Book Review: The Window
Jess and Anna are twins. Anna is outgoing, Jess is not.
When Anna falls to her death from her bedroom window, Jess is lost. She cannot figure out why her sister was sneaking out at night. As she endeavors to uncover the details of that final night, Jess discovers that she did not know her sister as well as she believed. No one else – including the girls’ parents – seem to want to uncover the truth, but Jess persists until all is revealed.
Amelia Brunskill’s novel, The Window, raises interesting questions about how well we know the ones we love. Even the closest siblings may hide aspects of themselves as a way of protecting the rest of the family. Jess’s quest to learn why her sister was sneaking from the house forces her to step outside her own comfort zone. In the act of rounding up clues, Jess must learn how to interact socially with her peers and with adults. She has plenty of smarts, but comprehending social cues does not appear to be her specialty.
I had trouble getting traction with the story. It starts with Anna’s death, which should have grabbed my attention. Instead, I found myself puzzling over Jess’s reaction. Certainly, she is troubled by her sister’s death, but there seems to be an emotional disconnect between her and her parents.
In the midst of the emotional turmoil, there is also the necessity of introducing the supporting cast of characters. Being the shy one, Jess has very little interaction with Anna’s friends, so it takes her time to figure out who is who. As a result, the first quarter of the novel focuses on set-up rather than providing much insight into who Jess is.
Brunskill’s judicious use of short chapters keeps the story’s pace moving, so that the pieces start fitting together without plot feeling disjointed or interrupted. She also intersperses Jess’s narrative with Anna’s thoughts about the final weeks of her life. Anna’s story provides details on the mystery as well as a sense of who she was as a person, but to be honest, I probably would have preferred Jess’s interpretation of her sister’s character rather than a “ghostly” voice narrating interstitial chapters.
For me, what keeps the story moving is Jess’s social awakening. She develops friendships; she joins the track team and discovers she actually enjoys running; she experiences her first crush. These events held my interest much more than the mystery behind Anna’s death.
The ending was satisfactory but not terribly surprising. Some of the characters involved had played such a peripheral part that I did not feel a lot of emotional engagement in the climax, which is a shame, since I was curious to see how Jess would handle herself.
The title itself – The Window– in many ways sums up my reaction to the novel. It is not a terribly compelling title, though I can appreciate the symbolism. A window can provide a view of another world or another life; it can also represent the passage from one realm into another. Overall, the novel left me a little wanting for a more unexpected view.
When Anna falls to her death from her bedroom window, Jess is lost. She cannot figure out why her sister was sneaking out at night. As she endeavors to uncover the details of that final night, Jess discovers that she did not know her sister as well as she believed. No one else – including the girls’ parents – seem to want to uncover the truth, but Jess persists until all is revealed.
Amelia Brunskill’s novel, The Window, raises interesting questions about how well we know the ones we love. Even the closest siblings may hide aspects of themselves as a way of protecting the rest of the family. Jess’s quest to learn why her sister was sneaking from the house forces her to step outside her own comfort zone. In the act of rounding up clues, Jess must learn how to interact socially with her peers and with adults. She has plenty of smarts, but comprehending social cues does not appear to be her specialty. I had trouble getting traction with the story. It starts with Anna’s death, which should have grabbed my attention. Instead, I found myself puzzling over Jess’s reaction. Certainly, she is troubled by her sister’s death, but there seems to be an emotional disconnect between her and her parents.
In the midst of the emotional turmoil, there is also the necessity of introducing the supporting cast of characters. Being the shy one, Jess has very little interaction with Anna’s friends, so it takes her time to figure out who is who. As a result, the first quarter of the novel focuses on set-up rather than providing much insight into who Jess is.
Brunskill’s judicious use of short chapters keeps the story’s pace moving, so that the pieces start fitting together without plot feeling disjointed or interrupted. She also intersperses Jess’s narrative with Anna’s thoughts about the final weeks of her life. Anna’s story provides details on the mystery as well as a sense of who she was as a person, but to be honest, I probably would have preferred Jess’s interpretation of her sister’s character rather than a “ghostly” voice narrating interstitial chapters.
For me, what keeps the story moving is Jess’s social awakening. She develops friendships; she joins the track team and discovers she actually enjoys running; she experiences her first crush. These events held my interest much more than the mystery behind Anna’s death.The ending was satisfactory but not terribly surprising. Some of the characters involved had played such a peripheral part that I did not feel a lot of emotional engagement in the climax, which is a shame, since I was curious to see how Jess would handle herself.
The title itself – The Window– in many ways sums up my reaction to the novel. It is not a terribly compelling title, though I can appreciate the symbolism. A window can provide a view of another world or another life; it can also represent the passage from one realm into another. Overall, the novel left me a little wanting for a more unexpected view.
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