May 29, 2017
Emmaline Beaumont was 10 years old when her mother died; two years later, her father remains so consumed by grief that it’s almost as if Emmaline has lost both parents. In a desperate attempt to bring his wife back, Monsieur Beaumont tinkers with his “ghost machine” night and day. When Emmaline’s attempt to destroy the machine doesn’t go as planned, she and readers are left pondering the question at the heart of the book: are precious memories of loved ones worth trading for the chance to interact with them one more time? Emmaline’s twin best friends, rational Gully and dreamy Oliver, represent the push and pull between hope and logic that plagues Emmaline and offer her new ways of understanding grief—until a new tragedy casts an even darker shadow on Emmaline’s life. Readers should be prepared for heaviness throughout: the relationships DeStefano (The Peculiar Night of the Blue Heart) builds between her characters are sweet and piercingly true, but a deep sadness hangs over most of the interactions. Ages 8–12. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Literary.
September 1, 2017
Ten-year-old Emmaline Beaumont and her father Julien are devastated by Emmaline's mother's sudden death, and grief drives Julien to spend the next two years developing a machine that can bring back his beloved wife. Left to fend for herself, Emmaline grows to resent the "ghost machine," but when she pours a cup of tea into the machine in frustration, she inadvertently restores her mother for a few moments. With the help of her friends, twin brothers Gully and Oliver, Emmaline discovers the machine's secret: you can bring someone back, temporarily, by giving up a memory of them forever. Emmaline, Gully, and Oliver wrestle with how much they are willing to forget in order to bring back those they've lost, as well as with how to share the news with the adults in their (vaguely French) community. Conflicts come to a head after a tragedy befalls Oliver, and Emmaline comes to terms with the ways she, Gully, and her father respond to loss. DeStefano packs a lot of emotion into a tightly focused narrative--especially as Emmaline discovers what it means to lose a memory of a loved one--and offers a quiet approach to understanding different ways of ?grieving. sarah rettger
(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)