The Window

Read The Window Storyline:

Mandy survived the terrible accident that killed her mother, but she was left blind and alone. Now she lives with relatives she doesn't know, attends a new school, and tries to make friends--all the while struggling to function without sight.Her unpredictable life takes its strangest turn when she begins to hear the oddest things through the window of her attic room. In fact, what she hears--and seems to "see"--are events that happened years ago, before she was even born. . . .From School Library JournalGrade 6-9-Mandy, blinded in an automobile accident that killed her mother, goes to live with her two great uncles and a great aunt whom she has never met. Once on the family homestead in northern Texas, she travels to her grandmother's teenage years when she leans out of her attic bedroom window. Through her travels into the past, she pieces together the tragic story of the family she never knew existed and learns much about herself. In the present-day world, Mandy is adjusting to a new school, new friends, and being blind. She makes friends with ease, and their support helps her adjust to all of the other changes she is experiencing. There is no real conflict in this novel. The only real tension arises in the past world and transfers to the present day when Mandy tries to piece together the mystery of her mother's and grandmother's lives. By placing the protagonist in the home of her great uncle and aunt, and by making Mandy's adjustment to her new life relatively smooth, Ingold avoids many of the weaknesses of the YA time-travel genre. Mandy is not running from anything; however, the knowledge she gains through her journeys into the past allows her to see her own life more clearly and to adjust to her new circumstances more easily.Lucinda Lockwood, Thomas Haney Secondary School, Maple Ridge, BCCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. From BooklistGr.7^-10. When Mandy is blinded in an accident that kills her mother, the teen goes to live in Texas with relatives, who heretofore have not known of her existence. Another YA novel ringing with excess tragedy? Perhaps, but Ingold does such a good job of bringing Mandy's character to life, along with that of her great-aunt Emma and those of great-uncles Abe and Gabriel, that the reader gladly sticks with the story to find out what will happen. And there's plenty to find out. From almost the moment Mandy enters her new home, her mysterious family history begins to emerge. The girl seems to hear voices from another time and is gradually able to piece together what happened that caused her mother's family life to be unknown for so many years. The voices and time travel devices are deftly handled and make the suspension of belief workable. The real power of the story, however, is the girl's voice, which makes us feel what it would be like to suddenly face the world with no sight, and the touching, albeit unsentimental, efforts of the relatives to accept and love her. As it turns out, Mandy's social adjustment at school is almost too smooth to be convincing, and she may end up overloading a bit on self-knowledge and success, but this is nonetheless a strong and satisfying work. Anne O'Malley