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WORK TITLE: The Window
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.ameliabrunskill.com
CITY: Chicago
STATE: IL
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
EDUCATION:University of Washington, bachelor’s degrees (psychology and art); University of Texas, Austin, master’s in information studies.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Librarian and young adult writer.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Born in Melbourne, Australia, but leaving at age two, Amelia Brunskill grew up in Washington state in America and lived in Oxford, England for a year. She holds degrees in psychology, art, and information studies and works as a librarian. Based in Chicago, she writes young adult novels with suspense.
In 2018, Brunskill published her debut novel, The Window, about a sister who realizes she didn’t know her identical twin as well as she thought. Jess Cutter is an introvert while her twin Anna is outgoing and athletic. Jess is at school one day when she is told that Anna is dead. Anna was found under their second-story bedroom window, presumably killed from an accidental fall. But Jess can’t bring herself to believe it. Trying to find some real answers, Jess delves into Anna’s life, talking to friends, teachers, and track team members, and learning that Anna kept secrets from her. Jes Caron wrote in Voice of Youth Advocates that the story starts slowly and fails to build suspense, adding: “The winding story is rife with plot twists but wraps up neatly when a minor side character is revealed.”
On the other hand, a Publishers Weekly reviewer said the book was thoughtful and Jess’s character was well-developed and empathetic, calling the book a “heartfelt depiction of the grieving process and a thought-provoking exploration of secret lives kept hidden.” Amid red herrings that keep the readers guessing, “Entries from Anna’s diary interspersed with Jess’ methodical first-person narration heighten the tension and fill in gaps,” according to a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Writing in Booklist, Maggie Reagan noted that the mystery is “as much a psychological examination of one girl’s grief as it is a thriller.” Reagan also commented, however, on the flat secondary characters that stall the suspense and the way the story clings too closely to Jess’s search.
Brunskill told an interviewer online at the Big Thrill that “The protagonist, Jess Cutter, is on the spectrum and this influences how she approaches her investigation.” Brunskill also said that she wanted to write about a protagonist who was drawn to understanding a personal loss. In a review in School Library Journal, Kelsy Peterson said: “Brunskill adeptly depicts the messy process of grief, with a particularly sensitive portrayal of how Jess’s relationship with her parents is altered.” Peterson added that unfortunately, Jess’s investigation progresses into the unhealthy and obsessive, and that her parents don’t believe her suspicions about Anna’s death because of her struggles with mental illness.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, March 1, 2018, Maggie Reagan, review of The Window, p. 52.
Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2018, review of The Window.
Publishers Weekly, February 5, 2018, review of The Window, p. 62.
School Library Journal, January, 2018, Kelsy Peterson, review of The Window, p. 84.
Voice of Youth Advocates, April, 2018, Jes Caron, review of The Window, p. 54.
ONLINE
Big Thrill, http://www.thebigthrill.org/ (April, 2018), author interview.
Dana Mele, https://danamele.com/ (July 26, 2017), author interview.
Informal bio:
I was born in Australia and I lived there for two years. I remember nothing of my life there but there are some fun photos of me wandering around with parrots. I feel that if I had lived there longer then I would be a more mellow, beach-y type person (plus I’d have an awesome Australian accent). I lived in Oxford, England for a year when I was ten. I ate a lot of Cadbury’s chocolate there and went to one of the few schools that did not require uniforms, which was frankly a bit of a disappointment.
Okay, let’s speed things up.
Between then and now, I became a librarian and started writing. I currently live in Chicago, and I write mainly, but not exclusively, young adult novels.
When I am not writing, I am mostly librarian-ing, reading or eating. Sometimes I nap, although less than I would prefer.
More official bio:
Amelia Brunskill was born in Melbourne, Australia, but she 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 earned her bachelor’s degrees in psychology and art from the University of Washington and her master’s in information studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She now lives in Chicago, where she eats as much Thai food as possible and works as a librarian.The Window is her debut novel.
The Window by Amelia Brunskill
4 weeks ago by ITW
5
0
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.
