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The Squatters
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Expected 10 Nov 26Win a free print copy of this book!
18 days and 01:43:33
10 copies available
U.S. only
Two families collide in this provocative debut about motherhood, migration, and the distance between who we are and who we want to be.
“A beautiful, timely novel . . . Saba Brelvi has written a haunting story about the oft-forgotten human face of the refugee experience, the frailties and illusions of the perfect life, and the true cost of moral courage.”—Patmeena Sabit, author of Good People
How far are you willing to go to help someone in need?
Surrey is a quiet, affluent area just outside of London, replete with tree-lined streets, great schools, and friendly neighbors. Though she and her husband embody second-generation immigrant success, Dalia Waheed has never quite felt like she belongs.
While volunteering at a local nonprofit called Refugee Resettlement, Dalia meets the very pregnant Hajira and her husband, who are seeking asylum in the UK. In Hajira, Dalia feels a kinship she can’t quite explain. So, when Hajira asks for help finding an alternative to their grim government housing, Dalia knows she will not ignore her plea. Helping another mother secure a safer place to live seems less like charity than duty.
But what begins as a simple act of compassion quickly spirals into something far more treacherous. Soon, Dalia finds herself engulfed in a political firestorm that forces her to confront what she's truly willing to risk—for her ideals, her family, and for a woman who has already lost everything.
“A beautiful, timely novel . . . Saba Brelvi has written a haunting story about the oft-forgotten human face of the refugee experience, the frailties and illusions of the perfect life, and the true cost of moral courage.”—Patmeena Sabit, author of Good People
How far are you willing to go to help someone in need?
Surrey is a quiet, affluent area just outside of London, replete with tree-lined streets, great schools, and friendly neighbors. Though she and her husband embody second-generation immigrant success, Dalia Waheed has never quite felt like she belongs.
While volunteering at a local nonprofit called Refugee Resettlement, Dalia meets the very pregnant Hajira and her husband, who are seeking asylum in the UK. In Hajira, Dalia feels a kinship she can’t quite explain. So, when Hajira asks for help finding an alternative to their grim government housing, Dalia knows she will not ignore her plea. Helping another mother secure a safer place to live seems less like charity than duty.
But what begins as a simple act of compassion quickly spirals into something far more treacherous. Soon, Dalia finds herself engulfed in a political firestorm that forces her to confront what she's truly willing to risk—for her ideals, her family, and for a woman who has already lost everything.
- GenresFictionContemporary
336 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication November 10, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Dalia Waheed, daughter of an immigrant, lives a privileged life in Surrey England with her husband and two children. Dalia was brought up in near poverty by an emotionally unavailable single mother in Louisiana and attended Brown University where she felt like an outsider. While a student, she was engaged in social activism which fulfilled a significant part of her. Now, she is a stay at home mom in Surrey, England and she misses the time when she felt like she was doing something good.
While at Brown, Dalia meets her husband, a soon to be attorney. They talked about their dreams for the future, the importance of social change and the good they could do in the world. When his best friend invites him to join his law practice in the UK, the move seems a good choice. Dalia settles in with her family and develops a social circle. Dalia is mostly 'comfortable' with the group of female friends who she meets with regularly but, despite this social outlet, she doesn't feel a true connection with any of these women.
One day, Dalia goes to The Refugee Resettlement organization to volunteer. She does not feel fulfilled staying at home and just being a wife and mother. There is an immigration and refugee crisis in the UK and housing for refugees is near impossible to find. While volunteering, Dalia meets Hajira and Yusef. They are living in dire conditions and Hajira is very pregnant. Dalia wants to help the couple find viable housing and gets very involved in their situation.
The novel explores issues of racism, socioeconomic differences, and prejudice. Dalia's involvement with Hajira and Yusef has repercussions she could never imagine. Her home life, social life, and even her husband's professional life, come under scrutiny. Dalia is incensed by the inequities in her country but feels almost impotent to make a substantive change. Her involvement with Hajira and Yusef changes Dalia's life irrevocably. As the child of an immigrant herself, she sees that, but for fortune, she could be in the same situation as Hajira and Yusef.
I was drawn to this book because of its subject matter. My high expectations, however, were never met. The book is cliche driven and too drawn out. Dalia is almost a stereotype, as are her rich and disinterested friends. While the novel explores 'right' vs. 'wrong', it doesn't leave much room for gray area. Dalia's rich friends are painted as selfish and uncaring people while her friends from Refugee Resettlement are viewed as almost saintly. This novel was a disappointment to me and I found the ending totally off-putting.
While at Brown, Dalia meets her husband, a soon to be attorney. They talked about their dreams for the future, the importance of social change and the good they could do in the world. When his best friend invites him to join his law practice in the UK, the move seems a good choice. Dalia settles in with her family and develops a social circle. Dalia is mostly 'comfortable' with the group of female friends who she meets with regularly but, despite this social outlet, she doesn't feel a true connection with any of these women.
One day, Dalia goes to The Refugee Resettlement organization to volunteer. She does not feel fulfilled staying at home and just being a wife and mother. There is an immigration and refugee crisis in the UK and housing for refugees is near impossible to find. While volunteering, Dalia meets Hajira and Yusef. They are living in dire conditions and Hajira is very pregnant. Dalia wants to help the couple find viable housing and gets very involved in their situation.
