This is my first Laila Lalami book and The Dream Hotel has me looking for more by this author. This novel could have been an episode of Black Mirror and a good one at that.

The story follows Sara Hussein, an archivist at the Getty Museum in LA, who was detained unexpectedly at LAX when returning from a work conference. She was flagged as a potential threat to her husband and then sent to a detention facility to help watch her. The reason she was flagged was due to her having dreams, which are being tracked by a company, that centered around killing her husband. In the world of this novel, there is a technology that was developed to "help" improve the crime rate by catching criminals before they do anything harmful. They just get detained and are supposedly not in "prison".

I couldn't put this book down. This was a bleak dystopian sci-fi that brought a lot of thought about the legal and prison systems, technology, privacy, and even the struggles of immigrants assimilating in this country and dealing with racial profiling (especially at airports). It was very interesting how people gave up their privacy (to have their dreams monitored) to have a peaceful, restful sleep. A real thought-provoking read.

Laila Lalami the writer you are! My first sit down with her as an authour and while this is my favourite genre, my bias typically works against me with the highest of hopes and the biggest let downs. Fortunately for me, Lalami did not let me down.

In a not so distant future, technology is “helping” to curve the crime rate by picking up “criminals” before committing the actual crime they’re being retained for. It’s “not” prison, right? Through heavy monitoring, big brother is watching, even through your dreams.

As a lover of scifi, apocalypse, societal monitoring, philosophical and psychological exploration, I found Lalami hit all of my wants and needs while still maintaining a solid story without bouncing all over the place. We follow one main character throughout and while there was one perspective switch mid story that had me confused then quickly had me jaw dropping loudly, everything was well honed and succinct.

There were so many things packed into this tight story that would make Kazou Ishiguro and fans alike pleased. While this sparks hints of my love for things like Black Mirror, it’s less doom filled while still being entirely bleak. I know it’s unlikely to happen but I’d absolutely love for a bunch of other stories set in this world of new characters experiences. We don’t get much of anything in the outside world, and this is a necessary choice for the book, but Lalami creates a luscious world I just seem brimming with potential.

This is a 5 star all around book. It really reminded me of the school for good mothers - but even better (and that was a 5 star read for me). Even at the end, it showed how the stay impacted her in the real world. all of this was amazing!!

The Dream Hotel is a brillant, pacey book that is bound to be a favorite for many readers in 2025. Laila Lalami weaves dystopian fiction with political commentary throughout her novel. She tells the story of a woman named Sara who is in confinement for a crime that she is "likely" to commit based on algorithmic data. Sara's struggles with the bureaucracy while in a female detention are frustratingly realistic, and her sentence is stretched from weeks to months. As a new parent eager to reunite with her twins, Sara must figure out an ever changing system of rules and write-ups in order to clear her record, and be released. 

While many of the elements of technology that Lalami dreams up are futuristic, they point back to current trends in surveillance and our culture's desire for AI to ease the burdens of decision-making. More than any other social issue, I think The Dream Hotel does an excellent job of pointing a finger at for-profit prisons. The women's labor at the detention center but sustains and expands the facility, all the while detainees are expected to fork over large sums for simple things, like shampoo or a phone call. The lack of justice echoed throughout the book is an excellent opportunity for discussion and reflection. 

A huge thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I look forward to reading other reviews once The Dream Hotel is released in March!

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the ebook. In the slightly distant future, you can guarantee a great night sleep, every night, but, in exchange, you give access to your dreams. The company can not sell your dreams, but can provide them to law enforcement. Thus begins retention centers where random people are held when their dreams point to possible future crimes. This always fascinating novel follows Sara as she is separated from her husband and infant twins and starts a nightmare that seems to have no end.

I loved loved loved the premise of this book - very fascinating. At least the first 50% was captivating. I felt the ending wasn't much of an ending at all and was disappointed... but still loved the sci-fi/black mirror-esque plot. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy.

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami was a scary dystopia type narrative where many different factors could cause you to be locked up and or evaluated. The whole thing made me nervous about the direction this country. It reveals a moving scary possibility of our future and speculation rules the day in this novel. Between the dreams and actual previous events I was wondering if anyone can be put away. This will sober you up and scare you, at least it did me. 4⭐️
Thanks Pantheon via NetGalley.