Author, I Never: An Interview with Amelia Brunskill
Amelia Brunskill
author of The Window
Author, I Never is a new segment in which I interview fellow authors about the writing process, breaking into the industry, and breaking rules. I try to mix it up a little and ask some hopefully novel questions along with some of the old standards, and finish it up with a round of I Never (kid friendly version) to find out what cardinal writing rules we've broken.
Question the first: Amelia, when did you first know you wanted to be a writer?
I always enjoyed writing fiction while I was growing up but I never really thought about writing a novel until about ten years ago, when the first seeds of the idea for THE WINDOW came into my head. But it took another five years or so for me to actually start writing it.
Question the second: What has been your proudest or most exciting moment as an author so far?
Getting the email from my current agent saying that she wanted to set up a call. I’d totally given up on this manuscript by that point, and had assumed that signing with my first agent had just been a fluke, so it really came out of the blue for me.
Question the third: At what point did you think to yourself "I've made it" or at what point do you think you'll feel that way?
I don’t know if I’ll ever feel like I’ve made it, but I did feel like this project had made it after both my agent and editor gave their thumbs up to a pretty substantial revision of it that I did. It came as a huge relief to learn that they both liked the new direction, and I felt like I could bring it home from that point.
Question the fourth: Did any experienced authors or industry people mentor or give you helpful guidance on your journey to publication?
I’ve taken a number of classes at StoryStudio in Chicago, and all my teachers there have been experienced authors and just so helpful and encouraging. Also, I was originally totally ready to start querying with a super unpolished first draft, just to see what would happen, and then I went to a conference session led by Chuck Sambuchino, and he told us all, umprompted, that was something new writers did all the time and it rarely worked out well. So I sighed deeply and then proceeded to spend the next 8 months working on it—which was all time that it deeply needed. So, thanks, Chuck.
I wish I had been at that conference. Question the fifth: Have you ever had a time when you've felt like giving up?
Oh, yes. You’re supposed to have a thick skin in creative fields, and mine is gossamer thin. Also, I am self-critical in ways that are occasionally helpful but are often, uh, less so. So giving up is a thing that happens basically every other Tuesday.
Question the sixth: What was the most inconvenient time or place you were struck by inspiration?
I am still haunted by how I once woke up in the middle of the night and was certain that I’d figured out an easy and perfect solution to a major plot issue. And I, of course, did not write it down, and I’ve never been able to remember what it was since.
Question the seventh: Can you give us hint to help us find an "easter egg" or hidden item to look for in one of your books? Maybe an obscure clue if there's a mystery thread, or a reference you threw in to a favorite book or song?
Okay, I’m really bad at this (why didn’t I deliberately include cool “easter eggs”? Why?!?) but here is my attempt at a clue:
The presence, or absence, of something in the box of Anna’s things matters.*
*That wasn’t a great clue. Apologies.
I'm thinking back, and I can't figure out what that refers to! Curses! Okay. I'm going to mull that one over for a bit. In the meantime, here comes the...
I Never Round
The basic rules of I Never, the kid friendly version- I state a generally established writing rule (or at least a norm). If you've broken that rule, state your guilt for the record.
I never made up a word in my manuscript, and stood by it during copyediting.
Nope.
I never had an amazing idea right before bed, and decided sleep was more important.
Nope again.
I never started a story with a character waking up, looking in the mirror, or in a bathtub.
All the time I do this. In my defense, I try and change it later if I can, but I love starting with characters waking up. I haven’t done the bathtub one yet, but now I want to.
I never worked on two manuscripts at once.
Oh, I’ve totally done this.
I never went several days or even weeks without writing.
I want to say that I don’t do this one, but this is another definite yes.
I never wrote "for a long moment."
Forgive me, Stephen King, for I do this A LOT.
I never cheated during NaNoWriMo.
Not I.
Thank you so much for appearing in Author, I Never! When and where can we look for, preorder, or buy your next or most recent book, and where can we follow you on social media?
Thank you so much for having me!
