The Children’s Book Review | May 23, 2018
The Children’s Book Review: Which five words best describe The Window?
Amelia Brunskill: Twins. Secrets. Mystery. Grief. Love.
Can you share a highlight from the book? Your thoughts on, or an excerpt of, your favorite sentence, paragraph, or page?
I have a definite soft spot for the opening lines. I feel like I didn’t really understand Anna as a character until I wrote them, and I also think they read differently by the time you get to the end of the book:
Sometimes I worry that I’m not a good person.
I think I used to be.
But I haven’t been good lately.
If you had to take a vacation with one of the characters from The Window, who would it be? Why?
Definitely Mona. She is smart, together, and skilled at technical troubleshooting, so I think she’d make for a delightful and highly useful travel partner. Also, while I suspect that some of the other characters would try to make me go on a morning run with them, I think she’d let me sleep in.
What has been the best reaction from a reader, so far?
I received some lovely feedback from someone who is a twin herself, and she let me know that she felt like I’d really captured the bond between twins well. It was so lovely to hear that, because the connection between Jess and Anna is really the heart of the story.
What’s on your nightstand? Any books?
So many books! My mighty nightstand tower includes The Hazel Wood, Prince in Disguise, Down and Across, and The Time Traveler’s Almanac.
For your writing energy: sugar or salt, tea or coffee?
Between sugar and salt, definitely sugar. Although, just to muddy the waters, preferably slightly salty sugar (there are these ginger lemon cookies that hit the perfect balance, and they are amazing!).
Between tea and coffee, mostly tea, although I do enjoy a nice latte sometimes.
Writing tools: computer, pen and paper, or all of the above?
Computer for drafting, and pen and paper for taking notes while reading through my manuscript.
Can you tell us one more thing we may not know about The Window, your writing style, or yourself?
For a brief moment in time, I thought I’d do the whole project as a graphic novel, despite having no experience drawing comics. I drew some test panels, and they took me forever and weren’t very good, so that plan folded very quickly!
Thanks so much!
—
The Window
Written by Amelia Brunskill
Publisher’s Synopsis: If you loved The Third Twin and One of Us Is Lying and binge-watched Thirteen Reasons Why, get ready for a heart-wrenching psychological thriller about a girl who knows her twin sister better than anyone . . . or does she? Taut and atmospheric, The Window will keep you guessing until the end.
Secrets have a way of getting out. . . .
Anna is everything her identical twin is not. Outgoing and athletic, she is the opposite of quiet introvert Jess. The same on the outside, yet so completely different inside–it’s hard to believe the girls are sisters, let alone twins. But they are. And they tell each other everything.
Or so Jess thought.
After Anna falls to her death while sneaking out her bedroom window, Jess’s life begins to unravel. Everyone says it was an accident, but to Jess, that doesn’t add up. Where was Anna going? Who was she meeting? And how long had Anna been lying to her?
Jess is compelled to learn everything she can about the sister she thought she knew. At first it’s a way to stay busy and find closure . . . but Jess soon discovers that her twin kept a lot of secrets. And as she digs deeper, she learns that the answers she’s looking for may be truths that no one wants her to uncover.
Because Anna wasn’t the only one with secrets.
Ages 12+ | Publisher: Delacorte Press | April 3, 2018 | ISBN-13:978-1524720292
Available Here:
About the Author
AMELIA BRUNSKILL lives in Chicago with her husband and her dog, Max the corgi. She is a librarian who drinks excessive amounts of tea and does not always return her books on time. The Window is her first novel. You can visit Amelia online at ameliabrunskill.com and on Twitter at @ameliab.
This speed interview with Amelia Brunskill, author of The Window, was conducted by Bianca Schulze. For similar books and articles, follow along with our content tagged with Books With Secrets, Death, Sisters, Thrillers, Twins, Young Adult Fiction, and Speed Interview.
