Come and Get It

Set at a prestigious New England university, Kiley Reid's 'Come and Get It' introduces Agnes, a resident advisor who becomes an unwitting participant in a doctoral student's ethically dubious research. Millie, the graduate student, is ostensibly studying the spending habits and desires of first-year students, but her project quickly evolves into a manipulative observation, blurring the lines between academic inquiry and personal intrusion. As Millie's 'study' deepens its hold on Agnes's residents, intertwining with their social lives, financial struggles, and burgeoning relationships, Agnes finds herself caught between her duty of care and her own precarious position within the university. The novel offers a trenchant exploration of class, race, and power dynamics on campus, critiquing the casual exploitation that can arise under the guise of intellectual curiosity. It's a sharp, uncomfortable, and ultimately compelling examination of who gets to observe, who is observed, and the price of 'bad behavior' in a world where everyone is watching.