The novel explores issues of racism, socioeconomic differences, and prejudice. Dalia's involvement with Hajira and Yusef has repercussions she could never imagine. Her home life, social life, and even her husband's professional life, come under scrutiny. Dalia is incensed by the inequities in her country but feels almost impotent to make a substantive change. Her involvement with Hajira and Yusef changes Dalia's life irrevocably. As the child of an immigrant herself, she sees that, but for fortune, she could be in the same situation as Hajira and Yusef.
I was drawn to this book because of its subject matter. My high expectations, however, were never met. The book is cliche driven and too drawn out. Dalia is almost a stereotype, as are her rich and disinterested friends. While the novel explores 'right' vs. 'wrong', it doesn't leave much room for gray area. Dalia's rich friends are painted as selfish and uncaring people while her friends from Refugee Resettlement are viewed as almost saintly. This novel was a disappointment to me and I found the ending totally off-putting.
October 5, 2026
Rating: 🤗/4
Source: #netgalley
Review: Literary fiction with substance that is deeply character driven with a divisive ending. Themes include friendship, marriage, parenting and political views with a primary focus of immigration. Makes the reader battle the questions we battle internally of how to help, who to help, how much help is enough and remembering that it impacts all of us in many different ways. I really enjoy a book that makes me think and this one shows how this topics impacts the different characters from their perspective.
Source: #netgalley
Review: Literary fiction with substance that is deeply character driven with a divisive ending. Themes include friendship, marriage, parenting and political views with a primary focus of immigration. Makes the reader battle the questions we battle internally of how to help, who to help, how much help is enough and remembering that it impacts all of us in many different ways. I really enjoy a book that makes me think and this one shows how this topics impacts the different characters from their perspective.
September 8, 2026
Dalia feels like an outsider in her rich, primarily white neighborhood outside London, even when she is around her closest friends. This divide is heightened after she begins to volunteer at a local nonprofit that works to house incoming migrants and she grows closer to a desperate couple.
Brelvi introduces nuanced, three-dimensional characters in this novel that begin to flatten into a unified stereotype as the main character’s perspective shifts. The protagonist begins to wrestle with her changing loyalties, and this affects each relationship in her life. I appreciated that Dalia wasn’t presented as a perfect individual who was entirely self-assured and never made a misstep during her fight for justice. In this realistic contemporary fiction, the reader is offered a messy, inspired main character and her best attempt at doing what she feels is right.
I didn’t feel like this book needed to offer multiple political points of view. It had a very grounded perspective and was from Dalia’s eyes, not the community’s. This book wasn’t a political debate, but a story whose goal may have been to have the reader step into someone else’s shoes.
Thank you Penguin Random House for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Brelvi introduces nuanced, three-dimensional characters in this novel that begin to flatten into a unified stereotype as the main character’s perspective shifts. The protagonist begins to wrestle with her changing loyalties, and this affects each relationship in her life. I appreciated that Dalia wasn’t presented as a perfect individual who was entirely self-assured and never made a misstep during her fight for justice. In this realistic contemporary fiction, the reader is offered a messy, inspired main character and her best attempt at doing what she feels is right.
I didn’t feel like this book needed to offer multiple political points of view. It had a very grounded perspective and was from Dalia’s eyes, not the community’s. This book wasn’t a political debate, but a story whose goal may have been to have the reader step into someone else’s shoes.
Thank you Penguin Random House for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
“The Squatters” is a highly political novel about wealth inequality and the migrant crisis. Although set in England, it would seem to have applicability to the rest of Europe and the United State.
Some reviewers have given it high praise. I found it very didactic—that it “told” a lot more than it “showed”—and increasingly “preachy,” and therefore difficult to get through (although I did complete it).
Dalia Waheed is a Muslim wife and mother living an upper-middle-class life in Surrey just outside London. Her husband Naseem, a Stanford Law School graduate, practices at a firm in London where he’s up for a partnership.
Volunteering for a refugee advocacy organization, Dalia meets Hajira and Yusuf, asylum-seekers who’ve just arrived in England and been warehoused by the government in a squalid “immigration removal center.” Pregnant, her due date only days away, Hajira is terrified of raising her newborn amidst such conditions. She begs Dalia for help and Dalia feels compelled to agree.
Dalia first puts them up at a hotel and then finds short-term accommodation in an empty house in Surrey owned by close and wealthy friend, Harriet, whose husband is a partner at Naseem's firm and will have some say over Naseem’s partnership. As Dalia continues to look for more permanent housing, the government denies Hajira’s and Yusuf’s application for asylum, at which point Hajira and Yusuf refuse to leave Harriet’s house, hanging out the window a bedsheet that says: DIGNITY 4 MIGRANTS. HERE 2 STAY.
Dalia is now between a rock and a hard place. Does she side with her friend and somehow compel Hajira, Yusuf, and their baby immediately to vacate the home? Or does she take up the migrants’ cause, jeopardizing her friendships, her husband’s partnership, and her family’s financial security and standing in the community? That Dalia herself is the daughter of a refugee from Uganda to the United States and has some personal knowledge of the plights migrants can face, only complicates matters.
