" serves as a powerful catalyst for reflection and dialogue.

However, it's worth noting that this might not be a book for everyone. Its lack of a traditional plot driven narrative might deter some readers like myself who seek fast paced action. Nevertheless, for those willing to engage with its thought provoking themes and richly developed characters, "Come and Get It" offers a profoundly rewarding reading experience.

Overall I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a deeply insightful exploration of power, privilege, and the human condition.

I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam Books, all opinions are my own.

Really enjoyed this new book by Kiley Reid. The dynamics of the characters kept me turning the page. Definitely a slower paced book but a great read nonetheless.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC copy in exchange for a review.

This was my first novel from Kiley Reid. I've heard great things about her debut so I was very curious about this one as well. I would say I ultimately enjoyed this novel as the writing is very good but I'm not sure the story was my favorite. The writing style is great so I'm excited to check out Reid's debut novel.

I really loved Reid's debut, Such a Fun Age, so I was excited to see her coming out with a new book this year. Come and Get It was a propulsive read but ultimately left me disappointed.

Come and Get It is set at the University of Arkansas and focuses on a small group of students and adults. Millie Cousins is arguably the main character of the story, but the POV jumps around between other students on a single dorm floor and a visiting professor who Millie befriends. Reid tackles a lot of different topics through these characters, particularly race and class disparity, similar to what she does in Such a Fun Age. But with the jumping around between the characters, some of this thread is lost.

The drama of this book is subtle but feels very real. There are microagressions everywhere, some more obvious than others. I got drawn in by that aspect of the story, curious to see where the story would take us and how everything would go up in flames (because you assume it will).

Where the story lost me was in the number of characters that we ultimately spent time with. It felt like there was a certain primary plot that Reid wanted to follow, but she kept getting distracted out of an obligation to flesh out other characters. The timing of certain POV shifts felt a bit questionable, too. One of the big reveals that had been teased for so long in the story finally comes out after the halfway point of the book. But it was so drawn out that it felt anticlimatic (not to mention a bit bizarre regardless of the timing).

Overall, I appreciated with Reid was doing here and I was intrigued by the characters. But the story felt messy and not as well-done as Such a Fun Age. I have hope that this was just a sophomore slump for Reid and will certainly read another book by her.

I wanted to love this, but didn't finish. As an Arkansas native I did love the references to my home state!