Girl in the Window

From School Library Journal Gr 3-5 A fast-paced but rather sloppily written mystery. Kiley is shocked when, a year after her neighbor Leedie Ann is kidnapped, she sees a figure who looks like Leedie Ann in the window of the Alcott house. When Mrs. Alcott and Pesha, the sinister gypsy woman who lives with her, deny that Leedie Ann has returned, Kiley convinces her friend Sarah to help her investigate. Inconsistencies and implausibilities strain readers' credulity. Although both Kiley and Sarah are convinced that they've seen Leedie Ann, it's revealed halfway through the book that the figure is merely a life-sized doll. The discovery of the kidnapper's identity hinges on his carelessly leaving damaging evidence in plain sight in the town where the crime occured. For the first half of the story, Pesha is depicted as a sinister figure, too close for comfort to the old stereotype of the unscrupulous baby-stealing gypsy. Then Kiley's sympathies make a complete turnaround, as sudden as it is implausible, and she becomes Pesha's loyal friend. Yeo may be making a plea here for tolerance of those different from ourselves, but the abrupt shift in the depiction of Peshafrom villainess to victimis apt to leave youthful readers more confused than sympathetic. The character of Pesha does, however, allow Yeo to incorporate some interesting background information on gypsy life, especially in regard to their experiences during and after World War II, into the narrative. Overall, the story is moderately entertaining, yet its flaws are significant. Ruth Sadasivan, Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, Ohio Copyright 1988 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
ASIN: 0590405551
VSKU: RDV.0590405551.A
Condition: Acceptable