What a fun middle-grade read written in the point of view both of a typewriter and of a boy! I love the cover picture which drew my interest to the book on @Netgalley immediately. I chose to listen to this book and the narrators did a great job making it easy to finish this book in a day while cleaning my house. A bit of mystery, family struggles, sadness, and joy! I could easily use this story in a middle school reading group. Thank you #Netgalley!

A wonderful take on dealing with grief. A talking typewriter, eerrr umm a typing of its own will typewriter, connects with a mom that has suddenly gone missing. There is no evidence of where or why or how. The family is distressed. No one will help. To find out what happened, Ernest must retrace her steps. With the help of Olivetti, the typewriter, they discover a new family tragedy. The family is full of dysfunction and full of love, even though they struggle showing such.

This was such a sweet middle-grade story! I really enjoyed the unique point of view. I have been recommending this book to several patrons. This was really great as an audiobook!

Olivetti is a charming middle grade text that reminded me of Kate DiCamillo's works: realistic fiction with a touch of magic and mystery. I didn't expect the book to confront such heavy themes (cancer, depression and anxiety), but I felt that Millington handled them in a developmentally appropriate and accessible way. The story moves quickly and allows the reader to put together the pieces of the central mystery alongside the alternating narrators. I believe this would be an excellent addition to a middle grade library, and it could also be used for lit circles or Language Arts curriculum.

I'll also add that the narrators of the audiobook were both excellent, and I especially enjoyed listening to the narrator who voiced the character Olivetti.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced listener copy.

In a Nutshell: A middle-grade mystery with a dual narrative, one of which is from a typewriter’s pov. Had much potential but went awry in execution as it attempts too much and loses its track. It might work better for older readers, but not sure if I want to advocate this to kids.

Plot Preview:
Olivetti has stayed with the Brindle family for years. Each of the Brindles – the parents and the four kids – are busy doing their own thing, and the fights are about who gets to use the new laptop while Olivetti lies ignored. He remembers the good old days when Beatrice Brindle, the mother, used to type her feelings out on him regularly. But now she has gone missing. And no one has any idea of where she could have gone, except perhaps Olivetti.
As twelve-year-old Ernest, the third of the Brindle children, is the only one who seems accessible despite always having his nose in the dictionary, Olivetti decides to break the typewriter code of conduct and communicate with Ernest, divulging Beatrice’s memories in hopes of finding some clue about her whereabouts.
The story comes to us in the alternating first person perspectives of Olivetti and Ernest.

Bookish Yays:
💎 A typewriter story in the computer/smartphone era – points for originality
💎 Olivetti’s perspective is unique. As the self-proclaimed "Keeper of memories", he offers some wry observations on humans, which are quite funny.
💎 Quinn, the pawn shop owner’s daughter: a good character, and probably the only one in this story with some depth.
💎 The cover: stunning!

Bookish Mixed Bags:
💫 The blurb just doesn’t prepare us for the content. It is much sadder than expected, covering mental health issues, life-threatening health scares, and even an intent to suicide. While I know these are topics faced by MG-level kids as well, I still don’t like the idea of such upsetting content being offered to littlies.
💫 The vocabulary is a bit on the tougher side for the target age group. Not a surprise, as Ernest is always roaming with the dictionary, but little readers might stumble over the bigger words.
💫 While the idea of personifying a typewriter is great, I wonder how many middle graders actually know what typewriters are. Or even what pawn shops are. Without the exact knowledge, they won’t get the nuances of the story.


Bookish Nays:
💣 The book seems to suffer an identity crisis as it encompasses mystery, adventure, family drama, magical realism, humour, mental health, and sick lit within a single middle-grade work. This makes the flow feel quite haphazard. (In other words, it suffers from the infamous “kitchen sink syndrome” so common in debut works.
💣 There is little character development. The four Brindle kids all have a one-noted portrayal. We barely get to know any of them except for one quirk of each.
💣 I felt sorry for the Brindle kids. Their parents seemed really selfish and shortsighted. There’s no justification for the parents’ behaviour. While MG books do contain such parents, it was odd to see these two getting away with their problematic conduct with no repercussion at all.
💣 The final quarter is a major letdown as it is much exaggerated and illogical. This section also has a couple of major logical loopholes connected to Beatrice’s behaviour and Olivetti’s memory.
💣 I don’t understand why the “Everything that happened” was kept such a secret until around midway the book. The secret could be triggering for some kids (and even some adults), so it should either have been clarified in the blurb, or mentioned as the trigger warning at the start.


🎧 The Audiobook Experience:
The audiobook, clocking at 4 hrs 33 min, is narrated by Christopher Gebauer and Simon Vance. They both are quite good and I had no complaints about their performance.

I had grabbed this book mainly for the typewriter as I was eager to know how a typewriter’s perspective would be written. However, I found the story somewhat boring after a point simply because I couldn’t figure out what it was trying to do and the characters didn’t appeal to me at all. Moreover, I am not sure how I would have felt had I read this as a kid, what with all the traumatising content. I guess it would work better for kids who don’t question too much and readily suspend disbelief.

