Come and Get It, by Kiley Reid

Once again, Kiley Reid writes a witty, vivid, fun and insightful novel about issues of class, race, and power imbalances between women. As in Such a Fun Age, this novel is essentially about a relationship between an older, more financially stable white woman and a younger Black woman with a more precarious financial situation. In Come and Get It, the backdrop is an American university, where Amanda, a writer, gets a gig as visiting professor while researching a book on young women’s attitudes towards weddings. She quickly forms an alliance with Millie, a personable and ambitious young woman who works as a resident assistant in one of the dorms while finishing her own degree. While the story focuses mainly on Millie’s and Amanda’s relationship, there’s also a fascinating web of other characters, mostly the young women who live in the residence hall. As in her previous book, Reid has a sharp eye for personality and a sharp ear for dialogue. The pacing of the book feels slow at first, like this is just going to be a kind of “slice of life” story where not a lot happens (which honestly would be fine because the voice and characterization are so engaging) but when the plot picks up in the last third of the novel things start to unravel quickly and the book becomes (became for me at least) hard to put down. I think Kiley Reid is one of the best writers chronicling the lives of young American women today. Loved this book.