The Window was intense and fast paced. It kept me guessing. I read it in one night as I was so involved in the story. And I’m a sucker for a book about twins ever since reading the Sweet Valley and Red Hair series as a kid.

This was a surprising book - and I am sure my students will love it. I was caught up from the beginning, and couldn't put it down.

I tried reading this book but sadly I didn't make it very far while reading this book. I think that the different point of views made it a bit difficult to understand . I usually love this author's books and I hoped that this one would work out for me.

This was a DNF for me, but I wanted to mention a trigger warning for pedophilia. This books was too upsetting to finish.

This debut novel is a well-crafted thriller, skillfully presented and difficult to put down! Equal parts awkward and confident, Jess is a compelling protagonist and easily relatable for adults as well as adolescents. The death of her twin sister Anna drives the plot, Jess’ authentic and heartbreaking journey of grief accompanied by the need to know the truth. The slow reveal of information keeps readers glued to the pages, and some stunning twists are in store along the way. But it’s also a sweet reflection of sisterhood, however much in hindsight, and Anna herself remains a poignant voice throughout the story. In fact, Anna’s haunting perspective is told in interstitial vignettes that give just enough insight to raise more questions. While some of the middle bogs down unnecessarily, this thoughtful and atmospheric debut is not to be missed!

first appeared on RT Book Reviews, April 2018

3.5 Suicide, accident, or murder? Things are not as they seem when a window and a dead body are in proximity. Compelling mystery, I did figure it out before the end but could have gone multiple ways with the ending..

Nope. I just didn't like this book. I hope it finds readers and a wider audience as the movie is released, but nope. Not for me.

Great suspense and a fast paced read. I enjoyed it very much. Will be looking for more from this author.

I'm not sure what to think anymore right now. Not sure how to write this review in a coherent way. Upon finishing The Window, my mind is all over the place. My thoughts scrambled. And while I do have some things that irked me about this book, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Honestly, more than I thought I would before picking it up. And I'm not sure where to go from here.

The Window tells the story of Jess Cutter, who just lost her twin sister Anna after she tragically fell climbing out of her window. At least that's what everyone believes happened. Jess is sure there is more to it. Because it doesn't make sense. So she starts looking for clues. Because she needs to know what happened. And the deeper she digs, the more secrets come up. Truths no one wants her to uncover.

I was immediately pulled into this book by the writing. It's very compelling and I was invested in the mystery right away. I wanted to know what happened just as much as Jess did. And while I did have suspicions throughout the story, in the end the truth did come as a surprise to me. I liked the twists and turns of this story and how well the author captured the atmosphere of a small town where everyone has secrets. I also really enjoyed the snippets of Anna's POV - which were no more than brief thoughts, like diary entries - that were weaved throughout Jess' narrative. They added a lot to the mystery and overall vibe of the story. I also really liked the growing friendship between Jess and two other girls and how her world kind of opened up more when she starts paying attention.

However, I do have to admit that around the halfway point, things dragged a little. But they sped up pretty quickly after that with a lot happening leading up to the climax. I also suspected that Jess might be lowkey on the autism spectrum. BUT this was never addressed in the book itself, which is a shame and a missed opportunity. Could be that I read into things wrong and that it's not like that at all. But the way her character is written made it feel a bit obvious to me.

The Window was a wild ride full of twists and turns and I'm glad I read it. It's a solid mystery and I'd definitely recommend giving this one a shot if you like small town murder mysteries and twin stories.

I heard the words individually. Anna. Bad. Fell. Sorry. They didn't - couldn't - connect with each other. It was as if they were part of a riddle I couldn't decipher. Fell, bad, Anna, sorry. Sorry, Anna, fell, bad.
Anna.
Bad.
Fell.
Sorry.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC to review, even though I got to it a month late*

This book was amazing. It is tense and ominous, written in the poetic perceptions of Jess, the quiet introverted twin who's just lost her sister. Death is always hard, but it's a different kind of hard when it's your twin. I don't know if it was the writing style, or maybe the guessing of what really happened the night Anna fell to her death, or the tiny snippets of a confession from Anna every few chapters, but I could not leave this book alone. I read it everywhere. In lulls at work. Waiting for the bathroom. In between wheelbarrows while cleaning the barn. I just couldn't not know how it would all turn out.