Author Saba Brelvi has succeeded in creating a complex conflict that has no easy answers. As they progress through the novel, readers may often find themselves asking: what would I do in such a situation?
But, in Dalia, Ms. Brelvi has also created a confusing, contradictory main character who has been assigned far too many roles: shy suburban housewife wanting to do good, daughter cheated of her mother’s love, embittered child of refugees, successful student, starry-eyed bride, pliable wife, demanding wife, concerned mother, neglectful mother, loyal friend, disloyal friend, object of others’ scorn, resentful victim of sexism and racism, crusading social reformer, and many more. Indeed, she plays so many roles that her credibility as a character suffers. At least, I found it so.
I also thought that many of the supporting characters were not well-drawn: more stereotypical and there to make a point, rather than realistic and engaging.
I said at the top that “The Squatters” is a highly political novel, and I think that’s one of its flaws, especially since it’s very incomplete and one-sided in its examination and treatment of the issues involved in migration. The novel pits rich versus poor and natives versus migrants. Wealthy, upper-class citizens are the smug, obtuse, hypocritical victimizers. Immigrants desperate for a fresh start in life are the victimized. Yet the issue of mass migration and how it affects the existing populations and economies of destination countries is much, much more complex.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
My thanks to NetGalley, author Saba Brelvi, and publisher Random House | The Dial Press for providing me with a complimentary electronic ARC. All of the foregoing is my honest, independent opinion.
Some reviewers have given it high praise. I found it very didactic—that it “told” a lot more than it “showed”—and increasingly “preachy,” and therefore difficult to get through (although I did complete it).
Dalia Waheed is a Muslim wife and mother living an upper-middle-class life in Surrey just outside London. Her husband Naseem, a Stanford Law School graduate, practices at a firm in London where he’s up for a partnership.
Volunteering for a refugee advocacy organization, Dalia meets Hajira and Yusuf, asylum-seekers who’ve just arrived in England and been warehoused by the government in a squalid “immigration removal center.” Pregnant, her due date only days away, Hajira is terrified of raising her newborn amidst such conditions. She begs Dalia for help and Dalia feels compelled to agree.
Dalia first puts them up at a hotel and then finds short-term accommodation in an empty house in Surrey owned by close and wealthy friend, Harriet, whose husband is a partner at Naseem's firm and will have some say over Naseem’s partnership. As Dalia continues to look for more permanent housing, the government denies Hajira’s and Yusuf’s application for asylum, at which point Hajira and Yusuf refuse to leave Harriet’s house, hanging out the window a bedsheet that says: DIGNITY 4 MIGRANTS. HERE 2 STAY.
Dalia is now between a rock and a hard place. Does she side with her friend and somehow compel Hajira, Yusuf, and their baby immediately to vacate the home? Or does she take up the migrants’ cause, jeopardizing her friendships, her husband’s partnership, and her family’s financial security and standing in the community? That Dalia herself is the daughter of a refugee from Uganda to the United States and has some personal knowledge of the plights migrants can face, only complicates matters.
Author Saba Brelvi has succeeded in creating a complex conflict that has no easy answers. As they progress through the novel, readers may often find themselves asking: what would I do in such a situation?
But, in Dalia, Ms. Brelvi has also created a confusing, contradictory main character who has been assigned far too many roles: shy suburban housewife wanting to do good, daughter cheated of her mother’s love, embittered child of refugees, successful student, starry-eyed bride, pliable wife, demanding wife, concerned mother, neglectful mother, loyal friend, disloyal friend, object of others’ scorn, resentful victim of sexism and racism, crusading social reformer, and many more. Indeed, she plays so many roles that her credibility as a character suffers. At least, I found it so.
I also thought that many of the supporting characters were not well-drawn: more stereotypical and there to make a point, rather than realistic and engaging.
I said at the top that “The Squatters” is a highly political novel, and I think that’s one of its flaws, especially since it’s very incomplete and one-sided in its examination and treatment of the issues involved in migration. The novel pits rich versus poor and natives versus migrants. Wealthy, upper-class citizens are the smug, obtuse, hypocritical victimizers. Immigrants desperate for a fresh start in life are the victimized. Yet the issue of mass migration and how it affects the existing populations and economies of destination countries is much, much more complex.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
My thanks to NetGalley, author Saba Brelvi, and publisher Random House | The Dial Press for providing me with a complimentary electronic ARC. All of the foregoing is my honest, independent opinion.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Fans of books like *Small Boat* by Vincent Delacroix and *A Guardian and a Thief* by Megha Majumdar will enjoy Saba Brelvi's debut novel *The Squatters.* Like those works, Brelvi delves into themes of guilt, complicity, and the moral responsibilities of individuals and society amidst the global refugee crisis.
Set in an affluent London suburb, the novel highlights how England's part in the refugee crisis is deeply linked to imperialist legacies—where colonial boundaries, political interventions, and economic exploitation have historically created displacement conditions. The protagonist, Dalia, is of Indian descent and a child of refugees from Uganda, now a UK citizen. When Dalia, a housewife and mother, volunteers at a refugee center, she quickly becomes obsessed with helping a young, pregnant couple from the SWANA region. The situation escalates when she offers them shelter in an empty cottage belonging to a wealthy friend.
