The main character in The Window is teenager Mandy. After a tragic car accident, Mandy is left to live a new life without her mother or her sight. Mandy goes to live with her Texas relatives--relatives that were unknown to her until after the accident.
Mandy moves in with her great-aunt Emma and her uncles Abe and Gabriel. From the moment Mandy moves in, her mysterious family history begins to emerge. When Mandy stands by the window in her attic room, she is able to hear voices and see images in her mind of another time. Through listening to these voices throughout the story (which belong to Gwen, her grandmother and Abe, one of the great uncles she is living with), Mandy is able to piece together her family history. Mandy learns what happened that caused her mother's family life to be unknown for so many years. The reader also learns that the accident that killed her mother happened while they were on the way to find her grandmother.
Mandy also faces an adjustment regarding her decision to go to a normal school instead of a school for the blind. At school, Mandy meets Hannah, who has been assigned to help her around school for the first few days. Hannah and Mandy become fast friends. Hannah does not tolerate Mandy's self-pity and gets Mandy involved in normal school activities (like going to a football game). Mandy helps Hannah with her family troubles and even stops Hannah from running away.
Mandy also meets Ted, a hearing impaired student. Mandy starts to like Ted and even invites him to a dance at school. Ted and Mandy become close friends and when the story ends, the reader is left with the feeling that Ted and Mandy soon become boyfriend/girlfriend.
This story is very well written, but left me to wonder: Why does Mandy fit in so fast to a normal, new school and why is Mandy's great - uncle Abe so angry when Mandy mentions she hears Gwen's voice (Abe's sister)? These questions are left unanswered.
I would recommend this novel to ages 12 and up as some subject matter is not suitable for younger readers.
The Window won the following awards: ALA Best Book for Young Adults; IRI Young Adults' Choice, Mark Twain Award nominee; Young Hoosier Book Award nominee; Nevada Young Readers' Award nominee; Maryland Young Readers' Award nominee.
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