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A review by popthebutterfly
Olivetti by Allie Millington
5.0
Disclaimer: I bought this book for book club. All opinions are my own.
Book: Olivetti
Author: Allie Millington
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Brazillian side character
Recommended For...: Fiction readers, Magical Realism, Fantasy, Contemporary
Publication Date: March 26, 2024
Genre: Magical Realism Fiction
Age Relevance: 13+ (Suicide Attempt, Cancer)
Explanation of Above: There is a vague scene showing an attempt at suicide. There are mentions and scenes involving cancer.
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pages: 253
Synopsis: Being a typewriter is not as easy as it looks. Surrounded by books (notorious attention hogs) and recently replaced by a computer, Olivetti has been forgotten by the Brindle family—the family he’s lived with for years. The Brindles are busy humans, apart from 12-year-old Ernest, who would rather be left alone with his collection of Oxford English Dictionaries. The least they could do was remember Olivetti once in a while, since he remembers every word they’ve typed on him. It’s a thankless job, keeping memories alive. Olivetti gets a rare glimpse of action from Ernest’s mom, Beatrice--his used-to-be most frequent visitor—only for her to drop him off at Heartland Pawn Shop and leave him helplessly behind. When Olivetti learns Beatrice has mysteriously gone missing afterward, he believes he can help find her. He breaks the only rule of the “typewriterly code” and types back to Ernest, divulging Beatrice’s memories stored inside him. Their search takes them across San Francisco—chasing clues, maybe committing a few misdemeanors. As Olivetti spills out the past, Ernest is forced to face what he and his family have been running from, The Everything That Happened. Only by working together will they find Beatrice, belonging, and the parts of themselves they’ve lost.
Review: I thought this was a fascinating little book. The book takes place from multiple viewpoints but one of them is a typewriter. This typewriter has been with this family for decades and has seen this family all through different stages of life and it is entrapped in a mystery when one day it ends up at a pawn shop. I really like the premise of the novel and throughout the book I was really enthralled by how the typewriter spoke versus the other characters in the book. I thought that they had really distinct voices and that the author did really good in writing them. I also really liked the world building of the book and the Toy Story aspect of this book. The book even answered the very important question of “who uses typewriters anyways?”. It’s got it all!
The only thing I can really fault the book for was that there were a couple of little pacing moments but also there was a part in the book where we did a big time jump and I was a little confused for a little bit until I figured out where we were again. Beyond that, I really like the book.
The only thing I can really fault the book for was that there were a couple of little pacing moments but also there was a part in the book where we did a big time jump and I was a little confused for a little bit until I figured out where we were again. Beyond that, I really like the book.
Verdict: I loved this little book.