The story explores the experiences of immigrants and refugees, touching on motherhood, assimilation, racism, xenophobia, privilege, and NIMBY attitudes in neoliberal circles. It is a complex situation without easy answers. Many characters are morally ambiguous, and viewing the story through Dalia's perspective and her community offers insights.
I strongly recommend this book. As an American, I find the story relevant whether considering refugees, immigrants, homelessness, or housing affordability issues. This book will stay with me. Thanks to Random House | The Dial Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Set in an affluent London suburb, the novel highlights how England's part in the refugee crisis is deeply linked to imperialist legacies—where colonial boundaries, political interventions, and economic exploitation have historically created displacement conditions. The protagonist, Dalia, is of Indian descent and a child of refugees from Uganda, now a UK citizen. When Dalia, a housewife and mother, volunteers at a refugee center, she quickly becomes obsessed with helping a young, pregnant couple from the SWANA region. The situation escalates when she offers them shelter in an empty cottage belonging to a wealthy friend.
The story explores the experiences of immigrants and refugees, touching on motherhood, assimilation, racism, xenophobia, privilege, and NIMBY attitudes in neoliberal circles. It is a complex situation without easy answers. Many characters are morally ambiguous, and viewing the story through Dalia's perspective and her community offers insights.
I strongly recommend this book. As an American, I find the story relevant whether considering refugees, immigrants, homelessness, or housing affordability issues. This book will stay with me. Thanks to Random House | The Dial Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
thank you to netgalley & the publisher for the arc!
I'm genuinely surprised by how much I liked this one!
the start was slow and this could've been shorter. there's a LOT of build-up to the big ending situation, which we all knew was coming (the title kinda gives it away).
I'm not super familiar with how England has handled the refugee crisis, so some of the political stuff went over my head. it would've helped to have a year attached to this. as someone not in the UK, I couldn't always tell which events were being alluded to (assuming they were real and not made up for the book). a little "London, 20XX" at the top would've been great.
the characters were fully fleshed out & well one. Dalia was raising her kids really well, especially Malik. that kid is a gem; protect him at all costs. there were a ton of characters, which can turn into a blob of names, but Brelvi did a great job making everyone feel distinct. I never once had to flip back and go "wait, who's this?"
(SPOILERS)
posting a couple with a NEWBORN on Instagram, with their info, and encouraging people to show up at their house?? absolutely unhinged behavior. super fucked up. I audibly gasped.
and then the ending. two men die, one is injured, and we're never told who. so I'm left assuming it's both husbands (Naseem and Yusuf) and probably the male volunteer? all we know for sure is the homeowner is fine. ok cool, glad HE'S good. I wanted more clarity there, or at least more emotional impact. the book spent so long building to this moment and then just... ended before letting me feel it.
I'm genuinely surprised by how much I liked this one!
the start was slow and this could've been shorter. there's a LOT of build-up to the big ending situation, which we all knew was coming (the title kinda gives it away).
I'm not super familiar with how England has handled the refugee crisis, so some of the political stuff went over my head. it would've helped to have a year attached to this. as someone not in the UK, I couldn't always tell which events were being alluded to (assuming they were real and not made up for the book). a little "London, 20XX" at the top would've been great.
the characters were fully fleshed out & well one. Dalia was raising her kids really well, especially Malik. that kid is a gem; protect him at all costs. there were a ton of characters, which can turn into a blob of names, but Brelvi did a great job making everyone feel distinct. I never once had to flip back and go "wait, who's this?"
(SPOILERS)
posting a couple with a NEWBORN on Instagram, with their info, and encouraging people to show up at their house?? absolutely unhinged behavior. super fucked up. I audibly gasped.
and then the ending. two men die, one is injured, and we're never told who. so I'm left assuming it's both husbands (Naseem and Yusuf) and probably the male volunteer? all we know for sure is the homeowner is fine. ok cool, glad HE'S good. I wanted more clarity there, or at least more emotional impact. the book spent so long building to this moment and then just... ended before letting me feel it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to the publisher, The Dial Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.
This book was fantastic. Such a tender and touching story, that provoked really important thought about migration and the horrible systems and supports (or lack there of) in place for asylum seekers. I found the main characters really well written, very realistic, and very compelling. The moral struggles faced by the characters were really interesting, and it's not easy to imagine what you would do in these positions. We often want to be good people and do the right thing, but I appreciate a book that shows how hard that can be and how often people who claim to want to do the right thing can be at odds. I found the book really faced paced and appreciated that it was grounded in a very real and topic sociopolitical discussion.
It feels like theres a micro genre rising at this point in the world that specifically looks at whether or not you're able to uphold the morals and ideals you espouse when they threaten your own self-preservation. Given the state of the world, we need to ask this question of ourselves and consider if we really are who we want to be, and if not -- how do we become that person?
Highly recommend, great read.
