Pam Conrad's Stonewords (HarperCollins, 1990), Eleanor Cameron's The Court of the Stone Children (Dutton, 1973), Diana Wynne Jones's Fire and Hemlock (Greenwillow, 1984), and Ursula K. Is she caricature or character? How and why does she influence the other characters? Also, a love interest between Miranda and the boy across the street occurs with implausible ease. Readers are never sure whether she is an archetypal figure of pure evil or a strong-willed woman declaring her independence from a narrow, repressive husband. Although the book raises profound philosophic questions and deals with strong passions, its style, characterization, and emotional trajectory do not match its potential.

In a page-turning climax, Miranda realizes that only she can save her mother from madness by rescuing Dorothy and changing the past. Her malignant influence soon begins to work on Miranda's mother. In 1904, Lucinda locked her young daughter, Dorothy, in the attic and left her stuffy husband to run away with a lover, and then was killed in a train wreck. She discovers that her new home is haunted by beautiful, angry, abusive Lucinda. Well wrought and entertaining, Grade 5-9- Moving from New York City to an old house near Boston, Miranda, 14, becomes obsessed with what she sees through the windows of a dollhouse she finds in the attic. , With numerous deftly sketched characters, including a sympathetic boy next door, an intriguing plot, and such dividends as a secret room used to hide escaping slaves, this should keep readers interested. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. Reminiscent of The Indian in the Cupboard in its validation of children's play, this intricately woven ghost story pits its heroine against the forces of child abuse and untimely death in a deft, entertaining and inventive style.

Reiss puts a new twist on time travel in this suspenseful first novel.

But when her family begins to mirror the dollhouse family's ugly behavior, Miranda must act quickly to prevent disaster. Well wrought and entertaining.'-Kirkus Reviews, Miranda can't explain her fascination with the dollhouse in the attic of her family's big, old house-no one would believe that she has discovered a time machine that allows her to see into the sometimes frightening lives of her house's previous occupants. 'With numerous deftly sketched characters, including a sympathetic boy next door, an intriguing plot, and such dividends as a secret room used to hide escaping slaves, this should keep readers interested.

Time Windows by Kathryn Reiss