Thank you net galley for the chance to read/review this title. Unfortunately, it was a miss for me. I kept waiting for something more to happen. The premise of the book had me pulled me right in but I found it slow, uneventful and honestly kept reading expecting the twist to arrive. 2.5 stars

Thank you Knopf for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available March 2025.

Set in the distant future, Laila Lalami's newest novel follows a young Morrocan woman as she navigates a predatory security system. When Sara is flagged as a potential threat to public safety, she thinks it is just a glitch. A one hour wait to speak with Risk Assessment turns into a day retained at the local facility turns into 340 days apart from her two children. Lalami explores the dangers for for profit prison system, painting a grim future I can imagine quite easily. Yet I wish Sara had turned evil a lot sooner - I was rooting for her Black August like prison strike. The ending felt liks it came so rapidly.

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami is a gripping and thought-provoking read that explores the dangers of surveillance and the loss of personal freedom in a near-future dystopia. The story centers on Sara Hussein, a Moroccan American scientist, who is detained by the Risk Assessment Administration (RAA) after returning to Los Angeles. In this world, the government monitors people’s dreams to predict crimes and Sara has a bad dream.

Lalami creates an unsettling and eerily believable version of the future that feels just a step away from our own reality. There are ethical questions surrounding technology, security, and privacy, especially for marginalized communities, who are often the first to feel the effects of systems like these. The slow-burn tension keeps you turning the pages as Sara’s confinement blurs the line between what’s real and what’s controlled. Lalami’s writing is sharp and atmospheric, pulling you into Sara’s claustrophobic experience. It’s both a cautionary tale and a powerful reminder of the dangers of sacrificing personal freedom for the sake of “safety.”

Sara was traveling back to LAX when suddenly she was stopped at security and investigated. In this new dystopian world, everyone has a “risk” score on how likely they are to essentially disrupt society and potentially commit a crime.

After further evaluation, Sara was sent to a facility for observation. She learns they are concerned about dreams of her “killing” her husband. What was supposed to be 21 days turns into almost a year. Will Sara ever leave?

What a fantastic book! HUGE five star read for me. Only negative was the transition from reality to dream was at times a bit muddled, but I do believe that was on purpose.

The premise is intriguing and certainly gets under your skin in its bid to be a plausible future. However, I just couldn't connect with the main character even under her most dire and frustrating circumstances. It's like a cross between Minority Reports and the Black Mirror episode Everyone Hates Joan. The author does a good job of showing how easy we click our rights away and it's scary. My problem was because I couldn't connect with any of the characters I just really didn't care and I should. There needs to be more dimension and backstory to them. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

In The Dream Hotel, Laila Lalami crafts a compelling narrative about surveillance, technology, and human resilience. The novel centers on Sara Hussein, a scientist unexpectedly detained at LAX when an algorithm flags her as a potential threat to her husband, thrusting her into a nightmarish detention system that criminalizes dreams.

Lalami creates a disturbingly plausible near-future world where advanced technology transforms personal subconscious into potential evidence. Unlike speculative fiction that feels distant, this story grounds its dystopian premise in current technological capabilities, making the narrative feel uncomfortably real.

The novel's strength lies in its nuanced exploration of systemic injustice. Sara's personal struggle becomes a broader examination of how technological surveillance disproportionately impacts marginalized communities. Her fight to maintain dignity and identity within a dehumanizing system reflects contemporary concerns about privacy, racial profiling, and algorithmic judgment.

Lalami's prose is precise and evocative, capturing the psychological claustrophobia of unjust detention. The narrative moves between Sara's immediate experience and wider societal critiques, creating a multi-layered exploration of power, technology, and individual agency.
While the middle sections occasionally slow, this pacing effectively mirrors the oppressive nature of institutional confinement. The story's tension builds gradually, drawing readers into a world where personal thoughts become potential weapons against individual freedom.

The Dream Hotel is more than a dystopian thriller; it's a thoughtful meditation on the erosion of privacy and personal autonomy in an increasingly algorithmic world. Lalami challenges readers to consider the human cost of technological surveillance, creating a narrative that is both intellectually rigorous and deeply empathetic.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Pantheon for sharing this unique dystopian thriller's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The Dream Hotel is about a woman named Sara and the dystopian world in which she lives.
In this world, every aspect of life is recorded and used to eliminate crime and of course to market to the people. Including our dreams. As a new mother of twins, Sara succumbs to having a device planted in her head that helps her to be more rested on less sleep. Of course, big brother is watching and taking notes.
I did “enjoy” reading this, for lack of a better word. It is very thought provoking for sure, terrifying if you can see how close we are to having something like this happen in our near future.
I definitely recommend this read. We all need to be more aware of what we’re signing up for with all the new technological advances made daily.
I do feel there was a bit of overwriting. However, it has a solid plot and good character development.

