★Entitlement. Rumaan Alam. Riverhead. Sept. 2024. 288p. ISBN 9780593718469. $30. F

Leaving an unsatisfying job as a teacher, Brooke Orr lands on her feet at the Asher and Carol Jaffee Foundation. Asher, a white, 83-year-old billionaire, is trying to give his life meaning by divesting his fortune in good works to honor the daughter he lost in 9/11. He views Brooke as a confident, young Black woman who’s unafraid to speak up. As his protégé, Brooke is invited along to meetings with the rich and richer. She is also expected to find worthy causes and believes she has found one in a progressive but run-down school for the arts, but its director has no interest in her largesse. As Brooke’s proximity to wealth and privilege grows, so does her sense of entitlement. Soon she alienates her family and oldest friends and tries to buy an apartment with money she doesn’t have. VERDICT As readers saw in Alam’s previous novel, Leave the World Behind, there is a palpable sense of dread running through this highly recommended book as well. In this case, it is not an existential threat to humanity; it’s the train wreck that is Brooke’s life. Readers may see it coming, but they won’t be able to look away.