Et cetera : What We're Reading: "Olivetti"

"Olivetti" by Allie Millington is a middle-grade novel that blends together themes of memory, grief, and healing through the eyes of a child and a typewriter. Twelve-year-old Ernest is a quiet boy who enjoys being alone reading the dictionary; Olivetti, is quiet because he is a typewriter, but he is the Brindle family's secret keeper and observer.

When Ernest's mother, Beatrice, suddenly sells Olivetti to a pawn shop and disappears, Ernest is left with guilt and confusion. While he searches for answers, he discovers that Olivetti can communicate by typing back to him. Olivetti reveals memories of Beatrice's life and their family's past. With the help of Quinn, the pawn shop owner's daughter, Ernest goes on a journey to uncover the truth behind his mother's disappearance and to confront the "Everything That Happened" that has strained their family.​

The novel is a fun read because of both Ernest's and Olivetti's perspectives. Tom Hanks even wrote, "Millington's writing does us a great favor."

~Kellie