I've read and loved Lalami's other books but this one was claustrophobic, scary, traumatizing and a little too real in parts. It's a bleak view on what the world could evolve to and of course like all good books, it's not impossible to see this type of future unfold.

The amount of data that is collectively available on each of us is indeed eye opening and, if merged together, would be alarming in its ability to predict things. Lalami's story takes this to an extreme and paints a world in which the government in service of protecting us is creating measures that are draconian.

Coupling all that with the concepts of presumptive-guilt and manipulation results in the kind of story that is both traumatizing and feels all together too possible and real in parts. Thankfully many other parts seem wild and too-far-fetched (at least for now) and help ground that this is still a novel and not our reality.

for now.

with gratitude to netgalley and Pantheon for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

while this one started out really promising for me, it ultimately left me feeling a bit disappointed :/

I was hooked from the jump and still think the premise was really interesting, a neat exploration of technology and surveillance. it just dragged on a bit imo, a pretty slow crawl of a story, where not much really happens in the first 50% or maybe even longer. it seems like a lot of people really liked this one so I might be in the minority but I just felt like so much more could've been done with it. that said, Lalami's writing style is fantastic and I was definitely anxious to continue uncovering Sara's place in this dystopian near-future, despite the fact that it moved a bit too slow for my liking!

The Dream Hotel is about a woman named Sara and the dystopian world that she lives in.
In this world, every aspect of our lives is recorded and used to eliminate crime.
Our cell phones are monitored, facial recognition software is used literally everywhere.
Our lives are ruled by algorithms.
Appliances that are smart devices, those record and forward all your personal information to government run programs that keep a file on everyone.
Each person is allowed a certain amount of points before they are deemed a threat to society and locked away for observation (until they are no longer a threat).
While trying to get home she is confronted at LAX and because of an incident on her flight she is taken to one of these holding facilities. What should only be 21 days turns into over 200!
The Dream Hotel is what goes on during her “incarceration“ and what she learns while being held there.

As with any group if they are left to police themselves corruption is bound to happen.
People are locked up and wrongfully so, they are kept longer than they are supposed to be and the conditions they live in are beyond unsanitary.

This is an amazing perspective on how our future can turn out if things are left unchecked.

I couldn’t give it 5/5 because I felt like there was a lot of overwriting. It took away from the story in my opinion, I found myself skimming through pages and not missing anything important.
Other than that I really enjoyed the plot, the character arc was amazing!

Release Date: June 10, 2025

“Nothing is random,” he said with frightening conviction. Didn’t she know that dreams were windows into the subconscious? They showed connections between our thoughts and actions while remaining free of lies or justifications. They revealed our fears, desires, and petty jealousies with greater honesty than we would ever allow in our waking moments. They were valuable precisely because they exposed the most private parts of ourselves, from repressed memories to future plans.

Sara is returning home to LA but is detained after arriving at LAX. She is told that a government algorithm has determined that she is dangerous - that in fact she poses harm to her husband. She is shocked but is unable to convince the officers and is moved to a detention facility.

This reminded me a lot of one of my favorite movies, Minority Report. The idea that you are judged by something you haven't even done yet. But this is even more sinister because you don't have to even think it, maybe you only dreamt it.

Thank you netgalley and Knopf Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"..𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯? 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵; 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺."

Interesting premise on predicting the future of crimes based on the surveillance of people’s dreams with intersecting themes on race, class, technology (AI), all meshing into, perhaps, the future of our legality system.

It’s a frightening book because in an Orwellian sense, it’s something we’re headed towards. Lalami is skilled in creating an unsettlement that plagues the mundanity of our lives. What happens when our sense of ease, in all of its boring bits, become unfit for actual living? There were always moments where I expected great gestures towards some kind of violence, but a wrestling tension persists through the text.

The most unsettling story I’ve read all year, mostly because of its plausibility in a near distant future.