The end was both intense and chilling. This was one book I seriously couldn't guess my way through. And just look at that cover!

After finishing it and reflecting, I am further amazed by how Jess changes in her grief. As the book progresses, we see her becoming more of a blend of both herself and her dead sister, taking on a bit of Anna's personality in her absence. Without Anna, she gradually becomes more sociable and empathetic.

There are currents of corruption and the protection of criminals who prey upon women. There are elements that are raw and open and will make you seriously think how teenagers manage to get themselves into trouble. If you're looking for a gritty mystery, this is your book.

This felt a bit annoying at times. I wasn't really a fan of it and had to force myself to finish it. I was intrigued by the twists and turns in this book! The writing did help but I wasn't really a fan of it.

This was a satisfactory thriller with some predictable plot points. It was great to see an autistic lead who was not defined solely by that aspect of herself. I generally enjoyed reading this book, and look forward to recommending it to students.

Anna's identical twin sister is found dead after she reportedly fell from the tree outside of her window. Anna has autism and the death of her sister throws her into a tailspin, even more so because she didn't subconsciously know when her sister died. Anna searches for answers and is seems that everyone in her small town has something to hide. By talking to classmates, teachers, and family members, Anna works through different theories and suspects to understand what specifically happened the night of her sister's death.

I thought this novel was pretty predictable. The ending was not a surprise. I thought that the treatment of autism in this novel was well-done, though I do not have a personal connection to someone impacted by it. I feel that a few plot points did not make sense, and seemed to be irrelevant...though perhaps that was how the author confused readers. I never really warmed up to any of the characters. I feel that those who enjoy mysteries may still find something they like within this book.

I loved this book! I couldn’t put it down!

This story was very fast paced. The chapters were short, which made the story fly by. There was even a little twist in each of the chapters. The story was so addicting, I never wanted to stop reading it.

This story reminded me of Sara Shepard’s series Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game. There was a lot of teenage drama, but there was a lot of mystery about the end. Jess was on her own in figuring out what exactly happened to her sister. I love this kind of thriller. They are mysterious and unpredictable, but also relatable because of the high school setting.

I loved this book! I highly recommend it to fans of YA thrillers!

This is a wonderfully thrilling book about sisterhood, family drama, and just how far you will go for the people you love. Twin stories haven't always been my thing, since I am a twin and a lot of them are either "we're do similar it's like the only thing the author knows about twins is the scene from the Shining" or "one is outgoing and the other isn't and then the introverted one needs to learn to be extroverted" sort of thing. The Window leans heavily on the latter of the two, but the mystery was so intense I got why Jess was changing. While her story is about self-actualization, it's more so about uncovering the secrets of her sister's past and reconciling with the fact she didn't know her as well as she thought she did.

Jess was a great narrator for this story, her cynical attitude worked wonderfully with the overall atmosphere and her drive was admirable. There was a perfect balance of her cynicism to the world around her with the emotionality of loosing someone you love. She gets angry, at her sister for keeping secrets, at her parents, her friends, everyone, and it was all so real. Brunskill created a twisty little tale that was a joyride of emotional and suspense from start to finish that I couldn't put down.

The Window focuses on the story of Jess Cutter, a girl that recently lost her twin sister, Anna Cutter, after she fell out of her window. At least… that’s what everyone –including the cops– think. But Jess thinks there’s something wrong with the investigation, she thinks there is more to the story, and starts to investigate things herself. The things Jess uncovers show her that she didn’t know her sister as well as she thought…

I have to admit, I’ve got a love-hate relationship with YA thrillers. Why? Because most of them involve a girl dying due to (mostly) “boy-drama”. Don’t get me wrong, I love trying to figure out what led to someone’s death in a book and I love seeing how these stories develop, but as soon as a boy is introduced, well… things turn very predictable.

Now, THIS book, has it’s small share of “boy drama” but it’s not overwhelming and it did not make the story predictable. There were times where I felt like I knew who was behind Anna’s death, but 10 pages later, I was doubting myself again, and THAT’S what makes a mystery/thriller good! I love it when a book has me doubting! I love it when I feel like I figured things out, but I’m not quite sure so I HAVE to keep reading the book until I find out!

