What do you think?
Rate this book
The Window
A dark window to the future… Everything changed the day Brian Bingham looked out the attic window and saw something that wouldn't happen for another week. Through a mysterious window no one else can see, Brian gains a portal into the future. But the future is not always something he wants to see. Brian has enough troubles in the present without worrying about the future. His parents are constantly fighting, his grades are plummeting, and his new relationship with Charlotte, a girl way out of his league, is in jeopardy. When the window reveals his best friend's brutal death, Brian’s world is turned upside down. He must find a way to change the future…or die trying.
160 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 2, 2021
3 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 11, 2021
The Window by Dave Cole is a novel about growing up and coming to terms with some of the greatest difficulties of life. The protagonist is a teenage boy named Brian who has a lot going on in his life. He’s trying to navigate his first year of high school, which means struggles with grades and figuring out what it means to be in a relationship with his first love, Charlotte. He also has to deal with his parents and their near-constant arguments.
That would be a lot for any teenager to handle. Unfortunately for Brian, he has something supernatural happening in his attic in the form of a mysterious window that predicts the future. After seeing his best friend die in that window, he becomes obsessed. Is the accident inevitable? Can he possibly stop it from happening?
The themes of love, loss, family, and friendship in this novel will surely resonate with young readers who are also learning to cope with these issues in their own lives.
That would be a lot for any teenager to handle. Unfortunately for Brian, he has something supernatural happening in his attic in the form of a mysterious window that predicts the future. After seeing his best friend die in that window, he becomes obsessed. Is the accident inevitable? Can he possibly stop it from happening?
The themes of love, loss, family, and friendship in this novel will surely resonate with young readers who are also learning to cope with these issues in their own lives.
September 23, 2020
The attic had always creeped Brian Bingham out, but now at fourteen, he's too old to be afraid of shadows and dusty boxes. When a strange window appears, he discovers it's a portal to the future. A lot of the things he sees are mundane until he witnesses his best friend's horrifying death. Brian has to stop it. But can what he see through the window be changed or will it offer something much more terrifying?
This is a YA supernatural novel which begins on a fairly ordinary note. Brian is a typical teen, a little timid with the girls, but he has a good heart. It's a contemporary boy's life that is well written. Annoying little sister, cool best friend, parents in a failing marriage, and a new girlfriend. The window itself is a mystery. It appears one day when Brian is fetching a box of Christmas decorations. What he sees is fairly mundane. He finds himself spending more and more time in the attic watching his neighborhood. The window becomes something more when it shows him his friend's death and it snowballs after that. There is a creepy factor in that something so ordinary is something so sinister at the same time.
This is a YA supernatural novel which begins on a fairly ordinary note. Brian is a typical teen, a little timid with the girls, but he has a good heart. It's a contemporary boy's life that is well written. Annoying little sister, cool best friend, parents in a failing marriage, and a new girlfriend. The window itself is a mystery. It appears one day when Brian is fetching a box of Christmas decorations. What he sees is fairly mundane. He finds himself spending more and more time in the attic watching his neighborhood. The window becomes something more when it shows him his friend's death and it snowballs after that. There is a creepy factor in that something so ordinary is something so sinister at the same time.
October 31, 2020
This remarkable novel had me hooked from the first page. It's not enough that Brian Bingham must simultaneously deal with his first love, his parent's dissolving marriage, and plummeting grades. A mysterious portal shows him a terrifying future.
Dave Cole deftly handles themes of family, friendship, and pre-destination vs self determination.
Fans of Before I Fall and A Prayer for Own Meany will love this paranormal coming of age novel.
Highly recommended.
Dave Cole deftly handles themes of family, friendship, and pre-destination vs self determination.
Fans of Before I Fall and A Prayer for Own Meany will love this paranormal coming of age novel.
Highly recommended.
February 1, 2021
Dave Cole's creepy paranormal book is perfect for young adult boys, but girls will enjoy it too. As a retired teacher who's read countless books aloud to elementary-aged kids, I know a winner when I see one, and this book is a winner.
