I liked this dystopian look at government surveillance. The RAA is a terrifying reflection that in today's society seems all too possible, clear violations of what we currently consider human rights chipped away at due to fear of safety and security. I have never read LL's writing before (not sure if this is a debut), but it is very compelling.

This book is sci-fi in some ways but it is really a thought provoking character-driven story about integrity, rights, and what we are willing to do to protect ourselves and others. It is a story of rebellion and resistance. Due to it being very introspective and character driven, it is slower paced; the pacing does serve the story in giving it a real-life feel.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this title. This one is going to stick with me for a long time because it feels so close to what a future could look like if we continue using AI to make decisions about people. There was a lot layered in here, it was slow at times, but worth it.

so, this book. it follows Sara Hussein, a museum archivist in LA, through her time being held in a retention center for women flagged by the Risk Assessment Administration: a government agency in a near-future surveillance state that scores the potential risk of citizens committing crimes, and incarcerates those whose score is deemed too high. the reader slowly discovers, as Sara does, that it's not just every nuance of her internet footprint prompting her "high" score—the RAA's algorithm is also observing her dreams, data sold to them by the tech company behind an implant meant to help people sleep.

this is obviously terrifying, but not currently extant, technology in the real world. but what really steals the breath right out of my chest about this book is the way Lalami uses this one speculative element to highlight all the very real microaggressions and micro-oppressions, all the small violations of human rights, that pile up and pile up into mountainous and systematic injustice. racism and misogyny, but also the slow horror of incarceration. the women in this book are dehumanized, physically endangered, gaslit and persecuted by power-happy attendants and the relentless grind of capitalism—it's haunting to read, knowing that what they go through isn't far removed from what happens in real detention centers and prisons.

it's infuriating, it's depressing, but it's so compellingly written! Sara is specifically and completely real-feeling, flawed and afraid and angry, and all the other characters feel like fleeting glimpses of real people too. and i won't say it ended on a hopeful note, but...more like a strengthening note, a message that individual resistance does matter, can create small change that opens opportunities for bigger change.

it's what i needed in the current moment: an intense read that is very much worth it.

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami is an absolute must read. This story will easily be in the top ten of my favorite books in 2025.

This is a Science Fiction novel, yet, it is absolutely relevant, and creepily realistic. In our political climate here in the US, and with advancements in technology, this story didn’t feel too far off from where we are at now, making it feel very real, and grounded within the trajectory of our near future.

The absolute power of this book isn’t from the realistic possibility of the Sci-Fi though, but within the female experience. So much progress we’ve made, only to have it taken away piece by piece. And who is left to fight in an unjust world? Not many. But this story finds the few, and delivers the message that we must always fight for our rights, and for ourselves, even when the world tells us to shut up.

I highly recommend this book! You don’t need to be a Sci-Fi genre reader to enjoy this one. It is serious, but it’s also rich in imagery, and thought provoking moments. It will keep you beholden to it from the first line until the last, and long after.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this advanced reader’s copy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Concept of this was terrifying. Imagine being jailed for thought crimes but nothing is even competently run or researched so anyone could end up there. Reminds me of something else going on right now.

The Dream Hotel is the kind of novel that wraps around you like a silk robe—elegant, mysterious, and just a little bit haunted. As a Read with Jenna pick, it lives up to the hype, offering a story that blends emotional intimacy with atmospheric intrigue.

The hotel itself feels like a character: opulent yet elusive, a sanctuary and a trap all at once. The protagonist’s journey through grief, memory, and self-reclamation is deeply moving, and the dreamlike prose makes every chapter feel like you're walking through fog with a lantern. It’s the kind of writing that lingers—beautiful, yes, but also quietly unsettling.

Where it loses a star for me is pacing. Some sections meander, and a few symbolic layers feel a bit overextended. But those moments are outweighed by the emotional payoff and the novel’s bold willingness to let mystery live.

Fans of Sarah Addison Allen or Emily St. John Mandel will likely find something to love here. The Dream Hotel doesn’t just ask you to check in—it invites you to stay awhile and reflect. And maybe that’s the whole point.

It was easy to imagine a world like this in the future. I appreciated the author's writing style, which allowed me to feel the frustration/anger/sadness for Sara. I was expecting a little bit more from the ending, but I'm glad that there was some sort of closure, albeit abrupt. I hope that Lalami writes more books in this genre.

Sara Hussein has just landed in LAX after a work trip to London and has little on her mind other than her sleep deprivation and seeing her husband and twin children again. She is shocked to be detained then shocked even more to be sent to a retention facility. An archivist at the Getty she cannot conceive being considered a threat to anyone, least of all her husband. But that's what her dreams are telling those who monitor them.

As her detention stretches into months and nears a year, Sara feels increasingly bleak and angry and finally begins to fight back.

This is a disturbing, dystopian novel which should seem impossible, but in these dystopian times, is haunting. The happy-ish ending should bring hope, but it's a long time coming. #TheDreamHotel #NetGalley

What an unexpected delight this book was! I couldn’t put it down. I am a sucker for dystopian type books and this one had some realism that was great. It read like an episode of black mirror.