This book was fantastic. Such a tender and touching story, that provoked really important thought about migration and the horrible systems and supports (or lack there of) in place for asylum seekers. I found the main characters really well written, very realistic, and very compelling. The moral struggles faced by the characters were really interesting, and it's not easy to imagine what you would do in these positions. We often want to be good people and do the right thing, but I appreciate a book that shows how hard that can be and how often people who claim to want to do the right thing can be at odds. I found the book really faced paced and appreciated that it was grounded in a very real and topic sociopolitical discussion.
It feels like theres a micro genre rising at this point in the world that specifically looks at whether or not you're able to uphold the morals and ideals you espouse when they threaten your own self-preservation. Given the state of the world, we need to ask this question of ourselves and consider if we really are who we want to be, and if not -- how do we become that person?
Highly recommend, great read.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC :)
WELL. I do love a book where one small decision spirals out of control and everything consequently gets worse. And that’s exactly what you will get with The Squatters. The story engages with the refugee crisis in England. We follow a refugee couple through the lens of the main character, Dalia, who is walking the line of wanting to become an activist and do more to help, but at the same time feels constraints due to her wealth and social circle. There are a host of unlikeable characters in this book (including Dalia tbh) who all have different opinions/reactions to the crisis. I think the only character I truly liked was Malik.
This would be a great book club read. One thing the author does well is shedding light on the fact that many of our social programs just do not work well, despite good intentions. Sometimes it’s up to the community to make sure people are being cared for. The book asks an important question – how far would you go to help someone else, and what are you willing to sacrifice in the process?
There were times during the story where I wanted more tension between the characters and felt the plot wasn’t really pushing forward, but after 60% I got my wish. So I highly recommend sticking with it to the end if you are feeling the same way while reading!
WELL. I do love a book where one small decision spirals out of control and everything consequently gets worse. And that’s exactly what you will get with The Squatters. The story engages with the refugee crisis in England. We follow a refugee couple through the lens of the main character, Dalia, who is walking the line of wanting to become an activist and do more to help, but at the same time feels constraints due to her wealth and social circle. There are a host of unlikeable characters in this book (including Dalia tbh) who all have different opinions/reactions to the crisis. I think the only character I truly liked was Malik.
This would be a great book club read. One thing the author does well is shedding light on the fact that many of our social programs just do not work well, despite good intentions. Sometimes it’s up to the community to make sure people are being cared for. The book asks an important question – how far would you go to help someone else, and what are you willing to sacrifice in the process?
There were times during the story where I wanted more tension between the characters and felt the plot wasn’t really pushing forward, but after 60% I got my wish. So I highly recommend sticking with it to the end if you are feeling the same way while reading!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
you know, it's been a while since i haven't enjoyed an arc (or a book in general), so i should've seen this coming sooner than later.
i'm always so intrigued to read about characters different from myself. whether that's their race or sexual orientation or location or childhood or whatever, i just like to see all the different experiences people go through. so that's what drew me to this book, especially with the current state of the world.
it was ultimately a major let down, though. everything about it was very black and white, like nothing ever had any middle ground. where's the grey area? another review also mentions that the diversity in this felt sort of cliche/full of stereotypes rather than characters who felt real, and i could tell something was just a little off while i was reading, and i think this perfectly describes it.
i wouldn't necessarily discourage anyone from reading this, because i think everyone probably needs to add some diversity to their reads (booktok i'm looking at you) and if this is what does it for you, than yay! but there are so many better options out there honestly, and i'm not rushing to recommend this at all.
(day 12 of 30 books in 30 days!)
+ thank you to netgalley & the publisher for an arc! all opinions are my own <3
i'm always so intrigued to read about characters different from myself. whether that's their race or sexual orientation or location or childhood or whatever, i just like to see all the different experiences people go through. so that's what drew me to this book, especially with the current state of the world.
it was ultimately a major let down, though. everything about it was very black and white, like nothing ever had any middle ground. where's the grey area? another review also mentions that the diversity in this felt sort of cliche/full of stereotypes rather than characters who felt real, and i could tell something was just a little off while i was reading, and i think this perfectly describes it.
i wouldn't necessarily discourage anyone from reading this, because i think everyone probably needs to add some diversity to their reads (booktok i'm looking at you) and if this is what does it for you, than yay! but there are so many better options out there honestly, and i'm not rushing to recommend this at all.
(day 12 of 30 books in 30 days!)
+ thank you to netgalley & the publisher for an arc! all opinions are my own <3
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Squatters is a contemporary fiction novel centring around Dalia, an affluent second generation immigrant who is forced to confront her privilege and her past when she begins volunteering with a local nonprofit helping refugees. Dalia has never truly felt she fits in with her neighbours, but finds a kinship with the asylum-seeking pregnant refugee she meets through her volunteering.
Dalia begins going beyond what is expected of her, turning her simple act of compassion into something more treacherous. She finds herself in the middle of a political storm that forces her to confront what she is willing to risk - both for herself and the woman in front of her who has already lost everything.
This was a deeply impactful read given the state of the world. I found myself considering the moral dilemma’s that Dalia faced, wondering what I would do in the same situation and being grateful for the privilege I have to be removed from this kind of painful reality. While the book is fiction, the struggles illustrated are all too real to those seeking asylum from countries where freedom isn’t guaranteed. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to see and understand a different perspective.
I received this ARC through NetGalley.
