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nuhafariha 's review for:

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
3.25
dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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.