The Window [Hardcover]

Michael Dorris (Author), Ken Robbins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 1997 | Grade Level: 5 and up

In his first contemporary book for young readers, Michael Dorris introduces readers to 11-year-old Rayona Taylor--part black, part Indian--and shows the events that shaped this unforgettable young woman. After being placed in foster care, Rayona goes to live with her Kentucky relatives, in this novel about betrayal, forgiveness, and the unbreakable bonds of family.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

PW said that readers will "savor" this YA companion to Dorris's adult novel A Yellow Raft in Blue Water; here, a younger Rayona is sent to foster homes when her Native American mother enters rehab, but ends up with her African-American father's relatives in Kentucky. Ages 10-up. (May)

Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8. The story of 11-year-old Rayona, a character in Dorris's adult book, Yellow Raft in Blue Water. Her Native American mother is dysfunctional as a parent, yet Rayona obviously loves her. When Mom enters a chemical dependency treatment program, Rayona's black father, who has also been unreliable and is unwilling to care for her himself, cons a social-worker girl friend into sneaking her into a foster home. The first situation with a do-gooder family is a caricature pure and simple. Then, Rayona supposedly effects in a single evening a lasting personality shift in a rigid, retired African-American teacher. When neither placement works out, her father ships her off to the home of his mother, grandmother, and aunt. Despite the book's beautiful prose and Rayona's resilience in dealing with grim realities no child should ever have to face, there are problems. The adult characters lack depth and motivation. The girl's relatives in Kentucky, a family of women who previously appeared in Cloud Chamber, blend together, reduced to paper-doll images. Readers who go on to the adult books, which take place at different times, will find that they make no sense. As a prequel or a sequel, this is a complete non sequitir. Most troubling of all is the way the father gives Rayona power through sharing his secret with her. Rayona thinks, "Having a secret with somebody means they trust you, because you could always betray them....When you know somebody's secret, it's up to you to protect them. They need you." It is sad that neither the author nor Rayona ever seem to figure out what's wrong with that line of thought.?Carol A. Edwards, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1st edition (October 19, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786803010
• ISBN-13: 978-0786803019
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,067,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Give Michael Dorris Credit!, February 24, 2006

By 

Michelle Levine (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Window (Hardcover)

Carol A. Edwards of the Minneapolis Public Library, who wrote the School Library Journal review, must not be very familiar with Native American literature, because all things non-sequitur belong to the genre and Dorris was a Native American writer. She made a mistake with her review and she should retract it. Sometimes, when we say things without thinking, we can both err and be very hurtful. Michael Dorris committed suicide, but while he lived he wrote stories to make people think - about the problems in their own lives and how to overcome them.

Was there a lack of character development in this story? Perhaps, but The Window is young adult literature and it serves an obvious purpose for young people, like Dorris' books Sees Behind Trees and Morning Girl. One who has taught literature to this age group would have witnessed the transformation these books can initiate in fragile young lives. Life is often painful, Dorris illustrates, but we must find ways to deal with it and turn things to our advantage. Yes, surely Rayona has the power to powerfully affect someone's entire way of thinking in one day. As did Dorris. As do I. Don't you?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Book!, April 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Window (Paperback)

Although I was a bit old to read this book, it was still an eye opener. This book explores many issues such as abuse, both mental and physical, and racially mixed familes. I thought this book was really touching and you will fall in love with Rayona's father's family. It's definitly worth reading.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Rayona is not real, March 5, 2001

By 

Manola Sommerfeld (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Window (Paperback)

I loved A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, but was very disappointed with this book. The thing that annoyed me the most is that Rayona speaks like an adult, yet in this story she is 11 years old. Her reflections, her observations about her surroundings, are not in synch with the thoughts of a pre-pubescent girl, no matter how mature and developed she is. I wish the author had taken this fact into consideration. Also, some of the vignettes, especially the one with the Potters and with Mrs. Jackson, have no development at all. These episodes are mentioned almost in passing.

What touched me the most are Rayona's ambivalent feelings for her mother. However, the way that Rayona verbalizes those feelings is way too mature and rational for a child her age.

I'd be curious to hear the opinions of the intended readers, the kids. Maybe they are more forgiving than i am. Once again, the willing suspension of disbelief fails me. A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, though, is not to be missed. Rayona is a teenager by then, and it's a totally different playfield.