My book, THE WINDOW, is coming out on April 3rd, 2018. Penguin Random House has a nice list of places that you can pre-order it from when you click the “preorder” button on this page:
http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/553274/the-window-by-amelia-brunskill/
It’s also on GoodReads at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32928935-the-window
In terms of social media, I am @ameliab on Twitter, and amelia2016 on Instagram.
Thanks again!
You're so welcome! Bonus question. If The Window had a theme song, what would it be?
A song that I listened to a lot while writing it was Breathe Me by Sia. It is moody and sad and super pretty.
DJ Spotify, can you do moody and sad and super pretty?
Amelia Brunskill writes young adult novels and short stories. She is an unintentional killer of plants and a highly intentional eater of baked goods. She works as a librarian and she lives in Chicago.
You can visit her at www.ameliabrunskill.com or follow her on twitter @ameliab.
Brunskill, Amelia. The Window
Jes Caron
Voice of Youth Advocates. 41.1 (Apr. 2018): p54.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
3Q * 3P * J * S
Brunskill, Amelia. The Window. Delacorte/ Penguin Random House, April 2018. 352p. $17.99. 978-1-5247-2029-2.
Jess knew something was wrong when the school counselor came to get her, but she had no idea how wrong until they broke the news to her--Jess's twin sister, Anna, was found dead, lying on the ground under her bedroom window, and everyone assumes she fell. Jess knows her sister, however, and she is convinced that Anna's death was no accident. In order to find closure, she needs to know what really happened, so Jess begins to take a closer look at her sister's life, teachers, friends, and, perhaps most important of all, secrets. Jess realizes truths about herself while discovering that perhaps she did not know her sister as well as she thought.
The work opens with an interesting premise but fails to build suspense early on, resulting in a slow start that may lose some readers. The winding story is rife with plot twists but wraps up neatly when a minor side character is revealed to have played a larger part than the reader is led to believe. The Window will be a good fit for readers who enjoy a bit of mystery with a slow build to the climax.--Jes Caron.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Caron, Jes. "Brunskill, Amelia. The Window." Voice of Youth Advocates, Apr. 2018, p. 54. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A536746128/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=d675d3b2. Accessed 27 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A536746128
The Window
Publishers Weekly. 265.6 (Feb. 5, 2018): p62.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Window
Amelia Brunskill. Delacorte, $17.99 (352p)
ISBN 978-1-5247-2029-2
Fifteen-year-old Jess Cutter grieves the loss of her twin sister, Anna, in Brunskill's thoughtful debut. After Anna falls to her death while sneaking out of her secondstory bedroom window, Jess realizes that her sister was keeping secrets, and she wonders how much she really knew about her sibling and closest friend. Jess was always the more difficult twin--blunt, argumentative-and she investigates Anna's secret life in a forceful manner, awkwardly talking to Anna's friends, joining the track team in Anna's place, and following Anna's English teacher home and surveilling him because of rumors about their "special" relationship. Tracing Anna's footsteps forces Jess outside of her comfort zone and into some sketchy parts of their small Montana town as she uncovers secrets held by Anna and others. Jess is a well-developed and empathetic character who opens up to friendship, life, and the possibility of romance over the course of her investigation. It's a heartfelt depiction of the grieving process and a thought-provoking exploration of secret lives kept hidden. Ages 12-up. Agent: Bridget Smith, Dunham Literary. (Apr.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Window." Publishers Weekly, 5 Feb. 2018, p. 62. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A526810460/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c1b7afe1. Accessed 27 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A526810460
Brunskill, Amelia: THE WINDOW
Kirkus Reviews. (Feb. 1, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Brunskill, Amelia THE WINDOW Delacorte (Young Adult Fiction) $17.99 4, 3 ISBN: 978-1-5247-2029-2
Even death can't break the bond of identical twins. In this debut novel, Jess sets out to uncover who was responsible for her sister's fatal fall.
