The Window by Amelia Brunskill

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.

The Big Thrill caught up with Amelia Brunskill and had a chance to discuss her debut novel, THE WINDOW:

What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

I hope that readers will come away with an understanding of a number of reasons why people might hide something about themselves, and an appreciation for how difficult it can be to navigate the grieving process while also seeking some kind of justice.

How does this book make a contribution to the genre?

I like to think that this book is a YA contribution to the genre of highly personal thrillers/mysteries, such as The Constant Gardner and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, where the protagonist is strongly drawn to understanding a personal loss.

No spoilers, but what can you tell us about your book that we won’t find in the jacket copy or the PR material?

The protagonist, Jess Cutter, is on the spectrum and this influences how she approaches her investigation, and her interpretation of others’ actions and words.

What authors or books have influenced your career as a writer, and why?

I, like many others, love Gillian Flynn and Tana French. They both manage to combine such great writing with such complex and satisfying plots.

*****

Amelia Brunskill was born in Australia, but grew up mostly in Washington State where she picked a lot of blackberries, read a lot of books and failed to properly appreciate the epic beauty of the mountains and the Pacific ocean. She now lives in Chicago, where she eats as much Thai food as possible and works as a librarian. THE WINDOW (4/3/18, Delacorte Press) is her debut young adult novel.

To learn more about Amelia, please visit her website.