Because of the content, I wouldn’t advocate it to younger middle-graders. Actually, I am not sure if I want to advocate it at all to this age group. It might work better for teens. Before investing in the book, do check out the trigger warnings listed below.

2 stars.

My thanks to Recorded Books and NetGalley for the ALC of “Olivetti”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook. Sorry this didn’t work out better.


Content warnings: Parental abandonment, social anxiety, cancer, attempt to suicide. Can I also count Olivetti’s being completely broken once as a content warning? If I were a kid, I would have been heartbroken to see him shattered like that, even if the situation was resolved after a couple of scenes.

I’m not crying you’re crying! I love middle-grade books, as I have a child on the cusp of being a young reader and middle-grade and having another one that went through middle-grade books I’ve read quite a few. Middle-grade books always have more heart to them, they forgo all the extra that you find in YA and adult books and just give you the meat of a story. In this debut, we follow two MCs. One was a typewriter named Olivetti and the other was a 12-year-old boy named Ernest. After Ernest’s' mother disappears he discovers Olivetti who has his mother’s memories stored inside of him and is willing and eager to help find the missing mother. This journey may be a bit emotional for young readers as it deals with grief and the many ways it unfolds, specifically having a parent with an illness that could be terminal. We see the grief through children who cope in various ways, a father who hides behind work, and a mother who hides in general. Olivetti can offer a different perspective as human emotions do not hamper him and he has a severe disdain for books. Though the book is ultimately uplifting it can pull at the heartstrings in many areas. There are many areas with joy and laughter as well.
The narration of this was done well with a separate actor playing Olivetti and Ernest. Each actor brought the perfect tone to each character, Olivetti is older and distinguished, and Ernest is young and growing.

I think this was a beautifully well-written debut and I will be buying a copy for our shelves at home for when my youngest gets a smidge older.

I had an Olivetti typewriter once. Interestingly enough (for me at least), I was 12 at that time - the same age as Ernest and Beatrice. It had its own wheeled stand in my bedroom. The first reports I ever wrote were on my Olivetti. My first report ever in this world was tapped out on Olive (I name everything) about eels. You can surely understand why I felt like I was being contacted from a bestie from my long-ago childhood when this remarkable book popped onto my list. I was only momentarily dismayed when I came to understand that Olivetti in the book was not a female. Not an Olive. He was a Mr. Olivetti. (More like an older Dad, or younger Grandfather, or Bachelor Uncle.)

Olivetti is narrated by Himself - a tangible with an agenda. In our imaginary world we are constantly personifying inanimate objects, animals, planets, naturally occurring life processes. . .well this clever author has turned it around. Readers get to see family life through the keys and keystrokes, ink on paper, and patience with the process of typewriter operations. One's WPM rate is once again relevant as a measure of skill and dedication.

As the situations that needed resolution began to occur, the responses of the Brindle family members - especially Earnest Ernest, and his feisty friend Beatrice - and those of Olivetti and his buddies (Remi), kept me paying close attention. Each unfolding chapter thrilled the inner child I was so long ago (she's still present), and the elder child I am now just sat back and enjoyed (rather beside myself, so to speak) the entire read.

I so look forward to whatever Allie Millington next presents her readership!

*A sincere thank you to Allie Millington, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, RB Media, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #Olivetti #NetGalley

This is a cute middle grade book that follows the Brindle family. Olivetti is a sentient typewriter who stores the memories of everything that has been typed on him, and who typed it. Beatrice, Ernest’s mom, types on Olivetti after a long period of silence, but suddenly takes him to a pawn shop.

Ernest, 12 years old and Beatrice’s son, is bothered by the fact that his mom disappeared (of course) but isn’t sure why nobody cares about the missing typewriter. He goes to the pawn shop and steals back the typewriter. Olivetti reveals that he can communicate back to humans, and Ernest decides to follow his clues.

There were some aspects/topics I found surprising in a middle-grade book (as an adult) but to be clear, nothing was inappropriate. I’m also not the target audience and it’s possible when I was, I read many similar themes.

Something new I am trying is rating the title separately in relation to how well it reflects the book.
Title Rating: A
Rationale: Olivetti is the typewriter’s name, so it makes sense. It’s also a unique name and is intriguing on its own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of an audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Olivetti is a fantastic MG story that is heartwarming, adventurous, and full of mystery and excellent messages for children. I loved the dual POVs, with one being a boy, and the other a typewriter. So neat!

I listened to this story with my 7 year old daughter, who loved this story. My nearly 10 year old son also listened to this audiobook and binged it in three days. It was a big hit! It also made me, the mom, cry a few times.

We listened to the audiobook at 1x speed. This speed is great when listening with the kids (though I listen to my own audiobooks faster). I loved the audiobook narrators who were perfect for the characters.

