Thank you so much to Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I spent most of the book thinking 'oh my gosh, poor Aoife' (ee-fah). Then I realised that she was actually a very brave little girl, but I still felt bad for her situation. The book opens with an incident involving Aoife's mom, and slowly we find out the events and circumstances that led up to the event, which was some sort of psychological melt down

We meet Aoife's uncle Donny as he steps in to take care of her while the mother in the hospital. It is also revealed that there is a brother, Theo, and the plot actually revolves around his disappearance.

I think the book sounded maybe a little advanced, but about right for a six year old narrator. I don't normally like books narrated by kids but this one really worked. Aoife was a good little detective as she found out what happened to her brother. News flash to all the adults out there: kids can understand basic explanations of things! A big part of the plot was built around miscommunications and Aoife's curiosity over her brother, when no one would talk about him

I also really liked the little paranormal element with Teddy. Was Aoife a normal kid with an imaginary friend, or was she also schizophrenic or schizoaffective? (Was that the family disorder? It fits?). Or was Teddy...something else? The end was so perfect I loved it.

My only question...was Neddy Siobhan's third kid or was he unrelated? Who was the third kid if not? Why mention it id they're not in the story? The profile for Siobhans father might fit but they probably wouldn't have lived that close by.

This is a short book, I probably read it in 3 or 4 hours, and a great debut novel. Would fully recommend if it sounds up your alley!

Blog link: https://onenursereader.wixsite.com/onereadingnurse-1/post/all-that-s-bright-and-gone-by-eliza-nellums

I was reminded of 'Room' by Emma Donoghue and anything by Jodi Piccoult.
To know those authors is to know that this story will be innocent and heartwrenching.
This is an emotional story and one that I struggle to talk about because to see how a child experiences pain and tried to process life - it makes me question myself as a parent and if I am messing things up or not.
This coming of age story is one that you really should read because more than anything, love is love. Family is family. And a child is not always naive.

This is a beautifully written story about a little girl, whose mum is in hospital following an episode and who is trying to figure out, who she is and why no one will tell her about her dead brother.

It’s written from her perspective and it’s very well done.

Aoife (the little girl), whilst being looked after by her uncle, decides that the only thing for it is for her to solve the mystery of her brother’s murder.

What follows as she tries to get someone to tell her the truth is so well written and poignant. A startling debut and I’m very grateful to Netgalley, Crooked Lane books and the author for the opportunity to preview.

In the vein of Room, this is told from the perspective of a young child. Aoife is just six when her mother is sent away after an incident at a mall. I was utterly captivated by this story and it took just a page before she captured my heart. Seeing through a child’s eyes is always filled with vivid descriptions, imagination and pure innocence. I loved how her faith was interwoven with her story. Such a fantastic debut. Highly recommend!

All That’s Bright and Unknown by Eliza Nellums
This book is told by a six year old girl, in a very juvenile voice and I feel it should be geared to young adults. I have to be honest and say that I couldn’t finish this tale. I got 50% in and kept hoping Aoife and Teddy would endear my heart but it just did not happen.
I did not see any resemblance to Jodi Picoult or Fredrik Backmans books. Unfortunately this one was not my cup of tea. Maybe the younger audiences will enjoy it.
I was given the opportunity to receive this book from Crooked Lane Books through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This one gets 3***’s.

I enjoyed all the bright places but it wasn’t a favourite for me. I found it very unique that it was told from the perspective of a six year old girl. I found her relationship with her uncle uncomfortable and strange, actually most relationships in this novel are a little weird. Overall this one is just okay for me.

Any author who is able to write a believable and thought-provoking story from the point-of-view of a child has a special place in my heart. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to create such a book. To stay true to what a child’s mind is really like at such a young age (6-years-old in this case), and yet create a story that will keep the reader captivated, emotional, and mesmerized by its well written prose. Well, Eliza Nellums did it in her debut novel! This book was a delight to read, even thought at times my motherly heart was breaking, and I am looking forward to reading more of this author’s work.

