Olivetti

Praise for Olivetti

An Instant USA Today Bestseller!
An Instant Indies Bestseller!
An Amazon Best Book of the Month, April 2024

"Millington’s writing does us a great favor. Her Olivetti is neither an automaton nor a pushover — there is a painful and problematic crisis in the house he has called home and his voice drives the action with compassion. Ernest speaks with a confusion and simmering panic recognizable to anyone who was once 12, loved their mother deeply and feared for her life... The Brindles will go on confronting “Everything,” with hope, gusto and all the unity they can muster. They will set the family table for seven, with a place for Olivetti; put paper in his carriage, and wait." -- Tom Hanks in the New York Times Book Review

"★ An introverted boy and his missing mother’s cherished typewriter plumb forgotten family stories while journeying toward acceptance in this touching middle-grade mystery. The Brindle family swarms distractedly around seventh-grader Ernest, everyone fixed in their ways until the morning Beatrice, his mom, vanishes. This isn’t the family’s first trauma, but, after “Everything That Happened,” Ernest finds an unexpected ally: Olivetti, Beatrice’s classic typewriter, who explains, “We [typewriters] hold thousands of stories. Worlds full of words.” ... As inanimate narrators go, Olivetti is especially well suited to the task and takes turns with Ernest in lending his perspective to the short chapters. And, as stories about stories go, Olivetti’s and Ernest’s insights about the power of memories, both held and shared, speak volumes. Offering a Where’d You Go, Bernadette vibe, with its unspooling of a youth perspective on the adult world, this melancholic yet hopeful pick will appeal to fans of books with nonhuman protagonists and readers who enjoy emotional stories with alternating perspectives, such as A Rover’s Story and The Lost Library."--Booklist magazine, starred review

"★Debut author Millington skillfully delivers a complex storyline that deals with heavy topics. With plenty of quotable wisdom, richly textured language, and dry humor, this work reads like a classic."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"An ideal pick for readers looking for both honesty and hope."--BCCB

"A lively and tender story about language, archive, and family history, ­Millington’s debut will keep young readers on their toes. ... Formatted in alternating chapters between Ernest and Olivetti’s points of view, readers will be ­delighted by the book’s playfulness, as well as its bittersweet look at the power of memory, and how a family can be broken and then healed. A quirky, heartfelt novel."--School Library Journal

"[A] unique debut. Despite the recent appearance of a laptop (“the glossy show-off”), Olivetti has accumulated “an endless amount of memories” working with owner Beatrice. His patient existence is upended when he’s abruptly sold to a pawn shop and Beatrice goes missing... Olivetti’s snarky observations entertain, and the human protagonists’ endearing support for each other’s endeavors paints a worthwhile portrait of community."--Publishers Weekly

"Parents need to know that Olivetti, by first-time author Allie Middleton, is an emotional, heartfelt tale of love, family, and friendship in scary times. ... There's a strong message that life is going to dish out some bad things along the way, and sticking together is what helps you deal with them.--Common Sense Media

"Ernest is a memorable character in an equally memorable family."--The Horn Book Magazine

“A lovable introvert, a typewriter with a lot to say, and an irresistible mystery come together to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.”–Molly Olivo, bookseller at Child’s Play, Washington, D.C.

"This inventive, clever, well-paced middle-grade novel will type its way right into your heart!"--Paul Swydan, The Silver Unicorn Bookstore, Acton, MA