This is a definite for kids! Go pick this book up and share it with your littles. We will be getting a copy for the Little Free Library we steward.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for this advanced audiobook copy. Sorry for the delay in my review, it took time as I was as sharing it with my children.

This book came highly recommended by several friends and I so enjoyed this story about a child who is struggling in the face of a difficult family health crisis. The story is partially narrated by a typewriter and I just absolutely loved that magical realism aspect (while acknowledging that it might not be everyone's cup of tea). Olivetti is the name of the typewriter (of course) and he unravels a mystery component of the story with the family. This book was also a bit heavy and scary for a middle grade reader and my sensitive 12 year old may not be okay to read it but as an adult it was fine. There are great themes of friendship, family, and mental health concerns present in this one. Trigger warnings for a parent with cancer and an absent parent.

I'll be honest and say that I requested this one on netgalley simply because I fell in love with the cover. It turned out to be a really cute middle grade book about grief and coping and family. Olivetti is a typewriter who is sentient but according to the code of typewriters they're not allowed to talk humans but they remember everything that has ever been typed on them. Olivetti has been in this family for his whole existence and when his owner Beatrice, sells him at a pawn shop and then goes missing, all of Eddie decides to break the biggest rule and help Beatrice's son find her.

It's very heartwarming and cute. The kid MC really read to me as autistic or at the very least neurodivergent of some kind. He's super obsessed with dictionaries and stops talking for a large part. We get his POV but he doesn't talk to other people much which read as selective mutism or just going nonverbal for bouts at a time. He is very singularly focused and gets frustrated when other people try to dissuade him from his pursuits. Idk if it was intended but personally, that's how I read him.

I'll list the CWs below but they are kinda spoilery so heads up


SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS




CW: grief, cancer, illness, implied suicidal intentions but this is middle grade so it's not right out there on the page

I was so excited to get this audiobook, but to be honest, I didn’t really enjoy it much. It’s definitely a me thing, and I’d recommend it still to others, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea

This is a beautiful story of the secrets we hold and the lengths to which we will go to protect ourselves, but also to help those we love. Once I began reading, I was swept into the story and the search for all the answers to the questions that were being raised.

Listening to the audio version was a treat, as the dual narrators brought such personality to Olivetti and Ernest, and because having dual narrators makes it easier for the listener to keep the narrators straight while listening.

Olivetti
By
Millington, Allie

The story told by an old typewriter. Lighthearted in the telling this young adult book looks into the nature of telling your full story. The truth will help others understand the future of family and knowing each other. The typewriter shows the nature of learning someone's story.

This is the kind of magical realism vibes that I enjoy in the book. We have dual POV, one from the typewriter, Olivetti, and the other is a boy named Ernest. We have the devastating diagnosis of cancer for the second time for the boy's mother. The typewriter helps to show the boy and his siblings where the mother goes and brings the family back together. While it is a sad story it is also so beautiful. 4.3 stars.

Amazing book, covering topics most parents are scared to talk to their kids about. If you want to fet your kid to understand life a little better, I recommend this book wholeheartedly.
The narrator of the audiobook has the most pleasant calimd voice that kept me listening until the very end

"Olivetti" is a debut middle grade novel told from the perspectives of a boy named Ernest and a typewriter named Olivetti in alternating chapters. The book is unique since a typewriter is talking throughout which makes it fun, but it but covers some heavier topics such as a missing mother, sickness (cancer), and grief.

Ernest is a young man who uses words to help him with his anxiety. He is searching for his missing mom, and his only clue is her typewriter. Olivetti. The typewriter remembers everything typed into it and tries to help Ernest to locate his mom. Quinn joins in the search for Ernest's mom and her friendship is a nice part of the story. She provides a break from the seriousness of the book by adding some much-needed humor.
I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration. This book has a lot going on and is kind of heavy. I would recommend it for older middle graders capable of handling the difficult topics.

This is one of the Middle grade books I chose for April and it did not disappoint. It is such a beautifully written story about being young and facing hardships that occur with a loved one. As much as I adored Ernest, the 12 year old boy. I absolutely love Olivetti, the typewriter the most. He is hilarious and has so much character and wit. This book is adorable and I recommend it to anyone really :) I loved the narrator for this! It was a perfect match for Olivetti the typewriter! Five star rating on this book!

There was a lot that I really liked about this book including the perspective of the typewriter and the narrator of the audiobook. I liked the premise at first, but I thought it was a little heavy/odd for middle grade so it left me feeling indifferent. I think it had a lot of potential, but it wasn’t a book for me.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook about a young child and a typewriter. The voices of the characters were well crafted. Never have I read a book with a typewriter as a character but it was a cute choice that helps tell a story with emotions that might be harder on younger readers. I appreciate also the position of the mother which is hard for many people to connect because they might believe they would never make that choice. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of the audiobook.