Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Come and Get It

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

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drymice's review against another edition

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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

4.5

Content Warnings

owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition

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dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

‘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.

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zombiezami's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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dfriend12's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

3⭐️

I wanted to enjoy this book but I’m not sure I liked any of the characters (which does not make for a bad book in my opinion) but if there’s not much moving the plot/not much plot to move… it doesn’t work for me. So sad this one fell flat for me.

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