Looking for your next read? Welcome to our book chat, an inside look at our editors' Slack channel, where we candidly review the latest literary releases.
Looking for your next read? Welcome to Bazaar Book Chat, an inside look at our editors’ Slack channel, where we candidly review the latest literary releases.Rosa Sanchez Hellooo @here! Kicking us off for another Bazaar Book Chat! Our February pick is Come and Get It, by Kiley Reid, which was released January 30.
The book tells the story of Millie Cousins, a bright-eyed residential assistant at the University of Arkansas, who gets entangled with writing professor Agatha Paul, who uses her research to run away from her own adult issues. Their confusing relationship gets even messier when it collides with the lives of a group of students and their own hopes and dreams.First thoughts?Joel Calfee I thought the writing was sooo compelling; I was immediately pulled in. Reid is so good at crafting characters/dialogue that makes you stop and think .💯1Rosa Sanchez I was very into this. It felt easy and funny—and intriguing in a very subtle way. I appreciated that the main characters, Agatha and Millie, are vulnerable with us from the start, while the secondary characters, the college students, feel so plastic and not genuine at first; this contrast was instantly entertaining for me, and made me eager for more action, drama, and chaos.❗️1Bianca Betancourt It was definitely an easy read while still being compelling and a page-turner! And also triggering while taking me back to dorm life, ha.😂2Rosa SanchezSeriously.Nojan Aminosharei I hadn’t read Reid’s first novel, Such a Fun Age—I know: Shame! Shame!—so I wasn’t familiar with her style. For those that did read her last book, what was it like going in to this one?👆3Bianca BetancourtI hadn’t either!Rosa SanchezI wasn’t familiar with her either! But I’m obsessed with how she wrote this—the college girl voice. What did you guys think of it? It’s obvious that she did her research. Joel CalfeeI really appreciated how much she dug into class. When I went to college, it was such a culture shock for me, because I met so many people who came from so much money. And she dives into that with the first scene and it’s immediately grabbing.❗️2Bianca BetancourtShe really compartmentalized the types we meet when we first go to college: the introverts, the girls who never mentally leave high school, the ones who are banking on their education to save them, the ones who are there just because Mom and Dad are paying, etc.❗️1 Nojan Aminosharei Can I ask what may be a divisive question?❗️3Bianca BetancourtCollege is really the first time people begin to think about money as a power dynamic! Which we saw with Agatha's relationship to Robin and Millie absolutely.❗️1Rosa SanchezThe money comments are savage. But, so is the reality of the economic divide.Bianca BetancourtDid no one else think Agatha was … fetishizing Black women? ❗️1Rosa SanchezI think at the end that sort of comes to light, for sure. Bianca BetancourtI feel like we never got an answer as to why, which I found odd, but.👆1Rosa SanchezThe subtle race conversation going on between the lines is so interesting, and is left very open-ended, too.❗️1What is the divisive question, Nojan? Joel CalfeeI totally thought that too, @Bianca Betancourt. In that first scene, Agatha immediately counts how many Black people she sees on campus, and I thought it was just her noticing how white the school was, but then you see it from a much different standpoint later on.❗️1Nojan Aminosharei How do you feel when authors phonetically spell out a character’s accents? For at least one character, capturing the college girl voice included literally capturing her voice—her Southern accent, specifically. She tahlked lahk this. I go back and forth on I want an author to tell me someone has a thick accent and let me imagine it, and appreciating the how it colors the character on the page. Rosa SanchezI found it controversial but fascinating, tbh.Bianca BetancourtTo me it’s sometimes annoying, lol, but I understand why they do it.Joel CalfeeI honestly find it hilarious just because I read it aloud like it's written, and the accent really comes across, lol.😅1Nojan AminoshareiAt first, my eye would get snagged on the words and break my flow, but eventually I got into it, shugah.😂3Faith Brown Yes, same! At times I found it genuinely harder to read and understand. But I also appreciated it because it helped me distinguish between all the college girls.Rosa SanchezSouthern gal Casey was one of my favorites.❗️1Faith BrownListening in on the college girl dorm conversations was one of my favorite parts of the book. It felt all too real and familiar. I would genuinely laugh out loud.❤️1Joel CalfeeI like how Reid is constantly subverting our expectations as a reader. Like we expect Southern gal Casey to be sort of dumb because of her exaggerated accent , but as a Southerner, I loved to see that she was actually the most studious/erudite of them all.❤️2Nojan Aminosharei That’s a good point. Reid was really playing with our preconceived notions by spelling out the drawl. The accent was a trap!❗️2Rosa SanchezJust curious, did you find yourself seeing things from the college girl/voice POV or from adult prof Agatha? Or Millie. Or your own? I realized after finishing the book that I always saw Agatha as my main narrator. Idk what that says about me.👆2Bianca BetancourtMillie felt like my guide through the book, but I think probably because I related to her the most.❤️2Rosa Sanchez I definitely feel like we get the most growth from her.Joel CalfeeI felt like Agatha was the main narrator, but Millie was the main character, if that makes sense. 👏1Agatha’s the one who’s sort of pulling the puppet strings, but Millie’s story I felt the most invested in.Rosa Sanchez Interesting!What did we think of the multiple storylines? Did the scattered plot push you guys to continue reading? Did they all mix well together?Joel CalfeeAgatha’s the one who’s sort of pulling the puppet strings, but Millie’s story I felt the most invested in.Nojan AminoshareiI didn’t know too much about the story or structure going in because, well … 😅1😂1Bianca BetancourtThe different storylines def pushed me to keep reading. If it was all Agatha I probably would have given up, lol.