Jess knew that she was the one her parents worried about, the one her classmates found odd, the one who was private and didn't like to be touched. When her identical twin, Anna, is found lying dead beneath her window, everyone is quick to identify her fall as an unfortunate accident. Jess, who knew Anna better than anyone, suspects foul play, and she uses her observational skills to seek the truth. The task isn't easy when everyone in small-town Birdton, Montana, has their secrets--even Anna. In the process of getting to know her sister's friends, frenemies, and love interests, the perpetually misunderstood Jess develops her own bonds and begins to forge her own identity. All of the characters but one are white, and this becomes a key plot point in the story. Entries from Anna's diary interspersed with Jess' methodical first-person narration heighten the tension and fill in gaps, while plenty of red herrings keep readers guessing throughout Jess' investigation. Perhaps her biggest discovery, however, is that of Anna's love for her.
A solid, quiet murder mystery for thoughtful readers. (Mystery. 14-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Brunskill, Amelia: THE WINDOW." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A525461440/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c42cc64b. Accessed 27 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A525461440
The Window
Maggie Reagan
Booklist. 114.13 (Mar. 1, 2018): p52.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
The Window. By Amelia Brunskill. Apr. 2018.352p. Delacorte, $17.99 (9781524720292); lib. ed., 520.99 (9781524720308); e-book, $17.99 (9781524720315). Gr. 8-11.
Anna and Jess were identical twins, but they were polar opposites: bubbly Anna ran track and had an active social life, while quiet, harder-edged Jess mostly kept to herself. Still, though, the sisters were best friends, and there were no secrets between them--or so Jess believed, until Anna died falling out of her bedroom window. Jess becomes obsessively entangled in the mystery of her sister's death, desperate to discover who Anna was sneaking out to see that night. But the more Jess digs, the more she learns just how dangerous Anna's secrets were, and the danger she herself may now be in. Jess' first-person narration is occasionally interrupted by beyond-the-grave asides from Anna, which offer tantalizing clues. Somewhat flat secondary characters stall the suspense, and the story clings a bit too closely to Jess' search--a B plot wouldn't have been amiss here. Still, short chapters move this debut briskly along, and it will hook those interested in a mystery that's as much a psychological examination of one girl's grief as it is a thriller.--Maggie Reagan
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Reagan, Maggie. "The Window." Booklist, 1 Mar. 2018, p. 52. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A532250958/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=56ed1014. Accessed 27 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A532250958
BRUNSKILL, Amelia. The Window
Kelsy Peterson
School Library Journal. 64.1 (Jan. 2018): p84.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
BRUNSKILL, Amelia. The Window. 352p. Delacorte. Apr. 2018. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781524720292.
Gr 10 Up--In many ways, Jess Cutter is the opposite of her identical twin sister Anna. Jess lacks Anna's social ease and effortless athleticism, preferring to keep to herself and focus on academics. Yet the sisters have always shared a deep mutual understanding in spite of their differences. Then Anna dies after falling from her bedroom window in the middle of the night, and Jess is certain there is more to the story than the police--and her parents--are willing to see. To uncover the truth, Jess begins investigating on her own, and quickly discovers that Anna was keeping secrets from her. The debut author creates a compelling and suspenseful narrative from the first page; the short chapters and fast pace will appeal to thriller fans. Brunskill adeptly depicts the messy process of grief, with a particularly sensitive portrayal of how Jess's relationship with her parents is altered. Unfortunately, these accomplishments are marred by several problematic elements. As Jess's independent investigation progresses, her behavior quickly crosses the line into unhealthy and obsessive. She never receives appropriate help or clear guidance from an adult to handle this situation, and her encounters with mental health professionals are characterized in a very negative way. There are also hints that Jess's parents and others don't believe her suspicions about Anna's death because her past struggles with mental illness have made her unstable. VERDICT This fast-paced suspense novel is unfortunately marred by its problematic handling of mental health topics; a secondary purchase.--Kelsy Peterson, Forest Hill College, Melbourne, Australia
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Peterson, Kelsy. "BRUNSKILL, Amelia. The Window." School Library Journal, Jan. 2018, p. 84. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A521876223/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=934d7c65. Accessed 27 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A521876223