"Laken is masterful at character construction as she explores issues of race and class and conveys the wreckage of individual lives and the emotions evoked by a house that is the source of joy and dreams as well as the site of tragedy." -- Booklist (starred review)

"A disaster occurs, but the human bonds that link these appealing characters are frayed, not broken. . . . Laken handles the fraught subjects of class, race, and family bonds with equal candor and sensitivity in this powerful book." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Offers insights into the fragility of home, family, and neighborhood. . . . [A] thoughtful debut. . . . Compelling reflections on broad issues such as neighborhood gentrification and the American dream as well as the personal struggles involved with marriage, family, and the creation of a home." -- Publishers Weekly

"A perfectly plausible and rational ghost story: sexy, sharp-eyed, and deeply haunted all at once. The past never goes away. It is still there, inside the walls of this wonderful book." -- Charles Baxter, author of The Feast of Love

"A psychologically engrossing novel about the homes we make--in our houses, in our neighborhoods, and in the hearts of our loved ones. Laken takes on that great unspoken American subject--class--and does so with frankness, acuity and surpassing feeling. DREAM HOUSE is a memorable debut novel from a fully mature talent." -- Peter Ho Davies, author of The Welsh Girl

"In DREAM HOUSE, Valerie Laken has built for us an elegantly constructed novel with quietly polished yet dazzling lines, and she has peopled it with heartbreakingly convincing characters." -- Eileen Pollack, author of The Rabbi in the Attic; Paradise, New York; and In the Mouth

"DREAM HOUSE is a novel of great reckoning. . . . Laken's deft, generous, and brave debut will stay with you