Join us for our May Book Club gathering as we dive into Come and Get It by Kiley Reid, a smart, messy, and deeply discussable novel about money, ambition, race, class, and what happens when people start treating each other’s lives as material.
We are especially excited that Black Women Connect Book Club is returning to in-person gatherings, with a hybrid option available for those joining online. We will be meeting in downtown Toronto at King and Peter Street, and we cannot wait to be back together in the room for conversation, laughter, reflection, and community.
About the Book
Come and Get It is set in 2017 at the University of Arkansas and follows Millie Cousins, a senior resident assistant who wants to graduate, get a good job, and buy a house. When Agatha Paul, a visiting professor and writer, offers Millie an unusual opportunity that seems mutually beneficial, Millie takes the chance. But what begins as a simple arrangement quickly becomes tangled in dorm politics, student drama, secrecy, ambition, and uncomfortable power dynamics.
Kiley Reid, bestselling author of Such a Fun Age, brings her signature eye for social tension to this campus-set novel. Come and Get It explores what people are willing to trade for security, status, access, and opportunity. It is a story about money, but also about desire, race, privilege, observation, and the quiet ways people use one another while pretending they are simply trying to get ahead.
This is not a quiet little book. It gives us campus drama, class tension, complicated women, moral grey areas, and plenty of moments where readers may not agree on who is right, who is wrong, or who is simply trying to survive.
What to Expect
During our discussion, we will explore:
- The role of money, ambition, and survival in the novel
- Millie’s choices and whether readers see her as practical, compromised, or both
- The power dynamics between students, professors, writers, and institutions
- How race, class, and privilege shape the characters’ options
- The ethics of storytelling, observation, and using other people’s lives as material
- The uncomfortable question of who is exploiting whom
Why You Should Join
The Black Women Connect Book Club is a welcoming community designed for thoughtful dialogue, shared learning, and collective reflection. This month’s novel gives us an opportunity to unpack themes that speak directly to many of our lived realities as Black women, including ambition, power, identity, money, belonging, vulnerability, and what it means to navigate spaces that were not necessarily built with us in mind.
How to Participate
• Read the Book: Come and Get It by Kiley Reid
• RSVP: Register to receive the event details and Zoom link if joining online
• Join the Conversation: Bring your insights, reflections, questions, and honest reactions
Who Should Join?
Any one who identifies as a Black Woman is welcome, whether you have been with us for years or this will be your very first meeting.
If you enjoy smart contemporary fiction by Black Authors, complicated characters, and books that raise messy questions about power, money, ambition, and morality, this discussion is for you.
Come ready to talk, listen, laugh, disagree, reflect, and reconnect. We are so excited to be back in person, and we look forward to seeing you there.
Bookings
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