Review: The Girl with the Ghost Machine by Lauren DeStefano

I'm so in love with all the middle grade books by Lauren. She has now published three, and I loved them all. So much. They are gorgeously written and have such heartbreaking and real stories. I'm so happy to say that I loved this newest one of hers so much too. Eee. Been waiting ages for it, and was so worth it.

But I will say that I do wish it had been longer. It's so short, aw. Such little words on each page. I wanted to read so much more about all of these characters. But this small book was also just enough, because it was stunning. And I loved every word of it. Sigh. It was beyond heartbreaking and sad yet hopeful as well.

Since this book was very short, I'm not going to write too much about it. Just share some things that I loved a whole bunch. Eee. The writing in this book was stunning. And oh gosh, that cover is beautiful. I love it so much. And so so fitting with the story too. I only wish there had been artwork inside the book too. And that the book had been even longer. Aw. Because I loved it so. It's told mostly from the point of view of Emmaline, whom is twelve years old. But also a little bit from her dad and her closest friends. Oh, I really enjoyed getting to know Emmaline. She was so cute and kind and lovely. She lost her mom two years ago, and she's still grieving a lot for her. Her dad too. I loved reading about her mom, though. She seemed awesome. Wish she lived.

This book tells the story of a ghost machine. So not full reality. But so gorgeous. When her mom died, her dad started working on a machine that could bring her back to him. Which he has been working on for two years, without taking care of Emmaline. That part made me so sad. Because she deserved so much better. Hmph. Emmaline was simply awesome. And I loved reading about her. Thankfully, her dad did get better with time, and I grew to like him a bit. But he really should have taken better care of her. Not okay.

Emmaline is tired of her dad never being around, and so she tries to destroy the ghost machine, as it doesn't work. But instead she figures out how to make it work. And oh, it was a bit heartbreaking to read about. Yet really interesting too. There is a cost to using the machine, which was pretty sad, yet I'm glad was there. This book focus mostly on this machine, and stuff around that. And how Emmaline is missing her mom, yet she's moving on without her too. Oh, I just adored this little girl a whole lot. She's the best.

Some other characters I loved to pieces were her two best friends, Gully and Oliver. They are twins, and so adorable. I loved reading about their friendship, and I wish there had been even more about that. Aw. But what there is was enough too. I loved reading about things they had done together in the past, and things they are doing now. These three friends were adorable. But ahh. I'm not okay with what happens halfway into the book. It was so cruel. And the most heartbreaking. And I loved it so much, even so. Ack.

I'm so glad to finally have gotten to read this book. Eee. It was adorable and heartbreaking and so sad. It made me cry too. How rude. But I loved it so. You really need to read the middle grade books by Lauren. They are all stunning. So good. Just wishing they could all have been longer. Hmph. But I still loved them all so much. The Girl with the Ghost Machine was such a stunning story about loss and friendship and family. It was a bit short, yet so amazing. Heartbreaking but so good. I loved it lots. You must read it too.

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