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A review by literaryintersections
Come & Get It by Kiley Reid
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don’t think I’ve read books like Kiley Reid writes. They are complex and deep. Nothing really happens but so much happens. They are testaments to real life - making the reader reflect on who they are. Feeling wildly impossible while also being so realistic.
Come and Get It focuses on racism, grief, morally grey people doing morally grey things, and socioeconomic status all wrapped up in the setting of college life. College doesn’t feel real sometimes but all of the things that happen in this book have real life implications. I hated every single character and was also so invested. My jaw dropped so many times and I also laughed out loud.
1) Casey’s entire accent but especially when she called 911 (the murder suicide comment killed me)
2) this “I’m not making light of this,” xx said. “But I love how you went to therapy to learn how to just like . . . be a white woman in the world.” DEAD
I think the grief and socioeconomic parts of this were some of the most compelling. And it made Kennedy and Millie especially really interesting characters to read. Agatha also was just a mess - making bad choice after bad choice, so solidly living in her privilege but using her sexual orientation and bad experience as a way to look at herself as singular. Everyone is a mess. And yall, I love Mess.
CW: for teacher /student relationship (kind of)
Come and Get It focuses on racism, grief, morally grey people doing morally grey things, and socioeconomic status all wrapped up in the setting of college life. College doesn’t feel real sometimes but all of the things that happen in this book have real life implications. I hated every single character and was also so invested. My jaw dropped so many times and I also laughed out loud.
1) Casey’s entire accent but especially when she called 911 (the murder suicide comment killed me)
2) this “I’m not making light of this,” xx said. “But I love how you went to therapy to learn how to just like . . . be a white woman in the world.” DEAD
I think the grief and socioeconomic parts of this were some of the most compelling. And it made Kennedy and Millie especially really interesting characters to read. Agatha also was just a mess - making bad choice after bad choice, so solidly living in her privilege but using her sexual orientation and bad experience as a way to look at herself as singular. Everyone is a mess. And yall, I love Mess.
CW: for teacher /student relationship (kind of)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs