Amelia BrunskillReseñas

I feel like this is a book I would have liked to see. I listened and the story was compelling, but with so many characters and the novel in verse vibe, I was curious about how it looked on the page. There were nine, close knit characters. The novel skipped between perspectives and at time there was a collective "we" narrator.
There are strict rules in the commune/community where the girls live. They are granted the leeway to have a living space with a locked door for their group. Rules seem to govern every inch of their lives. When one of the group goes missing, the girls cover and are surprised when the powers that be don't question or wonder where she has gone.
The girls investigate, slowly piecing together slices of the story. Slowly realizing things about their community, the need to trust their own council, and making choices about the directions of their own lives.½

Twins & mysteries will get me every time!! I had so many theories while reading this book (which is always a good sign for a mystery), and I just had to keep reading to see if any of them were right. The only thing I wanted more from were the characters-- I wished they felt just a little more alive. It's not the most thrilling YA mystery I've read, but it made up for it with a surprising amount of heart. Jess was a pretty clinical, matter-of-fact girl, but in the end, she got me choked up with feelings.

A great debut!!

This one was sad and depressing (I knew it would be) but I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the evolution of the main character over the course of the book (there's hope for me yet!) and admire the author for not wrapping up the last little bit the way you'd expect her to.

A teen who has a hard time fitting in wonders why her identical twin, who didn't, jumped out of a window to her death, unless she didn't jump after all; maybe the boyfriend her sister kept secret knows something, if she can just figure out who it is. Not really a YA reader, but I thought it was quite good, especially in terms of character development and in the way it raises difficult issues about sexual violence.

What I liked was how the clues that Jess uncovered were so hard to obtain. I feel like she worked really hard for every single bit of information she learned about Anna’s activity prior to her death.
What I disliked was how hard it was to get to the clues; I felt like the book dragged a bit in places or maybe that was just my impatience because I really wanted the truth about what had happened with Anna.½

Well now, this was a pleasant surprise! I don't think I've read too many YA mystery novels, or if I have I don't quite remember them, so this was a nice place to settle in. My first thought is that Amelia Brunskill has quite a talent for pacing, which I'll expand on in a bit. The Window drew me in, and I ran through it so quickly that it actually surprised me. I love effortless reads, and this book definitely fits that bill.

Jess and Anna. Anna and Jess. The twin angle was a beautiful addition to this story, because of the even sharper contrast between their two personalities. The same on the outside, but so very different in all other aspects. I loved how Brunskill slowly unveiled Anna's thoughts and feelings, as Jess slowly dove further and further into her sister's life. I think it's such a truth that we never really know someone, even an identical sibling, as much as we think we did. For Jess, Anna's life is this enigma. It takes her death to change to that at all.

I usually hesitate to the use the phrase "compulsively readable", because it's one of those phrases that's tossed casually around the book world and shows up endlessly on covers. However, I can honestly say that this phrase applies to this book. Reading The Window is effortless. Maybe not content wise, since Jess' hurt is palpable and tough to read at times. Plot wise though, this book pulls you along in its wake. I found myself having to forcefully put this book down at bedtime, because I just kept wanting to know what would happen next. Brunskill has this beautiful slow burn going through this story. It gives you just enough to tempt you to the next chapter, and then does it all over again. I didn't mind one bit.

My only complaint, and the reason I gave this book 4 stars rather than 5, is the fact that it felt a bit anti-climactic to me. Now, again, I'm used to reading this genre in the more adult section of things. So I had to step back and remind myself that this book is written for a younger set of readers, and features a much younger protagonist. I had to point out to myself that many of the scenarios in other books I've read wouldn't play out in the life of a high school student. So, just take this as my personal preference more than anything. I enjoyed this book immensely. I powered through it like a madwoman. It just didn't hit that unforgettable mark that I look for in a 5 star book, and that's totally okay.

Long story short, read this. It's excellent.

Jess and her twin, Anna, couldn't be more different, but they have always had a close bond as sisters. However, after Anna is found dead outside her window, it seems like an unfortunate accident, nothing more. However, as Jess soon comes to understand, Anna didn't share everything with her twin, and as Jess starts paying attention to what is being said about her sister, she begins to unravel the truth behind Anna's death.

Told in sharp, taut prose that is excellently paced and also captures the imperfections of the characters perfectly as they deal with the grief surrounding Anna's death, The Window captured my attention fairly quickly and while there were multiple times throughout that I was fairly sure how the story was going to end, there were enough twists and turns that actually surprised me when everything finally played out. The small town feel was spot on, and the addition of Anna's POV interspersed thru Jess' story was a nice touch, so that we get to see both sides of the twins.

And let's take a moment to appreciate the cover, shall we? Delcaorte's art dept did a fine job in creating a cover that perfectly captures the atmospheric feel to the story and Jess' sense of loneliness after Anna's death.

If you enjoy a great mystery, a dark YA story, or a good page-turner that can easily be read in one sitting, you should definitely check out The Window.

I received a physical ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

*Utterly absorbing read; following Jess as she tries to unearth the mystery surrounding her twin sister Anna’s death is both captivating and moving.
I’ll have my full review posted for my ‘The Window’ BLOG TOUR post soon (on 3/30/18) here: http://kamoorephoto.booklikes.com

It doesn't take long for Jess, and for the reader, to find out that Anna has fallen to her death, upon starting the book. There's no big lead-in and there's no 'big moment' when Jess feels that her twin has passed away, and that's what bothers her so much. I do like when a book gets right into the story right away... Then it really starts to dawn on Jess just how distant she has been from her twin, and how little she has known about her for so long. There is so little about her death, falling from her bedroom window, that makes sense, and it starts Jess on a long trail to find out what really happened, despite the insistence from those around her, that it's just her grief preventing her from accepting that Anna is gone.
The novel is written from Jess's perspective, and interspersed with writings by Anna, which gradually reveal a lot about the now-deceased twin, and also reveals a pair of twin sisters who are incredibly different from each other. Jess is socially awkward, while Anna is revealed to be friendly and to have a lot going on at school.
But the deeper Jess digs to uncover what has happened, the more she finds out that makes her think that they weren't just different, Anna was doing some things that their parents would never have approved of, and had people talking. Through Jess's amateur sleuthing though, she starts to gather some new friends and activities, but she won't stop searching for clues until she has closure.
All the way through the book, I felt as insistent as Jess on finding out why things weren't adding up; even as many novels I feel like I've read where there's a death, and someone has to go and follow the breadcrumbs, at the risk of looking obsessive or crazy, to try and piece together what the truth is, this had me compelled all the way through. I also found the way that Amelia writes to be very natural, and in contrast to some YA contemporary novels, the way in which the teen characters speak to each other, it doesn't seem stilted or fake.
And as much as I tried to piece the mystery together myself, I was wrong, and I couldn't do it, so all I could do, was follow along as the story steered me and meant me to, and find out what happened just as Jess did. And that's exactly why this book works.
As a young adult mystery, or simply as mystery wherein a death of a loved one must be solved, this book is an easy and satisfying read; there's nothing complex about it, but it left me feeling quite sad; I'm sure the loss of a twin is heart-wrenching. I have no idea how a twin might feel about how this book works, but I do know a lot about grief and about how it makes you search for answers. I'd also love to see what Amelia writes next. Her style of writing is a pleasure to read, and I do hope many of you get to read this one!