Thank you NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and the author for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Aoife is a precocious six-year-old caught in an adult world she doesn't understand but with the help of her imaginary friend Teddy, her kind uncle and others she is trying to make sense of it. Her mother has gone away because she has been sad ever since Aoife's older brother left. The way Aoife sees the world is that if she can solve her brother's murder, her mom will be happy and she will come home.
Narrated by a six-year-old who is every bit her age and as wise as a sixty-year-old this is a touching story of a family learning to deal with what life has thrown at them and trying to stay together when everything seems to be pulling them apart. The characters feel real and the situation they find themselves in is all too real for many families. Perfect for fans of multi-faceted characters found in Fredrik Backman and Jodi Picoult. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

This was such an amazing read that I couldn’t put it down. It went everywhere with me. To the doctors office, the dentist, the eye doctor. IT WENT ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE. I was so sad when it ended that I immediately went and bought more books from this author!

All That’s Bright and Gone by Elisa Nellums tells the story of a dysfunctional family as seen through the eyes of six-year-old Aoife. She knows something is wrong, and she knows she needs to fix it.

Reading this story made me laugh out loud and ache for both Aoife and her family as they struggle to right themselves.

Thank you to both Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this lovely novel.

Lovely story that I couldn't put down. The writing was very evocative and I enjoyed the cast. Thanks to net galley for the ARC in exchange for honest review.

We are introduced to 6 year old Aoife (Ee-fah) on a very bad and confusing day. It appears that her mom has had a bit of a nervous breakdown on while driving Aoife to the mall.

Fortunately she has her imaginary friend Teddy to make her feel safe while her mother stays in the hospital. When the hospital calls her Uncle Donovan to stay with her, we get a look into the life of a child being raised by a mother with mental illness.

As any young child, Aoife sees her life as perfectly normal. She knows that there are things you just don’t talk about, she is accepting and imaginative and has an overwhelming desire to just be good.

Aoife feels that if she could just stop talking to Teddy out loud and if she could just find a way to help her mother deal with the loss of her older brother Theo, her life can return to “normal”. Luckily Aoife has a neighbor named Hannah who is not only older (8!) but knows just how to solve a mystery.

Aoife is charming, she is imaginative and thoughtful. The way the family history is told and pulled back layer by layer helps the reader to draw the curtain back on a family full of love and heartache.

I found some of the antics that Aoife gets up to a little hard to believe of a six year old but her age is important the telling of the family tale.

This was a sweet and fast read that solves the mystery surrounding how and why Theo had to go away, how a family falls apart and comes back together and all the missteps along the way.

When her mother is hospitalized (she “gets confused”), six year old Aoife decides she has to solve the mystery of her older brother’s murder so that her mother can get better and come home. Aoife’s guileless voice and imaginative perspective on the world will grab readers from the first page and not let go until the mystery is solved and the last page is turned.

This story is told to you through the eyes of a child. She is trying to figure out what happened to her brother, her mom gets put in the hospital cause she is confused about her son. She isn't able to take care of Aiofe, so she has to go and live with her uncle.
This story takes you down the road of mental illness and makes you open your eyes more to the fact as to what others might go through and how they feel.
I can't wait to see what more this author publishes. Thank you Netgalley for this book with an honest review.

I thought the premise for this book was really great - it reminded me a lot of Emma Donoghue's Room. The story is narrated by six-year-old Aoife (that's EE-fah), who doesn't understand why her mother has to stay in a hospital while she goes to stay with Uncle Donovan.

We begin to understand that Aoife hasn't been living in the best conditions, as her mother has been struggling with mental illness and her grip on reality. Aoife, like any young child whose life is suddenly upended, doesn't understand what's wrong and is stubborn to change. She struggles with having a mother whose "different" than others, and with the fact that her older brother is most likely dead. Her best friend, Hannah, a wannabe detective, encourages Aoife to solve the "mystery" of her brother's death. With her imaginary friend, Teddy, Aoife sets off on a journey that is half fuelled by her vivid imagination.

I will admit this book had its great moments. Aoife's relationship with her uncle was supremely cute, since he's absolutely clueless about children. I also liked Aoife's stubbornness and wonder about the world, asking uncomfortable questions at inconvenient times to adults.

That said, I didn't necessarily love the ending. I felt like things could have been resolved much quicker if Aoife just asked the right question earlier. A part of the ending also felt too rushed and still left things (at least in my opinion) too unresolved.