Even though the story is told in Jess’ point of view, we also get small chapters (or snippets) from Anna’s point of view. They seemed like small journal entries, or maybe things she wanted to tell Jess at one point…? (I never really understood what they were, so I just told myself they were journal entries and left them at that.) But I loved how they were introduced and I really enjoyed the extra perspective they gave to the story.

Overall, I think this was a solid mystery, and I’d recommend it to mystery/thriller fans out there! I’m glad we’re starting to see more variety when it comes to thriller in YA and I’m looking forward to seeing more stories written by this author.

It's 2:35am, but I couldn't stop reading until I knew what had happened to Anna!

Posted to Goodreads: For a more in-depth review watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4gt5...

Anna is the outgoing popular twin and Jess is the introverted twin but they still share everything. But when Anna dies in an accident Jess vows to find out what really happened to her.

This book was just kind of "meh" to me. I didn't think the characters were really well developed. I couldn't even remember the main character's name through half the book. The setting and dialog didn't really establish any kind of timeline for when the book was set and parts of it felt as if it took place at least 20 years ago. There are several plot points and twists that didn't quite make sense and the ending felt both obvious and outlandish. There are a lot of positive reviews for this one so there must be a reader for it but I am definitely not that reader.

I was intrigued by the cover and not disappointed. The characters are real and likeable, and while the book starts off slow, you'll find yourself drawn in by the story as the mystery behind Anna's death begins to show itself. I feel like I don't always see a lot of YA mystery/suspense books, and this was quite a good one. It's a nice change from the standard "contemporary drama" YA lit, and the teens will probably love it. Definitely recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley for this much-anticipated (by me) ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Summary: On a school day as regular as all the others, Jess is pulled from gym class to be told the news that her twin sister, Anna, has been found dead while, presumably, sneaking out the window the night before. Her death is chalked up to an accident, which Jess mostly believes, until she starts paying attention to the world and the things people are saying about Anna. As it is, she begins to learn that there was more to Anna than Jess or her family ever knew and maybe there's something even sinister about her death.

My opinion: Yet another 2018 page-turner (as should be indicated by the fact that I devoured this one in less than a day) that gave me everything I wanted in a dark, young adult book. Yes, this one isn't a light-hearted, makes-you-feel-good book. Oh no. In fact, I was reading it well into the night when everyone else had already fallen asleep and I found myself inching ever close to my husband (sorry hubby) out of the need for protection. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a ghost story but, rather, a thriller and those tend to freak me out more than other ghost stories ever do.

Let's start with Jess. She is the complete opposite of Anna. Best described as: a shy, introvert with RBF who doesn't have many friends besides her sister. There's also a small vibe that she may have Autism, perhaps? She doesn't like being touched, doesn't really have friends, doesn't really know how to act in social situations, and there's subtle references to her parents being more worried about her than about Anna. I'm not sure that I read the situation right and I think the only purpose of it is to further divide the two sisters in order to setup the impending mystery. Other than that, it bothered me that this was never fully addressed or answered for me by page's end. Anna's death obviously shakes up Jess' world because Jess now pays more attention to a world she has ignored before. And what she says isn't necessarily better. Yes she discovers friends and a possible love interest (thanks be to Brunskill for the light romance) but she also learns the world can be a dark, dark place.

And then there's Anna, whose thoughts are interspersed within Jess' narrative which is a technique that worked so very well to heighten the suspense and overall creepiness of everything. Brunskill throws in small anecdotal chapters that tell a story of an Anna that was hidden from Jess and her family and it's SUPER good and cringe-worthy. I'm not a mom but, as a goody two shoes, some of those chapters just made me... cringe because they shine light on innocent mischievousness turned dark.

Some reviewers stated that this one was slow but the fact that I finished it in less than a day is proof enough that it's not. In fact, it's well-paced and builds the story appropriately. I actually just finished reading another book about the suicide of one twin and the surviving twin sets out to prove that it's murder and, let me tell you, that book was slow and the author didn't do a good job of building the story. Brunskill drops little bread crumbs for Jess (the reader) as each chapter continues and it WORKS. In this one, I didn't figure out EXACTLY how the story would end (I had an inkling but avid readers generally do) so I truly appreciate that Brunskill didn't make it super obvious. And, she made it believable.

So, if you're looking for a dark, page-turner YA book then pick this one up ASAP! It will not disappoint and you'll probably finish it in an afternoon (or wait until nighttime if you really want to set the stage for creeping yourself out even more).