This book describes itself as being gripping. and the subject matter as terrifying. Unfortunately, this book was neither of those things for me.

Sara was a distinctly unlikeable character who, despite perhaps being treated unfairly at the start, was responsible for every misfortune she faced afterwards (with the exception of the fire). I feel a bad feminist for saying it, but if she had just kept quiet and followed the rules for 21 days, none of the rest would have happened.

The 'new resident' was wildly anticlimactic, no matter what the blurb would have you believe.

I had high hopes for this story, and for an interesting take on a world that is even more heavily surveilled than ours is, but for me, it just didn't live up to its promises.

This was an incredibly interesting idea with important and relevant social commentary. However, in saying that, the characters felt so flat. Sara was inherently boring as was her relationship with her husband. The women imprisoned with her were two dimensional and I often confused one with another. The plot and story were well developed and raised so many questions around government control, society and crime, I just wish the characters were as well developed.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. It explored a lot of really interesting ideas around the surveillance state, the prison industrial complex, and the limits to ai/algorithms. Some elements were a bit too on the nose/didactic like the explanation of how crime is constructed by people in power. At the same time I couldn't really suspend my disbelief around people's dreams being used as evidence of future wrongdoing or even the whole idea of the detention centers. And while it touched on racial profiling Sara's family experienced and how algorithms are biased, it almost didn't go far enough into how race intersects with the prison system. Ultimately it just failed to resonate on a deeper level.

DNF. I got 50% of the way through this book and tried to persevere, but I think the formatting and extremely long chapters made it difficult to stay engaged. I really loved the premise of this book and enjoyed the first 30 odd pages but then I began to struggle and it didn't seem worth continuing.

This was one of the most disturbingly plausible dystopians I’ve read in recent memory. I had such an uncomfortable feeling of dread throughout the read; the injustices were infuriating and felt a little too real.

I loved spending time with Sara. Her inability to let injustices go, her tenacity, and her commitment to the labour strike both relatable and sympathetic. She felt so human to me and even though sometimes her actions were objectively self-destructive, her motivations felt compelling. Her friends were an interesting bunch too: Toya and Victoria were particularly intriguing to me. I loved the inmate friendship group and their dynamics.

The pacing was artful. I often found myself reading 100+ pages in one sitting. The pace is consistent, not rushed or frantic, despite the urgency of the story. The writing style complemented the pacing; I really enjoyed it!

I deeply appreciated the commentary on late stage capitalism, surveillance, racism, existing as a woman, and the immigrant experience. Parts of it were incredibly difficult to read (Omar’s fear and trauma of borders, for example) but heartbreakingly relatable.

The only thing that might improve this read might be clear delineation of time in chapter headings part one. I found swapping back and forth in time a bit confusing at for this section. The other sections are much clearer and I liked the use of other media styles to move the narrative along in creative ways!

While I predicted some of the explanations, the ending genuinely surprised me.

I highly recommend this one for anyone who enjoys artful criticism of capitalism, dystopian worlds, social justice themes, fantastic characters, and an inventive story. This would make an awesome book club choice, there are so many themes and nuance that would make for rich discussions.

I was privileged to have my request to review this approved by Bloomsbury Publishing on NetGalley.