👆1❗️1Nojan AminoshareiSo as the multiple storylines unspooled, I found myself getting more and more engaged. But at the same time, I don’t think I really committed to the story until all the pieces were in place.Rosa Sanchez Same. When I finished reading the first half of the book I fully could not pinpoint what it was about, but that somehow didn’t bother me because the writing was so entertaining. I found myself wanting to know more about every character each time their story came up, whereas if the author had focused only on one character’s point of view, I don’t know that I would’ve been as invested.❗️1So, I def think the multiple storylines are a big part of why this book is a success.Nojan AminoshareiOnce the ensemble was filled out, I felt a palpable rise in the velocity I was reading in.❗️1Joel CalfeeI think multiple storylines can be clunky because they’re usually not as equally compelling, but each new arc genuinely had me invested!Rosa SanchezOkay, palpable rise!!😂2📈2Nojan Aminosharei I think once Kennedy was fully moved into her over-furnished dorm room, the story itself was becoming fully furnished with characters and stakes and conflict.❗️1❤️1Bianca BetancourtDeeply resonated with her love of Target, especially as a teen.👆1❗️1Rosa SanchezNo, she was my favorite. With her cute, sparkly outfits and Pottery Barn mugs and straight-out-of-the-catalog dorm room and random secret trauma. Relatable.Nojan Aminosharei Deeply related to her habit of furnishing-as-trauma-response.😂1❗️1Rosa Sanchez Speaking of! How did we feel about most of the drama being in the last few pages? I actually thought it was pretty refreshing. And I’m not even sure I needed it that much??? But it seemed like a welcome twist and a way to make sense of everything that had happened. And I like that it left some things up to interpretation.❗️1Bianca BetancourtI wouldn't be able to tell you what “the point” of the entire book was based on the ending, ha, because that's what I was left asking myself. But it did open a lot of questions! And I was left wondering for Millie and Kennedy specifically. Agatha is just running away from her problems as most women like her do, lol.Rosa Sanchez lolllllll I agree. I started off sympathizing with Agatha and the ending just made her look very selfish. Re: the big message of the book, I’m honestly not sure. Maybe that it's really easy to ruin your life. ❗️1Bianca Betancourt Maybe it’s all about how young womanhood and grown womanhood aren’t all that different at the end of the day.❤️1Nojan AminoshareiI don’t need a book to tell me how to ruin my life.😂4But I do very much enjoy reading about other people ruining their lives. So, that’s all the “point” I need.💀1Bianca BetancourtWhat does Millie want to do with that old house??? Maybe she’s scared of the housing market just like the rest of us.Nojan AminoshareiI think Millie’s wanting homeownership was her least relatable trait to me. Girl, in this economy?💀1Rosa SanchezThe obsession with owning something—literally anything—feels very “young broke people of today.” Like, our generation.❗️1Nojan Aminosharei Speak for yourself, I was broke before it was cool.😅1Faith Brown When, if ever, were you guys like: Wait, maybe this grown woman shouldn’t be recording college convos and publishing them?❗️1Or the whole time were you like, Yeah, these girls deserve it.Rosa SanchezI thought Agatha’s behavior started to get creepy real quick. And the resolution—or lack thereof—in her storyline did not surprise me.Bianca BetancourtAgatha is a creep lol.Nojan AminoshareiI think as journalists, we can all agree that Agatha’s behavior became unethical—and predatory at worst—right quick.Bianca BetancourtThe girls are all technically adults, sure, but like why is she obsessed with them? She needs therapy—quickly!Nojan AminoshareiBetterHelp, sponsor this article!❗️2Rosa SanchezLiterally. I think that proves your point, though, BB, about womanhood being complex at every stage. And like, immaturity not having an age limit.Rosa SanchezOkay, last one. Would you recommend this book? How would you elevator-pitch it to a friend?Bianca BetancourtThe way I described it to my husband when he asked what I was reading was: “It’s this messy story about a queer 40-something woman getting entangled with a student who’s not her student and the mess that comes along the way.”❗️1Rosa Sanchez I love how she kept saying she wasn’t her student. Like okay, weirdo.I would tell a friend to read this book if they’re looking for a funny, no-fuss read with a dizzying twist. To me, this was the story of a heartbroken, problematic college professor who moves to Arkansas to find her next big project, only to end up getting entangled with a straight-edge college student working toward her own simple dream, and pretty much ruining everything.Bianca BetancourtI’d recommend it as an easy read because it does start conversations! I get what the author was trying to lean into with this story re: race, growing up, class, education, etc. It maybe wasn’t a full slam dunk, but it will probably still become an HBO series, lol.❤️3Nojan AminoshareiIf you like The Sex Lives of College Girls and want to take the advanced course, read Come and Get It.😂4Rosa SanchezMean Girls 3❗️1Joel CalfeeI would definitely recommend this to a friend, because we’re all messes who like seeing ourselves reflected in literature. But in all seriousness, I thought it was compelling writing and a unique twist. Like Bianca said, I could definitely see this becoming an HBO series because it explored big topics like race, class, and sexuality through subtle, realistic dialogue and some problematic but complex characters à la The White Lotus .❤️1
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