"The Window" grabbed me with the first two lines: "I was fifteen when I saw my best friend die. Although if I think about it, I was fourteen when I saw him die the first time." I flew through the 166 pages of this coming-of-age novel with its unnerving supernatural twist. Fifteen-year-old Brian Bingham is confronted with more than the death of his best friend JK during the worst year of his life: his grades are tanking, his parents are warring, and he is falling in love for the first time. The prospect of someone as clumsy and insecure as him asking someone as confident and beautiful as Charlotte out on a date is terrifying to Brian. But with JK as his enthusiastic wingman, he has no choice but to plunge in.
Dave's prose flowed as I read, his words carrying me from page to page. The characters, their challenges, and the setting have an immediacy and authenticity that I appreciated. Dave has a knack for blending expository information into the narrative seamlessly. The story has a timeless quality about it: It could take place today, years ago, or in the near future.
I don't care how old you are, the sight of a mysterious window where no window exists is irresistible. I'd look through it; wouldn't you? Unfortunately, as we story lovers know, knowledge of the hidden, the inexplicable, and the compelling usually extracts a cost. Is the tragedy unfolding in "The Window" predestined or can Brian change the future? Only time will tell.
Young adult fiction is typically written for readers 12 to 18 years old, but I would recommend this book for avid readers as young as 10 and to the many adults who enjoy this genre. Choosing a book for boys to read is often challenging, but boys will connect with the contemporary issues in "The Window."
"The Window" grabbed me with the first two lines: "I was fifteen when I saw my best friend die. Although if I think about it, I was fourteen when I saw him die the first time." I flew through the 166 pages of this coming-of-age novel with its unnerving supernatural twist. Fifteen-year-old Brian Bingham is confronted with more than the death of his best friend JK during the worst year of his life: his grades are tanking, his parents are warring, and he is falling in love for the first time. The prospect of someone as clumsy and insecure as him asking someone as confident and beautiful as Charlotte out on a date is terrifying to Brian. But with JK as his enthusiastic wingman, he has no choice but to plunge in.
Dave's prose flowed as I read, his words carrying me from page to page. The characters, their challenges, and the setting have an immediacy and authenticity that I appreciated. Dave has a knack for blending expository information into the narrative seamlessly. The story has a timeless quality about it: It could take place today, years ago, or in the near future.
I don't care how old you are, the sight of a mysterious window where no window exists is irresistible. I'd look through it; wouldn't you? Unfortunately, as we story lovers know, knowledge of the hidden, the inexplicable, and the compelling usually extracts a cost. Is the tragedy unfolding in "The Window" predestined or can Brian change the future? Only time will tell.
Young adult fiction is typically written for readers 12 to 18 years old, but I would recommend this book for avid readers as young as 10 and to the many adults who enjoy this genre. Choosing a book for boys to read is often challenging, but boys will connect with the contemporary issues in "The Window."
Read
August 3, 2020Where did I stop? 57% in
Why? Largely it was taking its time getting to the point and for a 139 page book that’s a problem. The blurb is what hooked me into accepting the review request, but it’s ultimately misleading. The story is far more focused on Brian’s blooming love interest and his fighting parents than this window, that only makes fleeting appearances to this point. It’s only at around the 50% mark that the blurb incident actually happens, but it’s immediately brushed aside for a school dance. I wish it had more focus. The story was also anachronistic to the point of me wondering if it’s not actually set in present day, but it is, because there are smart phones and “web searches,” but only when they’re convenient for the story. This book very much felt like it was completely out of touch with today’s teens and today’s YA market. The MC is 14 going on 45 with the way he talks and it tries to be “hip” with slang, but it only comes across as cringy. This is definitely the type of book some people think YA should be and not what YA actually is. As a result the story comes across as obtuse and out of touch. If nothing else it’s decently written.