Aoife, excuse me, eeeeFAH, thinks nothing is wrong in her family. She thinks it's ok that her mother hasn't picked up the house in months. It's ok that they make forts in their house, and use old pizza boxes and baseball bases. Aoife is ok with the obsession her mother has for the church and for the saints that protect them. Therefore, when Aoife's mother has a breakdown in the middle of a busy intersection, leaving Aoife alone and in danger she thinks nothing of it and doesn't understand why everyone is so upset. Six year old Aoife knows she used to have a brother, and that brother is gone now. She thinks that's why her mother is sick, and if she could just figure out what happened to him, she might be able to bring her mother home.

This novel is very complex and simple at the same time. It is told from the viewpoint of a young six year old girl who doesn't understand herself what is going on. Her brother is missing she believes if she finds out what happened to him it will solve all her problems. Aoife also has an imaginary friend that get her into trouble, and seems far too real to her. It's hard to say if I enjoyed this book or not. It is hard reading a story told by a six year old, because you have to think more and slow down to understand how this little girl is feeling. It's actually rather inconvenient, and maybe this novel would have been better if the author went into the different adult's head for awhile and we could get different perspectives of the story. If I'm giving an honest review I will say I don't regret reading this novel, but it won't be one I recommend. Some might really enjoy reading it, however, it wasn't for me.

Rate: 2/5
Fiction
Author: Eliza Nellums

**Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Eliza Nellums, and Netgalley for providing me this ebook in exchange for an honest review**

Aoife (EE-fah) is a 6 year old girl who has been through a lot in her short life. Her mother has a mental illness that makes her act confused at times, and their living situation isn't always the greatest. Aoife knows her mom is trying and thinks their life is great fun. When her mom has a mental breakdown while driving, Aoife's world is turned upside down, because Mommy isn't home anymore. Her Uncle Donovan comes to take care of her, which trying to navigate CPS and an energetic, 6 year old with an imaginary friend, Teddy, that likes to get her in trouble.

I'm not sure I've ever read a book solely narrated by a very, young character, but I imagine this is exactly what it would sound like it this happened in real life. Eliza Nellums made this book so much more interesting by telling it from Aoife's point of view. It would have been easy to have the mom be the narrator, or even Uncle Donovan. But Aoife lends this story an innocent perspective, which I think really increased my enjoyment of this book, even if at times I (as an adult) just wanted Aoife to pay more attention to the adult conversations happening!

There is a lovely plot twist at the end that came as a shock to me (and Aoife). It also really brings into question the idea of imaginary friends, ghosts, and mental health. This book truly is a rich telling of life and family, and what happens when chaos starts to reign in the dynamic. All characters were interesting and helped move the story onward. There is a general "happy" ending, but not one that you expect in the beginning or middle of the book.

I really appreciated this story. It's a little out of my comfort zone of what I would normally read, but I knocked it out in one night. It is short, if not necessarily light in tone. Aoife does get herself into some trouble, and I spent a good section of the book worried about this little girl.

This book definitely reminded me of Jodi Picoult and a little of Sarah Dessen, so if you like those authors, check out All That's Bright and Gone.

it makes a change for me to read a book from a childs view and it was an enjoyable book, poor Alfie she has her imaginary friend teddy who gets her in to trouble as she tries to find out what happened to her brother.

This book was received as an ARC from Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Immediately I fell in love with this book because of the name of the main character, Aoife! That is the coolest name of all time. On top of that Aoife has the mind of every six year old so imaginative and curious all about what happened to her mother and her brother. It's all thanks to her imaginary friend Teddy and her nosy neighbor next door to uncover the secrets and have them find answers to what really is going on in her life and what her role and future is with her family. Usually I do not like plots that have a young child tending to themselves and figuring out what their lives are all about but what made up for this story was the whimsical mindset Aoife had and how she used that as an advantage to uncover the secrets.

We will consider adding this title to our Mystery collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book. After all the thrillers I've been reading this book was a nice change. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, though I believe the author has had a short story published. I loved Aoife and her vivid imagination. The author s writing as a six year old was just right. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Eliza Nellums for my copy.