Teen Books That Have Something to Say

The Window

Review

The Window
by Michael Dorris
Disney Press,(October 1997)
ISBN-10: 0786803010
ISBN-13: 9780786803019

My rating:

Rayona's irresponsible mother leaves her alone all night more and more frequently, her disapperances getting longer until they stretch into days, and Rayona is left without food or money. When her smooth-talking, womanizing father, who she rarely sees, makes one of his surprise visits, he decides she needs a place to stay—so he gets an ex-girlfriend of his, a social worker, to put her in a placement as a favor to him. Rayona's mother is Indian, her father Black, so when the social worker asks her what kind of family she wants to live with, Rayona says the thing she thinks will bug her father the most—a white family.

But Rayona doesn't feel she fits in with the family she's placed with, and refuses to stay there. Several placements later, Rayona's father has no choice but to send her to his mother's place. Her father rarely ever talks about his family, and Rayona has never met them. When she arrives, she discovers what he has been hiding—his mother and aunts are all white! Rayona grows close to the kind, older women who give her the first stability she's ever had, and when it's time to leave, Rayona finds it hard.

Tightly written, this book has depth, insightfulness, and sensitivity. Rayona is a very real character, as are her parents, extended family, and the people she meets, and the book is heartwarming and moving. A beautiful story, sensitively told.

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