THE WINDOW

After the car accident that leaves her blind and kills her mother, Mandy, 15, goes to live with her elderly great-aunt and uncles in Texas. Coping with her grief, blindness, a new school in a new town, and relatives she didn't know existed makes Mandy resentful and angry. Enter Hannah, a classmate assigned to guide Mandy around the building for the first few days, who refuses to tolerate Mandy's self-pity and draws her into normal school and social activities. Mandy also meets Ted, who is deaf, in one of the special classes she takes, and he becomes a friend and more. In addition to settling in at school, Mandy has found that, through her bedroom window, she can ""see"" her family's unhappy past, gaining an understanding of her guardians, her beloved mother, and the father she never knew. This is a sensitive and well-told story, inhabited by appealing and believable characters, and given a twist by the unexpected element of the supernatural. That element, however, doesn't steal the story's credibility; the scenes outside the window are carried to a wistful, grieving Mandy like whispers on the wind.