hummingbird ink

Synopsis: Imagine being offered an unusual opportunity that could help you achieve your dreams, but it comes with a catch – you’d have to eavesdrop on your fellow students. That’s precisely what Millie Cousins, a senior resident assistant at the University of Arkansas, faces when she meets Agatha Paul, a visiting professor and writer.

Millie is determined to graduate, get a job, and buy a house, so she jumps at the chance. But as she gets deeper into the scheme, she finds herself caught up in a web of deceit and reckless behavior.

With new friends, vengeful dorm pranks, and illicit intrigue, Millie’s seemingly harmless favor becomes a dangerous game of money, indiscretion, and bad behavior. Come and Get It is a thrilling, tension-filled story about desire, consumption, and the consequences of our choices.

My thoughts: Holy shit, Kiley Reid can write.

Millie is a senior living in a dormitory, working as a Resident Assistant (RA) in a paid position. This position is crucial for Millie as she is saving money for a down payment to buy her home. On the other hand, Agatha is a visiting professor and author who arrives at the university from Chicago. She meets Millie when she visits the residence halls to interview a group of students about weddings for her upcoming book. Agatha has come to the university to escape her problem: the end of a relationship with a partner who was financially dependent on her.

During her initial interview, Agatha was taken aback by the callousness of three students named Jenna, Tyler, and Casey. She noticed they had a flippant attitude towards money, which sometimes (mainly) included their parents’ money. Agatha thought that these three students would make great characters for her writing. She discussed the idea with Millie, and together, they devised a plan for Agatha to gain more information. Agatha would secretly listen to their conversations by sitting on the floor in Millie’s bedroom, which shared a wall with the dorm where Jenna, Tyler, and Casey hung out.

“I’m glad he’s shown his true colors. If that’s what you think of as a good time? Going apple picking with someone who vapes?”

For every visit, Agatha paid Millie $40 for her assistance. Agatha then sold edited versions of these overheard conversations to Teen Vogue, presented as “money diaries.”

This novel is told through the little moments of well-developed, extremely human characters and the mundane details that create a strong sense of reality and place.

As I read this novel, I was struck by how natural the dialogue felt. This story took place in 2017, the same year I was a junior in college. It felt like I was sitting in the dorm rooms, getting ready to go out for the night. Reid did her research, and it felt like these were real conversations she captured. It makes the story feel so authentic and realistically paced over a semester.

Early reviews have lots of “nothing happens in this book,” which is a real misread. Everything is happening pretty much all along; it’s just that they are the small slights and alliances that will have significance later on in the story.

“Kennedy hadn’t considered it before, that to write something beautiful you just do it regular, and then you pull out a red pen.”

I really liked this book. Reid has a way of portraying people with a great deal of confidence, specificity, and accuracy. Her writing style is not overly complicated, and she doesn’t try to impress with fancy prose. Instead, what makes her books so enjoyable is the way in which we can relate to the characters and their eventual struggles. It’s almost like waiting for a train wreck to happen, as we see how the characters’ lives become increasingly intertwined and complicated.