Dalia begins going beyond what is expected of her, turning her simple act of compassion into something more treacherous. She finds herself in the middle of a political storm that forces her to confront what she is willing to risk - both for herself and the woman in front of her who has already lost everything.
This was a deeply impactful read given the state of the world. I found myself considering the moral dilemma’s that Dalia faced, wondering what I would do in the same situation and being grateful for the privilege I have to be removed from this kind of painful reality. While the book is fiction, the struggles illustrated are all too real to those seeking asylum from countries where freedom isn’t guaranteed. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to see and understand a different perspective.
I received this ARC through NetGalley.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher Random House | The Dial Press for this 3-star eARC.
Set in a well-off suburb outside London, the story follows Dalia, a woman who appears to have built a comfortable life but feels out of place and restless beneath the surface. When she volunteers at a refugee organization, she meets Hajira, a pregnant woman seeking safety with her husband. Drawn to her situation, Dalia decides to help in a way that quickly goes beyond what she first intended, setting off a chain of events that disrupts her carefully managed world.
As Dalia becomes more involved, her actions spark tension within her community and strain her personal relationships, pulling her into complicated social and political territory. The novel explores themes like privilege, belonging, immigration, and moral responsibility, showing how good intentions can lead to messy consequences. While not always easy to read, this is a story that will make you think long after you’ve finished it. I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy thought-provoking stories about complex moral choices and social issues.
Set in a well-off suburb outside London, the story follows Dalia, a woman who appears to have built a comfortable life but feels out of place and restless beneath the surface. When she volunteers at a refugee organization, she meets Hajira, a pregnant woman seeking safety with her husband. Drawn to her situation, Dalia decides to help in a way that quickly goes beyond what she first intended, setting off a chain of events that disrupts her carefully managed world.
As Dalia becomes more involved, her actions spark tension within her community and strain her personal relationships, pulling her into complicated social and political territory. The novel explores themes like privilege, belonging, immigration, and moral responsibility, showing how good intentions can lead to messy consequences. While not always easy to read, this is a story that will make you think long after you’ve finished it. I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy thought-provoking stories about complex moral choices and social issues.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The premise of this debut novel sounded interesting and timely, so I was excited to receive an advanced copy from The Dial Press before it releases on November 10, 2026.
The main character Dalia Waheed is in a bit of a slump in her life since becoming a mother and living in the suburbs. After deciding to volunteer with refugees in the UK, she meets a refugee couple who are expecting a baby and decides to help them. What results in what she thinks is an act of kindness results in turmoil within her community.
Author Saba Brelvi’s writing is excellent, but I never felt a deep connection with the characters. There were some short flashbacks into Dalia’s life that helped explain who she was, but I never got fully invested in what she was doing and why this was so important to her. I feel like the author could have given Dalia a little more emotional depth - particularly in subject matter this serious.
It’s a quick read but I’m not sure I’ll remember much about this book a few weeks from now. Her writing style and subject matter do interest me, so I’d be interested in reading what else she writes in the future.
The main character Dalia Waheed is in a bit of a slump in her life since becoming a mother and living in the suburbs. After deciding to volunteer with refugees in the UK, she meets a refugee couple who are expecting a baby and decides to help them. What results in what she thinks is an act of kindness results in turmoil within her community.
Author Saba Brelvi’s writing is excellent, but I never felt a deep connection with the characters. There were some short flashbacks into Dalia’s life that helped explain who she was, but I never got fully invested in what she was doing and why this was so important to her. I feel like the author could have given Dalia a little more emotional depth - particularly in subject matter this serious.
It’s a quick read but I’m not sure I’ll remember much about this book a few weeks from now. Her writing style and subject matter do interest me, so I’d be interested in reading what else she writes in the future.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I loved this book from the very beginning, even though I knew based on its blurb that it would be painful to read. Dalia Waheed is an affluent stay-at-home-mom in Sussex, just starting a new volunteer gig with Refugee Resettlement. The first couple she is assigned to exist in conditions so foreign to her own, that it shocks her when she feels a semblance of kinship with them. She doesn't mean to give them her personal contact information, and she's shocked when they show up at her own home. And I was 100% locked in to this drama! So upset about the situation that the refugees are in, and the frustration of the aid workers, so disgusted by the corruption and hypocrisy around these underfunded mandates. It killed me how gutted Dalia was when every potential place she tries to find for Hajira and Yusuf to stay in doesn't work out. And then as the plot kept churning, I was sick with worry about Dalia getting herself in such a precarious position, in her marriage, with her friends, amongst peers, and in-laws, and even the public at large!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Wow, what a book! The Squatters by Saba Brelvi kept me up until I finished it in tears. This is a book about the times we are living through and makes you wonder what you would do if in Dalia’s shoes. Dalia grew up with a single mother struggling to keep the basics of life and got away through college. She met her husband Naseem, and they built a life filled with luxury and perfection. But Dalia starts a volunteer opportunity helping refugees settle in England. She meets Yusuf and his pregnant wife Hajira and life will never be the same. It turns friends into enemies and affects the relationship of husband, wife, and children. This book is well written, and I don’t know when I’ve read a book that made me think so much. These refugees have nowhere to go to begin to build a safe new life away from the lives they have left. Thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I give it 5-stars and really hope other readers will bring this debut novel to the masses. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The Squatters was a very compelling, timely novel. Set in England it follows an affluent volunteer as she attempts to make an impact on the lives of two asylum seekers. I felt this novel could have been set in any city struggling with an influx of immigrants needing services and understanding. I found this very brave novel to be unflinching and sometimes harsh as it looks at the way we treat those fleeing from difficult home countries. It was very realistic as it handled situations very similar to ones we see in the news daily. There are many themes to think about and discuss. The author did a great job of making her characters believable. The novel made me examine my own prejudices and viewpoints and reinforce the Christian attitude I strive to have towards all needing assistance. This would be an excellent novel to read and discuss with young adults.
