“I don’t need you to be mad that it happened. I need you to be mad that it just like… happens.”
If you’re looking for the best Kiley Reid books, you’ve come to the right place. Acclaimed for her sharp, witty storytelling and fresh insights into relationships and social dynamics, Kiley Reid has fast become a favourite among contemporary fiction readers. Whether you’re a newcomer to her work or a longtime fan looking for a refresher, we’ve got you covered. From her debut novel that captured the literary world’s attention to her more recent releases, each story showcases Reid’s distinctive voice and unforgettable characters. Today at What We Reading, we’re running through all of Kiley Reid’s books in order of release, and offering plot summaries for each so you can see what makes her work so revered. By the end, you’ll have a clear roadmap for enjoying the full range of Kiley Reid’s novels in the perfect reading order.
Such A Fun Age (2019)
Kicking off our list of Kiley Reid books is the American novelist’s Goodreads Choice Award winner for Best Debut Novel, 2019’s Such a Fun Age. Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living teaching other women how to do the same. She is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlain’s two-year-old toddler, Briar. The security guard sees a young Black woman walking the aisles of a high-end supermarket with a white baby and accuses Emira of kidnapping Briar. An altercation follows, a small crowd gathers, and Emira is left furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right.
But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix’s desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira’s run-in at the supermarket unearths someone from Alix’s past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves and each other.
Check Out The Best Books Like Such A Fun Age
Simplexity (2021)
Yumi Parr is the new project coordinator of a Manhattan designer agency. Set apart from her coworkers by their race, salaries, alma maters, perfect teeth, and waistbands, Yumi bears their grunt work. After one microaggression too many, she decides to implement a change. Either senior white employees with their mouthfuls of wokespeak will comply, or Yumi will learn a difficult lesson about the realities of modern business culture.
Kiley Reid’s Simplexity is a short story within Currency, a compounding collection of tales about wealth, class, competition, and collapse. If time is money, deposit here with interest. It is easily read within a single sitting and is a great introduction to Reid’s work.
Come And Get It (2024)
It is 2017 at the University of Arkansas. Millie Cousins, a senior resident assistant, wants to graduate, get a job, and buy a house. So when Agatha Paul, a visiting professor and writer, presents Millie with an easy yet unusual opportunity, she jumps at the opportunity in front of her. But Millie’s starry-eyed hustle becomes jeopardised by odd new friends, vengeful dorm pranks, and illicit intrigue.
A fresh and provocative story about a residential assistant and her messy entanglement with a professor and three unruly students, Come and Get It is an intimate portrait of desire, consumption, and reckless abandon. Kiley Reid’s novel once again immerses readers in a tension-fuelled story about money, indiscretion, and bad behaviour.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
