This novel was written beautifully, with unusual language and prose techniques that made it similar to a poetic prose book.
I loved how the story was narrated in a way that the reader had to interpret what they thought the truth was, giving an air of mystery to the plot.
I definitely can't wait to read more from the author!

The way this novel is written reminded me a little of 'A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing'. It's a difficult novel to categorise & for me that makes it all the more thrilling. The reader's field of perception will have a heavy influence on what you take from it which makes it a compelling & very clever novel. I highly recommend it - especially if you are looking for something a bit different

I found the fragmented and lyrical narration alienating, but this is an interesting take on a well-known plot type.

I volunteered to read this book, through netgalley in exchange, for an honest review.

A very interesting book that touches on some hard/tough subject matters. It took me a while to get use to the layout and structure but once you get passed that it was well written.

One of the most interesting stylistic books I've encountered for a while, this is a tale and a book that you won't forget for a while to come. Focused around the death of a girl and yet covering so much more, Machine is a stunner of a book, blasting through the year's literature to leave a heavy mark.

A girl is dead. She died by drowning at night while the rich kids kept partying on around her. This event is one of many that make the main character’s summer one that chances everything about her life. Still, the dead girl is incidental to the central narrative, even though it grounds the book as main cannot seem to see outside her own head. Set during the summer in a coastal town, this book deals with trauma and privilege and guilt and toxic masculinity.

The book is told mostly in short, fragmented sentences, seperated from each other by semi-colons – and for me this prose choice made the book compulsively readable and stronger than it would have otherwise been. I am a sucker for interesting stylistic choices and for books told unchronologically – which this was, going backward and forward in time, talking about things that happened or that could have happened or that might still happen. This is not a book for everyone – but it was very much my kind of thing. The characters are all deeply, deeply unlikable and as we stay closely in the unnamed narrator’s head, nobody except for her is fully fleshed out. The book remains vague but purposefully so – for me this worked because I always felt like the author knew what she was doing. I trusted her to lead me through the labyrinthian narrative and I thought she stuck the landing in a way that made this a very satisfying reading experience.

Content warnings: death by drowning, drug abuse, underage drinking, sexual assault, domestic abuse, psychological abuse

This was an interesting read and i really liked the writing style used. Steinberg explored some important themes in this and they were all handled beautifully. This book went a couple of places i didn't expect it to but i still enjoyed it overall. I would pick up more by this author as I really enjoyed this one!

The way "Machine" is written won't be for everyone, it is a long, teenage stream of consciousness where every little thought in the main protagonists head comes out on the page- from the mundane to the sublime to the ridiculous- so if you are married to the idea of a straightforward narrative with grammar and punctuation rules fully followed you probably won't like this.

It took me a few pages for the way this story unfolds to kick in but once it did I was hooked. It is not a long book and it flew past me, giving a snapshot view of the lives going on within it, at a time where a peculiar grief has settled in.

It's a difficult novel to describe and it's one of those where reader interpretations will have a heavy influence on what you take from it so I'll refrain from trying to give you plot details. Suffice to say it is compelling, involving and really very clever.

I like a novel that pushes the boundaries of how a story is told especially when there's a distinct lack of the pretentious as is the case here, so Machine settled into my psyche with a quiet meditative sense of melancholy. For that reason I recommend it. Especially if you are looking for something a bit different.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more of a crime/thriller reader however this story intrigued me. I absolutely loved it, truly one of the best books I have read. I am extremely pleased and grateful to both for opening up my mind to something totally different.

A jagged, uniquely dark prose-poem; the experimental and the, for the most part, unorthodox style -although plot-wise and syntax-wise the novel remains traditional- may be jarring at first, but it is fundamental, as it expresses, through the structure, the dizzying pace of the summer, the recklessness of youth, and the bitterness of the main character.