I picked up this book expecting a lot, given the other acclaimed books by this author, however, I was very disappointed. While the idea of a society at the mercy of a surveillance state seems interesting, the story and the narrative itself was flat. 25% into the book and I did not want to continue. I skimmed and continued hoping that the story will get interesting or some plot twist will occur but that was not to be.
The story is very slow moving and the ending seems abrupt and very unsatisfying.

It's a very interesting book how things can go really wrong really fast. S.A. RA came back from London and she was retained at L.A.X. She was sent to a rehabilitation area called madison. She was based on her score's From her past and her dreams as well. This was really interesting. How this information was used against when she thought it was private. Information. She probably started when she had the children and she could not sleep. This was kind of scary.Because it's based on information on The cloud. This was really interesting too.Because every time she came up to her case , they actually did documentation like it was real. She realized who she Was and how she had to react to the past. They brought up many things and this was really interesting too how they went back to her when she was 10 years old.
They said she had some anger issues as well and she was gonna hurt her husband which was not true. The title is very interesting because they called it the dream hotel.But actually it was not a dream.It was real life. Very interesting book to read.Because this is actually happening in real life.When you take these geno testing they can find everything out about you.

This book infuriated me and made me cringe in all the best ways. Set in a not so distant future where chips and predictive technology can be implanted in one’s brain that may determine whether someone might commit a crime. The story blends the chilling mixture of Minority Report with the oppressive atmosphere of The Handmaid’s Tale.
This story follows a newly mother of twins, Sara, whose brain scores have come back at a dangerous level, she's then abruptly detained and thrown into a detention center with no hope of release.

As the narrative unfolds, it paints a stark and unsettling picture of a world where every action is monitored and technology is idolized as the solution to human problems. The characters are forced to confront the horror of being punished for crimes they haven’t committed, and might never commit.
Lalami doesn’t hold back in exploring what such a future would look like, especially for those who are marginalized, discriminated against, and stripped of their rights.

Without spoiling too much, I’ll just say I had a growing suspicion that this story would lean into the idea that such control and punishment were specifically targeted at women. And while the ending didn’t take the turn I was expecting, it did dive deep into the psychological toll such a system would inflict. It forces readers to ask themselves…..
In a world that teaches women to be obedient, would you submit, or would you fight for what you know is right, in whatever way you can?

*Thank you to Laila Lalami, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Pantheon and Netgalley for the audio copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

Unfortunately, this book was a bit underwhelming. The premise had potential, but the pacing dragged, and I found myself waiting for something exciting to happen. There were a few “OMG” moments scattered throughout, which kept me from putting it down completely but they weren’t enough to make up for how slow and confusing the rest felt. By the end, I was left wondering what story the author was really trying to tell. It felt a bit all over the place. Not a terrible read, but definitely not one I’d rush to recommend.

The Dream Hotel was a fantastic dystopian novel - that given everything going on in our country currently feels scarily real. The increasing dependence on technology and social media, the overreach of technology companies when it comes to privacy and personal data - the world that Lalami has expertly created is not a future that seems that far away. Sara Hussein was a great character and her anger, helplessness, and fear about her situation and whether she will ever get back to her life and her family is felt full force. The Dream Hotel is a cautionary tale in a lot of ways - incredibly thought-provoking and worth the read. Thank you to Pantheon and NetGalley for the chance to read this novel.

I say wasn’t able to finish this book, and had to DNF it at 14%. I just didn’t connect with it as much as I had hoped to. If I decide to pick it up again, I will come back and update my review.

moments of gorgeous writing and, in trump's america, scarily realistic visions of how surveillance and misuse of the carceral state work hand in hand. that said there was kind of not enough happening in this to keep me gripped- so many dreams, which i guess is to be expected, but dreams are inherently boring to me lol. I actually quite enjoyed the chapter that took place from the POV of an outside character and would've welcomed more of that.

In a near-future, the algorithms have erased our privacy and sense of autonomy. Everything we do is monitored by public surveillance, our phones, and even our own thoughts, feelings, and dreams. Everything has a risk assessment score, and once your risk assessment score reaches a certain number, you are at risk of being "retained".

When Sara returns to the US from a business trip in London, she is flagged as suspicious. She is retained for an initial 21 days, but that quickly turns into 10 months. She is basically being held in a prison where she is written up for any slight infraction, she has lost all autonomy to contact her family, and has a deep loss of all her rights as a citizen.

While this is meant to be dystopian, in Lalami's hands, it feels scarily real. It is not my favorite thing to read a book and feel like it could actually happen. I found myself thinking so much about this reality...and it terrified me! It made me assess my online presence, my use of technology, and how I want to proceed in this world that is increasingly dependent on these things. It made me think about my children and their futures. It made me very uncomfortable.

