Tuesday, April 10, 2018

The Window

The Window

The Window is a pretty good debut about a girl whose sister dies climbing out her window and the quest to find the truth of what happened. Anna apparently had secrets she was keeping, and her sister Jess sets out to find out what they were. She's the more introverted of the two, likes to keep to herself, but she finds that secrets abound in the little Montana town where they live. Anna was living a life that her sister was unaware of, and over the course of the book Jess will learn a lot about her dead sister as well as herself. I liked this debut, thought it was well done, and would look forward to more of this author in the future.

Jess discovers some disquieting things about her sister as she refuses to accept that Anna just fell. There has to be more, she thinks, and sure enough there is more. Anna had a friend named Lily who was a bit of a wild child, and together they were going out and getting drunk, and apparently hanging out with guys too. All unbeknownst to not only their parents, but Jess as well- and Jess thought she and Anna were close. How could she have missed the warning signs?

Jess grows a lot through the course of the book, and starts to give people a chance that she might not have otherwise. Her interactions with Sarah are fun, I love some of the dialogue- snarky without being too much- and there are a few red herrings and misdirections going on as well. It's mostly realistic, although there is one thing that Jess does that I had a little trouble believing- not that she did it but that she didn't get caught. But by and large I liked this and it kept me turning pages.

It's interesting too that this is sort of a psychological thriller for the YA set- I haven't read a lot of those. A lot of the thrillers I read are geared towards adults or have adult characters. So this was nice to see a foray into YA territory. Anna's parents are of course devastated by the accident, and I liked seeing how they handled their grief along with their handling of Jess' feelings. They don't really know how to help her, but they try, and while I didn't think they were super effective, they clearly cared.

It was nice too to see a little different take on high school cliques. As in there weren't a lot, I enjoyed the interactions Jess had not only with Sarah but also with Mona, a former cheerleader who may know something about Anna. The chapters are short and punchy, and quite a few of them are led off by commentary from Anna, which provide insights into what was happening in her life.

36 comments:

  1. I don't generally like books like this, but this one sounds good and I keep loving on that cover. I'm going to see if the library has it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)

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    1. Thanks La LA! I'll be honest, that cover is what grabbed me too :)

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  2. Oh wow! This sounds awesome! I've read a couple of YA thrillers, and they were pretty good! :) I'll have to check this one out.

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  3. I like the sound of this one, and the relationship between the sisters and the problems with that. Family right>? lol

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    1. Yup, the relationship was interesting because the girls were close but Jess realized there were things she didn't know, and she had guilt to deal with on top of all.

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  4. This sounds pretty good! I'd definitely be willing to try this as YA thriller isn't a normal genre for me.

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    1. I could use more YA thrillers like this!

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  5. A YA thriller interests me sooo much. I love the cover too. So unique and clever.

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  6. you're right it's always nice to have something a bit different. I tried Little Monsters yesterday a YA thriller as well and I loved the ideas

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    1. Right, I could go for more YA thrillers for sure!

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  7. This does sound really good, and I've been seeing it around a lot. I like the idea of these two sisters (I think they're even twins?) hiding things from each other.

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    1. Yeah that was one of the better elements, the fact that she thought she knew her sister so well but they had secrets...

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  8. This sounds fantastic! I love that it's a YA Psychological Thriller. I agree, I haven't seen many with teens. The few I've read this year have all been adult. The cover is gorgeous but understated too. Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

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  9. Secrets & snark? Sounds promising to me :)

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  10. oh thrillers about sister secrets o.o sounds fascinating.

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  11. I like that this one has snark, that isn’t something you see in this genre.

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  12. I'm starting to see more and more YA thrillers, and this one sounds good. Great review!

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  13. This sounds promising! It may be a little trope-y, but I love the "character dies and loved one refuses to believe the circumstances so they investigate for themselves" set up :)

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  14. I find the fact it is a psychological thriller aimed at YA very interesting - I've only read the Katherine McGee novellas that I think fall into the same category. Thank you for a thorough, enjoyable review, Greg:)

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  15. Oh, dark and interesting! I can't imagine what it would be like to know your sister fell (or didn't fall) out of the window. I don't think I would be able to sleep at night! I do love that her sister grows and learns more about herself as well as her sister. It seems like a very eye-opening experience for her.

    Are they twins? What was the age difference? Just curious!

    Thanks for sharing this! It sounds like something I'd really enjoy.

    Do You Dog-ear?

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  16. I just read a pretty good YA but absolutely disturbing. I like that it's so different from the usual. So if you have the chance, check out Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen.

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  17. This one is new to me but it sounds really good. I haven't read a lot of YA thrillers but I love thrillers in general. Glad you enjoyed this one!

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  18. You are so right about there not being many books like this... all thriller which is so rare in YA. I've heard great things about this book and am glad you enjoyed it as a thriller reader.

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  19. I don't read a lot of YA anymore but this one sounds like it'd do nicely when I'm in the mood. I like that Jess is upset she didn't what was going on with Anna...I've read some adult books that have made me wonder how well we really know anyone so this is an interesting, if scary, take on that in YA. Scary since I have 3 teens. And I'm happy the parents are there and caring even if their attempts at helping aren't helpful. Thanks for putting this one on my radar, Greg.

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  20. Sounds pretty good! I haven't had the best of luck with YA lately though. I think I'm getting too crabby in my old age :)

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  21. I noticed this book on your Weekly Post...and wondered about it. I love the sound of it, so it is going on my list. I don't read a lot of YA, but a book with layers always appeals to me. The mystery, along with the usual adolescent interactions, added to the potential enjoyment.

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  22. This sounds like an interesting read! You're right that there aren't a lot of psychological thrillers targeted towards teens, so this is definitely a cool exception! :)

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  23. I haven't read many YA thrillers either but this one really sounds good. For some reason, the small town Montana setting appeals to me as well.

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  24. Love that tagline... "it's easy to miss what you don't want to see"
    Think that applies to more than just this book (woah....deep!)
    Thanks for linking with #TalkoftheTown :)

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  25. I dip into YA now and then Greg and this sounds like it would be a good one for me! One for the wishlist ...
    Thanks for linking #TalkoftheTown

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  26. I've been expecting psychological thrillers to finally make it to YA. It was just a matter of time. It sounds intriguing.

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  27. This sounds like a good read. I'm going to have to add it to my TBR!

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