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A review by missy_reading
Come & Get It by Kiley Reid
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I want to start by saying that I may be in the minority on my feelings about this book but unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one as much as I thought I would. I think this author is still someone I want to read more from because I feel like all of their stories make the reader think.
First let's talk about the characters we are following Agatha a middle-aged lesbian college professor who has come to Arkansas to write a book about weddings, Millie the RA in the college's scholarship dorm, and Millie one of the residents of Millie's dorm who has a secret from her past. All three of these characters were interesting on their own and I found their backstories separately interesting. I feel like there was so much going on in these women's lives that didn't make sense to me in the overarching plot.
I felt like for me this book wasn't meant to have a plot other than being a slice-of-life story about these three women and their experiences during the first semester of the school year. I don't know what I wanted more of but I just wanted more of a plot to the story.
The writing on the other hand I believe is one of the stronger parts of this book. Reid knows how to keep the reader engaged and to make the reader think. That is one of my favorite things about this author is that the topics that she brings up in her writing make me as a reader ponder what my views are on certain situations.
The setting of the college dorm and college town was great it felt like the author had spent time in a college town to be able to get the vibes of what those places look like which I appreciated.
My overall enjoyment was just the middle of the road. I was reading and kept wondering when we were going to get the story moving and I feel like the story didn't take off until the 60% mark. I think that this has important topics that need to be discussed but I think the execution could have been better.
First let's talk about the characters we are following Agatha a middle-aged lesbian college professor who has come to Arkansas to write a book about weddings, Millie the RA in the college's scholarship dorm, and Millie one of the residents of Millie's dorm who has a secret from her past. All three of these characters were interesting on their own and I found their backstories separately interesting. I feel like there was so much going on in these women's lives that didn't make sense to me in the overarching plot.
I felt like for me this book wasn't meant to have a plot other than being a slice-of-life story about these three women and their experiences during the first semester of the school year. I don't know what I wanted more of but I just wanted more of a plot to the story.
The writing on the other hand I believe is one of the stronger parts of this book. Reid knows how to keep the reader engaged and to make the reader think. That is one of my favorite things about this author is that the topics that she brings up in her writing make me as a reader ponder what my views are on certain situations.
The setting of the college dorm and college town was great it felt like the author had spent time in a college town to be able to get the vibes of what those places look like which I appreciated.
My overall enjoyment was just the middle of the road. I was reading and kept wondering when we were going to get the story moving and I feel like the story didn't take off until the 60% mark. I think that this has important topics that need to be discussed but I think the execution could have been better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Classism