I received an advance copy of The Squatters from the publisher through Netgalley. The opinions and review are my own.
I received an advance copy of The Squatters from the publisher through Netgalley. The opinions and review are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
“The Squatters” is about Dalia, a middle-aged woman of Indian and Muslim descent, and her volunteer work with refugees in London. Dalia immigrated to America with her mother as a child, and grew up lonely. After meeting and marrying her husband in the SF Bay Area of the US, they relocate to London for her husband’s career opportunity, have two kids and settle into a wealthy suburb. Her volunteer work stirs up issues of class, race and immigration status that her family and friends react to strongly, building suspense. I rooted for Dalia as she struggled to re-integrate her social conscience, which was closer to the center of her life when she was younger. The author did a great job in showing how intersectionality plays out in different settings. The ending was a cliff hanger; I’m looking forward to the sequel…please!
Thank you, Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you, Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley. I was very interested in reading this book as a resident of Minnesota with the recent ICE raids. Because of that, I could relate to Dalia’s experience working with Hajira and her husband, as they seek safety from their home country in the UK. The book drew me in right away as Dalia begins her volunteer work in a refugee organization and describes the terrible living conditions of immigrants in detention centers. As Dalia learns more about Hajira’s story and arrival of her new baby, she begins to feel a strong sense of responsibility to use her privilege to help them. The book explored themes of immigration, privilege, and moral responsibility. This book was a thought-provoking and emotional read.
August 15, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the E-book ARC of The Squatters in exchange for my honest review. This book follows two families whose lives collide amid questions of motherhood, immigration, and finding belonging in a world that you don’t feel lien you fit into. The writing was good, and I could see the emotional weight of what these people were going through. My heart went out to them in theory, but I never really connected with the characters enough to care deeply about what happened to them.
It was hard to get through because every time I set it down, I had no real desire to pick it back up. It is clearly thoughtful and well written, but the pacing felt slow and the story ultimately bored me.
It was hard to get through because every time I set it down, I had no real desire to pick it back up. It is clearly thoughtful and well written, but the pacing felt slow and the story ultimately bored me.
August 13, 2026
𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧
While volunteering with a local refugee resettlement nonprofit, Dalia meets Hajira, a heavily pregnant woman who has fled her home country with her husband to seek asylum in the U.K. Drawn to Hajira by an unexplainable sense of connection, Dalia feels compelled to help when Hajira asks for assistance finding safer, more suitable housing. For Dalia, helping an expectant mother find a place to call home feels like the least she can do.
🏡 Affluent suburban setting
🤝 Helping someone in need
🌍 Immigration
🫶 Unexpected connection
🌱 Self-discovery
🪞 Questioning your privilege
🏛️ Political and social issue
𝗠𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦
I was very interested in this book as an NJ resident, given the recent ICE raids. Because of that, I could relate to Dalia’s experience working with Hajira and her husband, as they seek safety from their home country in the UK. It was also interesting how Dalia’s family dynamic changed and how her friends reacted. This is definitely an emotional and thought-provoking read.
While volunteering with a local refugee resettlement nonprofit, Dalia meets Hajira, a heavily pregnant woman who has fled her home country with her husband to seek asylum in the U.K. Drawn to Hajira by an unexplainable sense of connection, Dalia feels compelled to help when Hajira asks for assistance finding safer, more suitable housing. For Dalia, helping an expectant mother find a place to call home feels like the least she can do.
🏡 Affluent suburban setting
🤝 Helping someone in need
🌍 Immigration
🫶 Unexpected connection
🌱 Self-discovery
🪞 Questioning your privilege
🏛️ Political and social issue
𝗠𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦
I was very interested in this book as an NJ resident, given the recent ICE raids. Because of that, I could relate to Dalia’s experience working with Hajira and her husband, as they seek safety from their home country in the UK. It was also interesting how Dalia’s family dynamic changed and how her friends reacted. This is definitely an emotional and thought-provoking read.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to The Dial Press and NetGalley for the uncorrected proofs in exchange for my honest thoughts.
This book is going to tear book clubs and friendships apart, and I mean that in the most positive way possible. It forces the reader to confront ugly truths and moral/political justifications for how Western countries are organized. Brelvi takes what could have easily been an excellent family-centred contemporary fiction and turns it into a philosophical debate on privilege, access to resources, our children’s access to resources and “better lives”, human rights, NIMBYism, political crises, diversity and intention, AND THEN family needs and considerations.
