Miranda atau Mandy, harus pindah dari New York ke sebuah kota kecil bernama Garnet, Massachusetts. Ia menempati sebuah rumah besar yang sebenarnya cantik, namun entah kenapa sedikit menyeramkan. Apalagi setelah Mandy menemukan sebuah rumah boneka yang merupakan miniatur dari rumah barunya itu di sebuah loteng yang gelap dan pengap. Apalagi (lagi), Mandy menyadari bahwa rumah boneka itu berhantu!Awalnya Mandy menyadari bahwa ada boneka penjahit di loteng itu, namun beberapa saat kemudian boneka itu tidak tampak. Beberapa saat kemudian lagi, boneka itu menampakkan dirinya, sedetik kemudian menghilang. Setelah itu, Mandy juga akhirnya menyadari kalau ada "kehidupan" di dalam rumah boneka itu. Dengan mengintip dari jendela rumah boneka itu, Mandy bisa melihat kehidupan 2 keluarga yang menempati rumah itu sebelum keluarga Mandy. Mandy merasa ketakutan setiap ia mencium wangi Magnolia - baik yang keluar dari pepohonan di taman depan rumah Mandy maupun yang keluar dari "hantu" seorang wanita cantik tahun 1904-an bernama Lucinda.Mandy merasa ia tidak bisa membagikan rahasia loteng dan rumah boneka itu pada siapapun, termasuk pada Ayah, Ibu dan sahabat baiknya, Nicole. Ia merasa bahwa rumah boneka itu minta dirahasiakan keberadaannya. Namun pada akhirnya, di puncak ketakutan dan depresinya Mandy akhirnya membagi cerita tersebut pada Daniel Hooton, seorang bocah lelaki seumurnya yang tinggal di seberang rumahnya. Dan bersama Daniel, Mandy menemukan sebuah fakta mengerikan dari rumah itu: ia menemukan sesosok mayat gadis kecil di loteng rumahnya!Keanehan rumah itu belum berakhir. Setelah Bibi Belle yang lemah lembut berubah menjadi galak dan menakutkan selama menginap di rumah itu, ia menemukan bahwa Ibunya sendiri seperti bukan Ibunya. Dan Mandy menemukan bahwa para Ibu dari 2 keluarga sebelumnya berkelakuan sama seperti Ibu Mandy dan Bibi Belle. Walaupun Mandy dan Daniel sudah menemukan mayat Dorothy, gadis kecil yang malang itu, Mandy tetap merasa tugasnya belum selesai. Mau apa lagi Dorothy dari dirinya?Judul versi Indonesianya adalah Mandy: Misteri Wangi Bunga Magnolia. Suka banget sama misteri yang disajikan, walopun sempet bergidik ngeri ngebayangin nemuin mayat anak kecil di loteng rumah (amitamit ketok meja 3x). Ketika Mandy ngerasa bingung dengan semua kejadian yang "ia rasa ia pernah alami", saya sendiri juga jadi ikutan bingung apakah dari tadi si Mandy itu mimpi ato memang Mandy udah mengubah masa lalu dan masa kini. Oh ya, saya sukaaaaa banget kalo ada konversasi antara Miranda dan Daniel :35 bintang untuk rumah boneka berhantu.
I read this back in elementary school after my mum bought it for me at a book fair, and I read it so many times that the cover fell off. Did I replace the book? Negative...I taped the cover back on, and I still re-read it to this day.Time Windows is the story of Miranda Browne, the quintessential city girl from New York who moves to the suburbs in Massachusetts. The house is old, quaint, and everything her parents could ever hope for. Miranda isn't so sure, but she finds an antique dollhouse in the attic and finds herself drawn to it. When a chance encounter leads Miranda to discover that she can view the past through the windows of the dollhouse, which is a replica of her house, she becomes emotionally attached to those she sees through the windows. Strange things start happening though - the events that used to happen in the house begin to unravel and happen again through those living in the house now. Miranda must figure out the mysteries of the dollhouse before something bad happens.This book hooked me from the first page. It was an intriguing concept with mysteries, ghosts, time travel, and just enough paranormal to keep me satisfied. The writing is quick, fast-paced, and easy to follow. I would recommend this to anyone who loves YA and MG books, for sure. I give it a 4.5 out 5 because I still think the ending was too abrupt for my liking.
What do You think about Time Windows (2000)?
A young girl moves with her family into an old house, and discovers a replica of the house in the attic. When she looks through the windows of the dollhouse, she can see dark, creepy scenes from the real house's past- the lives of from three different families that lived there before her. Her own mother starts behaving very strangely, and it seems to be related to the events happening in the dollhouse windows. The girl has to solve the mystery of what happened to a little girl from the early 1900's. As a kid, I loved mystery books about time travel, ghosts, and great girl characters. This book was the epitome of all those things. One of my favorite things about the book was how Reiss described the strong smell of magnolia blossoms at the house and how addicted the main character became to watching the scenes in the windows.
—Chelsea
At first I didn't think I'd like this book: it was slow moving and the writing style wasn't in my taste. A few things were pretty annoying. First off, Miranda calling her mother "Mither" was on par for me with the name abomination "Renesme" from the Twilight series. Second, Miranda seems to be written too young for her age. She seemed like she'd be about 10 or 11, but around halfway through the book, it is finally mentioned that she's 13 and starting eighth grade, not fourth or fifth like she seems. Finally, the plot is very predictable and Miranda is slow to put details together, but I don't think I should discredit the book for that because it's written for a young audience. I'm glad I stuck it out--I got pulled into the plot around chapter six or so--because I ended up enjoying it. Good entertainment.
—Allie
My favorite part was when Dorothy escaped the attic, and lived till she was over 90 years old, unlike before when she died in the airtight room in the attic. She escaped the attic with the key that Miranda put in the dollhouse, a few minutes after Dorothy was locked in the attic by Lucinda. The worst part was when Dorothy died, the first time, before Miranda helped her. What happened was she was thrown in the attic, for spilling perfume, getting locked in the attic, and getting scared, so she fe
—Twyla