Additionally, Lalami explored themes of immigration, our justice system, and trauma. There is a lot here to unpack, and there were times I would have loved to follow a thread more. A book club would be able to explore some of this deeper and it would make for a lively discussion.

I enjoyed most of this book, but did find the pace severely slowed down after the first half. For me, I had to force myself to continue reading. It was a bummer because the first half was so propelling.

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami is a masterfully crafted dystopian novel that delves into the unsettling consequences of surveillance capitalism and predictive policing. Set in a near-future America, the story follows Sara Hussein, a Moroccan American historian who is detained by the Risk Assessment Administration after a dream about harming her husband is flagged by an algorithm. This premise, while speculative, resonates deeply with current societal concerns about privacy and the overreach of technology.

Lalami's narrative is both gripping and thought-provoking, drawing comparisons to the works of Orwell, Kafka, and Atwood. The novel's exploration of themes such as the erosion of civil liberties, the commodification of personal data, and the biases embedded within AI systems is both timely and chilling.

Lalami's ability to create a claustrophobic and disorienting atmosphere that mirrors the protagonist's experience is incredible.

In conclusion, The Dream Hotel is a haunting and essential novel that challenges readers to reflect on the trajectory of our society. Lalami's eloquent prose and profound insights make this a five-star read that is both enlightening and deeply unsettling.

This is a very original novel about a dystopian government that monitors dreams and many other parameters to input into an algorhythm to determine the individual's propensity to commit future crimes. The premise sounds outrageous but the author thoroughly convinced me it could be possible with future technology and with the right mindset in the voting public. The author was very accomplished at describing and conveying the deterioration of one's inner and outer life if you were "detained" indefinitely because you "might" commit a crime. She was also very astute as to the attributes that might help or harm your ability to live under these conditions. I was somewhat cautious about reading this novel, but I enjoyed it much more than I thought that I would. The corporate machinations behind the scenes were very believable. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys reading about the possibilities of future technology and its uses in the creation of a dystopian society if it is used in ways that are unwise. A perfect depiction of people doing the wrong things for what they believe are the right reaons. My sincere thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor publishing for allowing me read an ARC of this entertaining novel.

The Dream Hotel is exactly the compulsively-readable literary fiction I expect from Laila Lalami (The Other Americans, The Moor’s Account), but with one Sci-Fi twist, it becomes an unsettling dystopian novel. The twist deals with algorithmic / predictive policing: flagging crime potential in order to implement preventative measures. Every citizen is assigned a cumulative risk score given by an algorithm that analyzes data from every part of their lives, including the logs of the “Dreamsaver,” a widely used skull implant that delivers better sleep in fewer hours. If someone has a risk score above 500, they can be detained any time in the name of public safety.

As Sara Hussein returns to Los Angeles from a London conference, the passport agent pulls her aside for additional screening. She has been stopped while traveling all her life– the name “Hussein” and her dark skin like a beacon she can’t shut off. Exhausted and anxious to get home to her husband and infant twins, she’s short-tempered with the agent who flags her for a risk score of 512– surely just a glitch? What could possibly raise her score? The agent insists he’s only doing his job; the algorithm is holistic, so it could be anything, or everything. If she follows the rules at the detention center for three weeks, her score will adjust itself, and she’ll be back to her normal life. She is forced to surrender her belongings and accept a uniform, a schedule, and a cell mate– oops, “roommate”! She’s not a prisoner; it’s just a short stay, for everyone’s safety. But… there are locks, guards, and cameras everywhere. There are walls, fences, and other invisible lines that Sara only sees when she’s crossed them. For example, she is punished for a noncompliant hair style, but they haven’t allowed her any products for her natural hair. Petty infractions and unjust punishments hurt her score.

Eventually Sara learns the original reason her score jumped to 512. She was deemed a risk to her husband because she had a few nightmares about his death, catalogued by her Dreamsaver implant. They can’t actually believe she would kill her husband? Just because of a few nightmares? She was sleep deprived, frustrated, and worried about the future– infant twins, remember?

Sara’s appeals are constantly rescheduled or canceled due to administration errors, like the computer system wrongly showing that she was in the infirmary. The more her appeals are frustrated, the more powerless she (and the reader) feels. She’s stuck in the craw of a system that’s actively working against her, “a place without mercy” and “a place beyond shame.” But, still, they insist she is not a prisoner. She just can’t leave. Everyone keeps telling her to trust the process, keep her head down, and it will all work out. But in Sara’s experience, that’s not true and never will be. When she realizes she has been detained nearly a year, she wonders: Maybe there’s another way to push back?

Lalami skillfully crafts a reading experience that invokes intense physical feelings– fear, anger, grief, helplessness– without being preachy. Detaining someone not for what they have done, but for what they might do, sounds far-fetched, but aside from the “Dreamsaver” technology, this fictional algorithmic policing is not far away from programs operating now. It begs the question: Are we there yet?

With a provocative premise, sharp cultural insight, compelling characters, and excellently crafted prose, this book has a well-deserved spot on the 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist. Read this if you still think about 1984 by George Orwell or Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.