The Twisted Window, by well-known author Lois Duncan, is a contemporary story of how seventeen-year-old Tracy Lloyd gains a new perspective on life and matures after being swept up in Brad Johnson's dangerous plot to kidnap his little sister, Mindy, from his stepfather, Gavin. Initially, Brad's mission seems noble, as he seeks Tracy's help in finding Gavin Brummer and his sister. Tracy's own emotional turmoil makes her vulnerable to the falsehoods Brad presents, and she agrees to help him, but the results are far from what she expects. The tale is a study of maturation, responsibility, and how emotional pain can distort reality.

As the story opens, Tracy is living with her Aunt Irene and Uncle Cory Stevenson in Winfield, Texas, but misses her mother, Danielle, a divorced actress, who was killed in New York, months ago. She also feels abandoned by her father, Richard Lloyd...