Publication Date January 30, 2024
In 2019, I read and reviewed Kiley Reid’s debut novel, Such A Fun Age, so I was pleased to receive a copy of her second novel, Come And Get It (thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review. I found Such a Fun Age to be “full of humor and well-developed characters exploring several potential sticky topics,” and this is true of Come and Get It as well. Chosen as a “Good Morning America Book Club Pick,” an “Indie Next Pick,” and a “LibraryReads Pick,” I had high hopes for this one, although I went into it knowing next to nothing about it.
The story is set in 2017 at the University of Arkansas, and revolves around a senior resident assistant, Millie Cousins, who just wants to do her job, graduate, and buy a house. A visiting professor named Agatha Paul is spending an academic year to do research for her next book, and she offers Millie what seems like an easy way to increase her saving-for-a-down-payment fund. Ostensibly about weddings, Agatha’s project becomes more about college students and their relationships with money, and Agatha soon turns it into a less-than-academic bit of research and more of a voyeuristic look at several students for whom Millie is their RA (in a less-than attractive dorm situation).
TBH, I was quite surprised to read the negative reviews of this one. If you are looking for a complex plot, be aware that this one is pretty much totally character-driven, focused on Agatha and Millie. Agatha is an out lesbian and Millie has been cis, but is clearly open to being with people she is attracted to, regardless of gender/sexuality. Not extremely experienced, Millie viewed sex with her ex Dominic as “…a little like going to the gym: a chore at first, but halfway through, she was happy to have gone.” Things DO happen, and the story goes deeply into each character’s thoughts and emotions.
Reid’s genius is in writing dialogue that is revelatory of her characters, and as the story goes on, more and more of each character’s back story is revealed. I actually loved it, despite the fact that “nothing happened.” (Seriously? Who wrote that review? A LOT happens, and it is beautifully written.)
Happy to give this four stars, and looking forward to listening to the podcast from Slate’s Political Gabfest of February 17, which is titled “Race, Money and Fictional Life at the University of Arkansas” and features a discussion with Kiley Reid herself.