Books

Thu Mar 6 2025

Clare Mulroy | Books Reporter

Good morning booklovers! It's Clare Mulroy here, USA TODAY's Books Reporter. This week I want to share two new releases that captured my attention from start to finish.

The first is "The Dream Hotel" by Laila Lalami. It's "Chain-Gang All-Stars" meets "1984" with a dash of "Dream Scenario" (yes, the Nicolas Cage movie ), set in a dystopian near-future where artificial intelligence has an overreaching hand even your sleep. Our protagonist, museum archivist Sara Hussein, is stopped by government agents from the Risk Assessment Administration. Their algorithm has analyzed her dreams and determined she's at risk of committing a crime in the future. Now, because of a dubious "crime prevention" program, she's being detained. It's a masterful genre-bending commentary on bodily autonomy, government surveillance and the insidious side of technological innovation.

I just finished reading "The Dream Hotel" by Laila Lalami.

Clare Mulroy

And then there's "The Unworthy" by Agustina Bazterrica, the latest translated novel from the Argentinian author of "Tender Is the Flesh." Fans of "I Who Have Never Known Men" and "The Handmaid's Tale" will enjoy this literary horror. In an isolated convent, a woman writes her life story in secret – she's an "unworthy," low on the totem pole of the Sacred Sisterhood rankings and dreams of one day ascending to be an "Enlightened." At less than 200 pages, Bazterrica packs a lot into this story – female rage, abuse, sacrifice, hope and ideological extremism in a world ravaged by climate crises. The ambiguity and mysterious intrigue in this plot would make for a great book club discussion.

Need more inspiration for your next read? I also asked a few of my coworkers for their current book obsessions. Alyssa Goldberg , one of our Wellness reporters, is reading "Pure Colour" by Sheila Heti. Rachel Hale, our youth mental health fellow, is almost done with "Eat, Pray, Love." Opinion columnist Sara Pequeño is reading "In the Dream House" by Carmen Maria Machado.

What are you reading and loving? Tell me at cmulroy@usatoday.com and you could be featured in an upcoming newsletter. Thanks for reading this week. Stay up to date with the latest in books by checking out our recent articles or by following me on Instagram.

Looking for a new book? 15 hot releases to read right now

February new releases we think you should read next.

We've got your next great read right here. Our latest roundup of new releases has thrillers, romance, historical fiction and more books from February.

READ MORE