Among all of that is the relationships and how Dalia’s evolve during the book. She’s a child of a migrant who left due to conflict, and so she’s never felt she fits in with the upper / upper-middle class that she now finds herself in. When she tries to help Hajira and Yusuf, this comes to the forefront after years of simmering and she has to experience her friends and family acting performatively. Oh, and on this point, I’m so so SO glad her son Malik was the youth voice of human rights. Too often we see men and boys be pushed into the apathetic role in literature, so Brelvi making the son this voice of anger and justice really stood out. We need more boys and men to see that caring for other people isn’t “less manly”!
As for a criticism, the main one I have is simply that the plot is predictable. You know what’s going to happen next for most of the book. This bothered me just a tad, but I could handle it given the book’s focus was ultimately reflection on those hard questions.
Original thoughts from Oct 2
Full review and thoughts to come in a few days. As a small teaser, this book is going to tear book clubs and friendships apart, and I mean that in the most positive way.
This book is going to tear book clubs and friendships apart, and I mean that in the most positive way possible. It forces the reader to confront ugly truths and moral/political justifications for how Western countries are organized. Brelvi takes what could have easily been an excellent family-centred contemporary fiction and turns it into a philosophical debate on privilege, access to resources, our children’s access to resources and “better lives”, human rights, NIMBYism, political crises, diversity and intention, AND THEN family needs and considerations.
Among all of that is the relationships and how Dalia’s evolve during the book. She’s a child of a migrant who left due to conflict, and so she’s never felt she fits in with the upper / upper-middle class that she now finds herself in. When she tries to help Hajira and Yusuf, this comes to the forefront after years of simmering and she has to experience her friends and family acting performatively. Oh, and on this point, I’m so so SO glad her son Malik was the youth voice of human rights. Too often we see men and boys be pushed into the apathetic role in literature, so Brelvi making the son this voice of anger and justice really stood out. We need more boys and men to see that caring for other people isn’t “less manly”!
As for a criticism, the main one I have is simply that the plot is predictable. You know what’s going to happen next for most of the book. This bothered me just a tad, but I could handle it given the book’s focus was ultimately reflection on those hard questions.
Original thoughts from Oct 2
Full review and thoughts to come in a few days. As a small teaser, this book is going to tear book clubs and friendships apart, and I mean that in the most positive way.
July 5, 2026
3.75 Net Galley Review pending
July 27, 2026
Amazing novel. The ending wrecked me.
September 30, 2026
Sometimes being the nice and helpful person bites you in the butt. Sometimes people take your kindness and abuse it. This story was a good, quick read.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A privileged well-meaning woman volunteer’s during Britain’s immigrant crisis and become entangled in a political argument.
Dahlia Waheed understands being an immigrant. As a child her South Asian family was expelled from Uganda coming to the US before she married. She now lives in Surrey, England with her British husband, Naseem. She lives in an affluent neighborhood and among a privileged circle of Muslim friends. Wanting to make a difference, Dahlia volunteers for a refugee organization. When she delivers some papers to a couple at the refugee detention center, Dahlia meets a very pregnant woman, Hajara, and her husband, Yusuf. Feeling sorry for the couple she arranges with her friends to allow Hajara and Yusuf to stay in their unoccupied second home. When their application for asylum is denied, Hajara and Yusuf protest and refuse to leave creating a problem for Dahlia that might destroy her whole life.
This is a really compelling read. You are presented not only with questions about immigration but with class differences that drive prejudices. Dahlia is a sincere if not terribly naive character. She see helping as important while others see it as interfering. She is turn between having it all or just having what’s necessary. The neighborhood squabbles show what really matters when confronted by differences. We humans can be so predictable. My only criticism of the book is that ending. It was too abrupt - and since I was so invested in the characters I’d have liked to have had detail.
Overall I enjoyed this book. I thought the book was well written and had an important point to make. Readers interested in immigration stories from other countries should try this one.
My thanks to NetGalley and The Dial Press for granting me access to this ARC.
Dahlia Waheed understands being an immigrant. As a child her South Asian family was expelled from Uganda coming to the US before she married. She now lives in Surrey, England with her British husband, Naseem. She lives in an affluent neighborhood and among a privileged circle of Muslim friends. Wanting to make a difference, Dahlia volunteers for a refugee organization. When she delivers some papers to a couple at the refugee detention center, Dahlia meets a very pregnant woman, Hajara, and her husband, Yusuf. Feeling sorry for the couple she arranges with her friends to allow Hajara and Yusuf to stay in their unoccupied second home. When their application for asylum is denied, Hajara and Yusuf protest and refuse to leave creating a problem for Dahlia that might destroy her whole life.
This is a really compelling read. You are presented not only with questions about immigration but with class differences that drive prejudices. Dahlia is a sincere if not terribly naive character. She see helping as important while others see it as interfering. She is turn between having it all or just having what’s necessary. The neighborhood squabbles show what really matters when confronted by differences. We humans can be so predictable. My only criticism of the book is that ending. It was too abrupt - and since I was so invested in the characters I’d have liked to have had detail.
Overall I enjoyed this book. I thought the book was well written and had an important point to make. Readers interested in immigration stories from other countries should try this one.
My thanks to NetGalley and The Dial Press for granting me access to this ARC.
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