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adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought this was an enjoyable book that made me somewhat nostalgic for college which I never am.
I thought Millie was a really well thought out character with hopes and flaws and illogical thoughts. I found the plot point where Millie and Agatha start their relationship was a little weird but I appreciate that it was a messy issue that doesn't get 100% resolved. I found everything around Kennedy to be so awful and cringed throughout every one of her chapters.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was so fascinating. Mundane yet intriguing, strange yet familiar. Gotta be in the mood for it though. And have time– if I took long breaks, I would have been so lost coming back. It’s what I’d call a flexible read if you can get invested in the story. Could go with the flow just watching what happens or dissect all the nuanced commentary.
Energy: Desultory. Jaunty. Perceptive.
🐩 Tail Wags
Realistic well-developed characters and dialogue [take character notes, there are many]. Fine-tuned, very detailed character appearances and settings [could feel like too much detail if you aren’t a mind’s eye reader or prefer to customize your imaginings]. The randomness. Just taking it all in and watching things unfold. How the character arcs and plot points start to interconnect. Writing style that is almost jolting at times.
Scene: 🇺🇸 Set in Fayetteville, Arkansas, mostly at the University of Arkansas.
Perspectives (3): A professor with relationship struggles starts a new writing project but gets sidetracked during their research. A residential assistant majoring in Hospitality Management is eager to start their adult life after taking a break to help their mother out. A transfer student is nervous about their new school but hoping to make friends and put their past behind them.
Timeline: 2017 mostly. Takes place over the academic term, so it’s multi-season with summer breaks, autumn chill, and winter festivities.
🔥 Fuel: Character investment. Parallel plots. Evolving relationships between characters. What’s the deal with ____? Almost everyone is a little mysterious in that way getting to know someone can be.
📖 Cred: Hyper realistic with a based-on-a-true-story feel.
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Febreze. Candy perfume. Lanyard jingles. Dryer sheets. Wet laundry. Frozen pizza. Music from laptop speakers. Shea cream. Deodorant. Whole Foods. Christmas albums. Dirty dishes.
- Thrown in the story, figure it out as you go
- Slice-of-life University life randomness
- Dorm life, roommate drama and dysfunction, friendship and relationship struggles
- ‘No plot, just vibes’ vibe
- Nothing happens…unless you look closer
- Detailed descriptions and world-building
- Many morally grey and unlikeable characters (ymmv)
- Parallel character studies that gradually overlap
- Exploration and social commentary around race, class, academia, and finances/consumerism
- Questionable journalism, getting the tea
- Psychological mystery/suspense driven by character investment
- You Never Know What Someone Is Going Through complexities
- Fly on the wall, observation driven narratives
Content Heads-Up: Prejudice, bias (ignorance, comments; sexuality, race). Cannabis use (medicinal, recreational). Adderall (recreational). Glaucoma. Relationship breakdown (finances, resentment). Loneliness. Suicidal thoughts. Social anxiety. Dog death (very brief but on page). Sexual content (brief; intoxicated/regretful but coherent, meaningless, consenting, experimenting). Substance abuse (anti-anxiety, recreational). Tietze Syndrome.
Rep: Black, Biracial, Indigenous, and White Americans. Mexican, Irish-Danish, ancestry. Diverse bodies (above avg height, pear shaped, gapped teeth). Lesbian. Questioning. Hetero. Cisgender. Pale pink, rosy brown, tan, and very dark brown skin tones. Crohn’s Disease.
📚 Format: Library Digital
My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶
😍 Potential Fav of 2024
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Sexual content
Come and get it is a character driven, slow burn of a book, and while that may not work for every reader, it certainly worked for me. We have SUCH rich characters. They’re messy and imperfect and deeply human, and I think the flaws are what make this book so great. You are not going to get a cookie cutter story with a fairy tale ending and that is my FAVORITE kind of book. My only issue in my reading of this book was that I neglected to check CW and got hit REAL hard with one part in particular- so I definitely recommend NOT doing what I did and checking those warnings! Otherwise, I HIGHLY recommend this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I couldn’t put this down. I knew everything was going to go poorly, but I HAD to see just how poorly. I loved getting to know these unlikable characters and I still wound up caring about them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Kiley Reid is so good at writing characters that you simultaneously despise and want to root for. Everybody in this makes awful choices! But still, I want the best for them. This book stressed me out a little to read because the cascade of bad decisions was just so much, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. And because I’m wary of this and looked a bit for answers but couldn’t find one, the animal death content warning is: one character is wracked by guilt over accidentally killing a dog. The incident is described in a flashback and is not gory but if you need to be prepared, it’s in the chapter where Kennedy talks about being the golden girl .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship
emotional
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood
Minor: Drug use, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm not sure how to feel about this book. I should probably stop reading reviews before I read books, because I saw a review that said this book had no plot, and maybe it colored my view of this book. Or maybe it didn't, because honestly this book has no plot. It's more accurately described as a character or environment study, and the dorm atmosphere is fascinating to dive into. The tableau is really interesting, and I enjoyed seeing every character's perspective. But I would have liked some insight into Tyler, Jenna, and Casey - I realize it was part of the point to only see them through the other characters' eyes, but it certainly flattened them. And at the end of the book, I was confused what the point was. I found Such a Fun Age really interesting and dynamic, so this one was disappointing to me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Gore, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Classism
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
‘It was very easy to have sex in college, but it was even easier not to.’
I liked this! It turns out all I need to read again was pneumonia and being relatively bed-ridden. I think Reid’s writing is brilliant and I loved the characters. I had some trouble with the pacing and plot (it all felt like it happened in the last 80 pages or so), but still a really good read.
I liked this! It turns out all I need to read again was pneumonia and being relatively bed-ridden. I think Reid’s writing is brilliant and I loved the characters. I had some trouble with the pacing and plot (it all felt like it happened in the last 80 pages or so), but still a really good read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Racism, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation
challenging
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Suicide attempt