Why? Largely it was taking its time getting to the point and for a 139 page book that’s a problem. The blurb is what hooked me into accepting the review request, but it’s ultimately misleading. The story is far more focused on Brian’s blooming love interest and his fighting parents than this window, that only makes fleeting appearances to this point. It’s only at around the 50% mark that the blurb incident actually happens, but it’s immediately brushed aside for a school dance. I wish it had more focus. The story was also anachronistic to the point of me wondering if it’s not actually set in present day, but it is, because there are smart phones and “web searches,” but only when they’re convenient for the story. This book very much felt like it was completely out of touch with today’s teens and today’s YA market. The MC is 14 going on 45 with the way he talks and it tries to be “hip” with slang, but it only comes across as cringy. This is definitely the type of book some people think YA should be and not what YA actually is. As a result the story comes across as obtuse and out of touch. If nothing else it’s decently written.
February 28, 2021
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The Window by Dave Cole is about a teen boy navigating a difficult time in his life while also seeing things.
Can Brian alter what he has seen?
Brian Bingham
Brian Bingham comes to life as we navigate this story through his point-of-view and how ultimately that seeing a window in your attic where there was none means you shouldn't look through it. He is just like any normal teenage boy that is fourteen. It's Christmas time, and he is having some fun with his friends. Well, that is until he sees the window, and then everything starts to snowball out of Brian's control slowly. I don't think that I would be friends with Brian in real life if I saw him because he is not only shy, but he also seems to be depressed because of looking through the window.
The Story
The story basically revolves around Brian, who finds a window in his attic and looks through it to see something that isn't there. Well, besides the fact that there is a window where there shouldn't be one. If I were him, I wouldn't have looked through it, and then maybe his best friend JK wouldn't have died. There is a lot of things going on in this book. I like how Mr. Cole added laptops and phones, but since a teenager says "icebox," it could be during anytime frame, which is pretty cool.
Three Stars
I am giving three stars to The Window by Dave Cole and recommending it to those who like reading something weird. The Window by Dave Cole is not one that I would normally think a young adult would read because of the whole window thing that shows him the future.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Window by Dave Cole.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove
Can Brian alter what he has seen?
Brian Bingham
Brian Bingham comes to life as we navigate this story through his point-of-view and how ultimately that seeing a window in your attic where there was none means you shouldn't look through it. He is just like any normal teenage boy that is fourteen. It's Christmas time, and he is having some fun with his friends. Well, that is until he sees the window, and then everything starts to snowball out of Brian's control slowly. I don't think that I would be friends with Brian in real life if I saw him because he is not only shy, but he also seems to be depressed because of looking through the window.
The Story The story basically revolves around Brian, who finds a window in his attic and looks through it to see something that isn't there. Well, besides the fact that there is a window where there shouldn't be one. If I were him, I wouldn't have looked through it, and then maybe his best friend JK wouldn't have died. There is a lot of things going on in this book. I like how Mr. Cole added laptops and phones, but since a teenager says "icebox," it could be during anytime frame, which is pretty cool.
Three Stars
I am giving three stars to The Window by Dave Cole and recommending it to those who like reading something weird. The Window by Dave Cole is not one that I would normally think a young adult would read because of the whole window thing that shows him the future.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Window by Dave Cole.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove
March 13, 2021
Dave Cole's The Window is an interesting blend of young adult drama and dark, creepy horror. The relationships and characters are fun and believable - the lovestruck first girlfriend, the family problems, the best friend and little sister - and they are juxtaposed jarringly against the supernatural and horrific elements. The dichotomy is excellent - tragedy is all the stronger when it feeds off characters we're attached to. The story goes to dark places and I like it (I love a bleak tale and I think I would have enjoyed it even more if the ending had went to the soul-crushing place I thought it was going) so I'm a little surprised at the suggestions that this could be appropriate for elementary-level kids. Teens sure, but I think it might be a bit much for 10-12 year-olds. Either way, The Window is a great read for anyone who loves teenage supernatural horror.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews