I thought I might like this novel when I glanced at the cover and description, but it turned out I wasn't prepared for how much it would grip me. Middle grade fiction has been gaining more attention and commanding more respect over the last few years, and this book is a brilliant example of why. Olivetti tells the story of a sentient typewriter, a brilliant 12 year old boy, and the family they both call their own.

The word I keep coming back to when I think about this novel is "enchanting". The idea of a sentient typewriter and that typewriter's inner landscape; a precocious little boy who tries to understand the world through the English language's massive, black-and-white lexicon; a family made up of wholly unique, rounded-out people who bond over literature and words; and a mother who loves so much that, when she disappears ,it seems a tidal wave of anxiety moves through that disappearance's wake. The voice actors were perfect at delivering the dialogue with heart and emotion.



Olivetti is a beautiful book about family, both born and chosen. It shows us the value of showing up for the people in our lives, over and over, even when it's difficult. I found myself thinking of other stories about sentient objects that teach and move us--- Toy Story, The Velveteen Rabbit, The Iron Giant. I saw shades of these in this novel in the very best way. This book reminded me to love everyone and everything, and to love hard. Even the things I may not think are listening.

What a cute heartwarming story! The characters were all so loveable, made you want nothing but the best for them! The typewriter point of view was so unique and so well done. I always love a good story about a shy quiet kid with a lot going on internally, I can relate so well. As I listened to the audiobook I will also note the narrators were so good at really capturing the audience and displaying the personalities of the characters. I loved it all so much!

Such a great read for middle-grade students.

I loved the interesting and different point of view from the typewriter. This story goes through the struggles of life and how the family all handles it differently. I love the use of vocab throughout the book that helps Ernest with his anxiety.. This is definitely a book I would recommend for my older readers in my classroom or in the library.

Thank you Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group at NetGalley for the advanced copy

Typewriters matter in my house. My husband is a bit of a collector but, even dreamier (are you shocked literary creative nerd is my type?!?!), he is a writer. Everything he writes has a first draft created on, you guessed it, a typewriter. And his favorite typewriter is - insert drumroll here - an Olivetti! So when I saw there was a book partially told by the POV of an Olivetti I got so excited. I’m happy to report I was not disappointed, this book was such a pleasure to listen to!

This work is told in dual POVs by Olivetti, a well loved and used typewriter, and Ernest, the preteen son of Olivetti’s owner. Mysterious circumstances lead to Ernest’s mom, Beatrice, leaving Olivetti at a pawn shop and disappearing without any note to her worried family. Ernest, an anxious and socially awkward boy who blames himself for his mom leaving, unwilling befriends Quinn, the daughter of the pawn shop’s owner. Together, and with vital help from Olivetti, they try to track down Ernest’s mom and understand why she left.

This book was so much more moving than I expected it to be. I was ready for a cheeky story about a boy and a typewriter and while, yes, Olivetti has some sass to him (and is beautifully narrated btw) and their rapport is terrific, I wasn’t prepared for the emotions. This story deals with some heavier topics and the reason for Beatrice’s disappearance is painful and feels very real. At the heart this is a story about family, love, and loyalty. And proper paper placement. 4 out of 5 (devastated that there isn’t a typewriter emoji to use!)

Thank you toNetGalley for the ARC! Happy pub date Olivetti!!

Narrated from the perspective of a typewriter and a young boy, this is a pleasing story of a family that is emotional and humorous. I have so many quotes that I loved reading here that they had to be mentioned at the bottom.

The story is about a typewriter counting his days in the dark corner after being replaced by modern gadgets until one day a person in the family goes missing. Olivetti (the typewriter) believes he can finally be of help, but to do that, he will have to break one of the most conspicuous rules of their world.

Olivetti is next-level witty and the sarcastic charisma of the writing style worked so well for me. It is an overall light-hearted middle-grade book but I would recommend my fellow readers to check the content disclaimers too. The narration style reminded me of the book 'Remarkably bright creatures' and I think the book will be perfect for the fans.

Thanks to @netgalley @macmillanusa @allieinink for the ARC.
Genre: #middlegrade #fiction
Disclaimers: #cancer #therapy #mentalwelbeing
Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️

Favourite Quote:
"If they just read the Oxford English Dictionary, they'd see both expressions were in there. They were both idioms and idioms are phrases that don't follow any kind of logic. My family apparently wasn't following any logic either because they were fighting over figures of speech. They were acting like a bunch of idioms" 🤣🤣🤣

The storyline of Olivetti is heavy—it's much more family drama; much less mystery or fantasy. While that disappointed me, I wouldn't discourage anyone else from reading—it's a fine debut novel. I do hope, though, that promotion of the book—whether via official channels or via reader reviews/word of mouth—will warn readers adequately. I was expecting a fun fantasy about a sentient typewriter and the mystery he and one of his humans solve. The story is actually much darker, with few, if any, fun moments whatsoever. There's a big difference between a mystery around a missing object or an interesting event and that of the disappearance of a parent.

With reasonable expectations established now, Olivetti the typewriter revealing the family's history and memories from Beatrice/Mom's past use of him is an interesting way to share a story. Sadly, the protracted reveal of Mom's situation and location was not written in a way that built excitement: there's just repeated mention of a Bad Thing That Happened to the Family In the Past.

In addition to main human character Ernest (age 12) and his family, several characters play parts in finding Mom: Ernest's age peer/new friend of sorts, Quinn the pawn shop owner's daughter; an enthusiastic public librarian; a doctor; and an apartment building maintenance worker.

Ernest's introversion is portrayed in relatable ways, including other characters not appreciating his traits or respecting his needs and boundaries.

The narration—especially Simon Vance as Olivetti—was top-notch. Christopher Gebauer also narrated. The cover art is attractive and enticing.

Fun fact: The manuscript was written on the author's own antique typewriter.

Olivetti is a charming story of a typewriter who has been forgotten by his family and replaced by books and a computer. But Olivetti is special because he holds every memory, every thought and word ever typed on him in his mind. And yes, this typewriter has quite a mind. When Beatrice (Mom) disappears out of the blue one day the family is quite distraught. Where could she have gone and why? Earnest, the quiet thoughtful son discovers that his mother has sold Olivetti, her special typewriter, to a pawn shop. He knows he must get Olivetti back because it is the last clue to where his mom might have gone. Olivetti decides to break the cardinal rule of machines to help Earnest and his family. He begins to communicate with Earnest to help locate his mother by typing out messages and his mothers former stories and poems. This is a lovely, quirky story about family, words and the power of love and healing. A very clever premise. Highly recommended.

This is such a unique and sweet Middle Grade novel! Told from dual perspectives of a lonely child who feels like he doesn’t belong in his family and the now-neglected typewriter, Olivetti, who observes all from its desk, this story is a mystery about a missing person and also about the far-reaching effects of trauma within a family. Filled with charming characters, zany situations, and some very difficult realities, this book was a fun and heartwarming read.

I sometimes find that the Middle Grade books that appeal to me and/or other adults are not the same titles that appeal to children, and I do wonder if that will be true about this book. I think kids will be interested in the magical realism and mystery, but I don’t know if those aspects are strong enough to encourage readers to continue through the more sentimental reflections and nuanced scenes. I don’t think this book will be for everyone (no book is!), but if put into the hands of the right reader, I can see it being much-loved.

I will be purchasing this book for our elementary school library and will also be recommending it to 4th and 5th grade classroom teachers as a possible readaloud option, especially during the beginning of the school year when relationships and connections are new. Ultimately, I enjoyed this book, but I think adults will appreciate it more than children will.

The synopsis had me from the start. What a genius to think of giving consciousness to typewriters, making them bearers of our memories and having them feel with us! I must praise the narration of Olivetti, very "typewriter-like", slightly uptight and paced just right to feel like the words are really being typed when needed.

When Beatrice decides to take Olivetti and sell it to a pawn-shop, the typewriter feels abandoned and cannot fathom that it is not a mistake, that she will not come and get him back. When her family finds out, that Beatrice disappears, they start to look after hints on what happened to her, especially Ernest, the lonely strange kid of the family, whose favourite book is the dictionary. And Olivetti decides to break a rule and write back to him, to help him finding Beatrice.

I loved the depiction of Olivetti, it was perfectly rendered. The love of the old-fashioned way of typing and more generally, the love for words and the power of imagination are central in this book. Ernest is also somehow very understandable and truthful. His strange behaviours and passions are relatable and I loved seeing him growing out of the situation he put himself in through his quest for his mom.

Quinn was probably my favourite character though, full of joy and unexpected ideas and enthousiasm.

I just did not really appreciate the ending. It did not sit right with me, as if the mystery had not been a proper one. Still an enjoyable book!

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for letting me have a taste of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a beautiful story and reminded me a bit of my childhood reading the classic "the bicycle thief", but obviously the two tales are really not much alike and are both their own stories. I loved Olivetti and though I know it was intended for middle grade children, I think that it would also easily fit into the family reading category. The writing style is so poetic at times, and really sucks the reader into this tale.
I believe this would be a great read for even grade 5 children as an introduction into beautiful writing and real life tragedies that can happen. These kinds of stories prepare children for real life events that happen all around them their entire lives but they are never prepared for.
The author has a way of talking about all of these things with delicacy and from the point of view of the child, which is so beautiful.
I'll be recommending this book to all of my friends and family with children.

thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for the ARC in exchange for providing an honest review.

this was precious. a solid children’s book. it bounces back and forth between the typewriters perspective and Ernest. It was cute and heartfelt and a quick read.

it explores how a family deals with stressors and trauma together, how it affects siblings and parents differently, and how lonely it can feel as a kid dealing with issues beyond what you can understand.

This was okay, but never really rose above that. The cover is gorgeous. I think the bones of the story have a lot of potential, and thought the blurb sounded right up my alley. But the writing and characters never fully drew me in.

I did like the dual narration, one narrator for the chapters from Ernest's POV and one for Olivetti's chapters. I think I enjoyed the audiobook more than I would have the print, because it did up my engagement some and brought a little more life to Olivetti in particular. I've liked books narrated by Simon Vance, who voices Olivetti, in the past, and again enjoyed the narration here, though I was slightly bothered by the accent so many British people seem to do when voicing Americans, which didn't really fit the way any of the characters sounded when voiced by the American narrator. So while I liked his narration for Olivetti, when he voiced the other characters during those chapters I wasn't the biggest fan.

I think part of the problem for me with this book was the story trying to do too much. There's the typewriter being sentient, Ernest having no friends and really struggling, the family's past struggles and current emotional distance, a new friend Ernest meets and has trouble trusting and opening up to, a serious mystery to solve, and more. I think that just focusing on on the family would have tightened the story up a lot and made more room for character growth. As it was, each family member apart from the main character had one personality trait repeated over and over again and we knew little else about them or their relationships with one another. I usually ADORE sentient objects and robots and such in stories but I felt nothing for Olivetti. Even the typewriter didn't have enough personality to be a really engaging character. I just wanted to feel something while reading this story, a little bit of magic or strong emotion, but I never did.

I have some reservations about a book where a parent's past battle with cancer, and their cancer returning are the sort of hidden aspects of the story that are alluded to for a long time before finally being revealed. I definitely think these topics belong in books for this age group. But I don't think it's appropriate for students to be taken by surprise by them in a book, the way they are intended to here. I think that Ernest and his father and mother's navigating these incredibly difficult situations was well portrayed, but I think the story could have worked well if it had unfolded in a way where these weren't kept secret from the reader for so long. I hope that the actual book will have content warnings at the start.

I was kind of flummoxed by the emphasis on Ernest never using his phone at all. We're told this is because he has no friends to call or text with. But the internet exists. It's awesome that he has a fixation on the dictionary and really enjoys that, but there are surely groups for people who love the dictionary and games for kids who love words along with worlds of information and books and other things to delve into. I just found that aspect of the story quite odd.

I also found the worldbuilding around typewriters being sentient (such a fun idea!) to be lacking and not particularly interesting. Again, so much potential, but it never really went anywhere.

Again, this felt very much like a story I would love, but the characters and writing never quite reached that memorable magic that the best books have. This would merit an additional purchase in my school library, as long as it contained content warnings so students weren't caught unawares by the difficult topics which might inspire a lot of anxiety in students who have faced similar family situations.

What an original and charming and utterly heartbreaking book. The typewriter is a great personality, and I was excited that a sentient typewriter was going to help solve a mystery.
However. This book needs to have a more appropriate description. When you're dealing with topics like suicide and dying parents in a middle school book, you should advertise it as a lighthearted romp. This book was so dark, from the mental problems to the illness to the potential criminal arrest of a child.
I listened to the audiobook courtesy of NetGalley, and the narrator was amazing, really bringing the characters to life, especially the typewriter.

I’ve never cried so hard about a typewriter in my life. Olivetti is the charming story you don’t know you need. It’s a compassionate story about running away, fear, guilt, and those who make life worth it. I can’t say enough about this book.

If you love stories, writing, typewriters, or the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe you’ll have at least one thing to love about Olivetti. I can’t wait for this to be available to everyone!!

Thank you RB Media | Recorded Books for allowing me to read and review Olivetti on NetGalley.

Published: 03/26/24

Narrators: Christopher Gebauer, Simon Vance

Stars: 0

The synopsis does not prepare the reader for what they are going to tackle. This surpasses hurting someone's feelings (trigger warnings). The cover tells a story: a writer, happy. The synopsis relays a heartfelt debut -- not what I read.

The book opens with the talking typewriter (Vance). I laughed and was ready for a nice feel good story. Millington does capture human traits on the typewriter really well. Some things you just have to read for yourself: she clearly has talent. And I believe her storytelling will improve. My problem is with the synopsis.

Spoiler: A mother of three walks away from her family that is still hurting from a cancer diagnosis previously and their inability to communicate with each other adds to the trauma. Later on it is learned the cancer has returned in the mother. The bottomline is through a series of events the family finds the mother in what sounded like a position to unalive herself. Yes, the kids were there.

The story went unexpectedly dark. This is middle grade fiction. The synopsis needs to reflect the story.

The narration was good.

I'm finding it hard to be complimentary at all. I can't help but see an innocent child judging a book by its cover leading to a story with an abandoning parent, a loud grouchy parent left in the house and the humor of a talking typewriter. This feels wrong on many levels to me. NetGalley does not accept zero stars.

4.5 stars
This book reminded me a little bit of The Brave Little Toaster except mystery.
After Ernest's mom sells her old typewriter and goes missing, Ernest finds it in a pawn shop and it breaks the only typewriter rule and tries to help by talking (typing) to Ernest and showing him his mom's memories she typed on him. His name is Olivetti. Will the memories Olivetti provides become clues to find Ernest's mom?
Ernest was a very introverted kid, he had no friends and didn't even really interact with his family. This got worse after "the bad thing" that keeps being mentioned but is not revealed until later in the book. Then he meets Quinn who is the daughter of the pawn shop owner where Olivetti is found. She was so cute. She didn't care how introverted Ernest was, she was going to get all up in his business and help him. Because she knew he needed help even if he didn't want to admit it. The members of Ernest's family were a little self centered. His dad only cared about work, his brother only cared about the gym, his sister only cared about theater and her phone and his other brother only cared about his frogs. I think this was all of their coping mechanisms after "the bad thing." Olivetti had such a personality. Despite being an inanimate object, he cared deeply for his family and remembered the things that made them happy even if they forgot.
I was hooked from the very beginning. It was obvious that Ernest's mom didn't just disappear, she left, because she sold Olivetti and I really wanted to know why. The reason was very heartbreaking, though I don't know if I would ever be able to leave my family for days with no word at all just because of what happened. But it's never happened to me, so I don't really know what I would or wouldn't do. The way Ernest and Quinn used Olivetti and became his friend and became friends themselves in the process was so sweet. The way, despite Ernest thinking he was all alone, that an entire group of people ended up helping look for his mom was just so heartwarming.
The way this book deals with tough topics is very well done and something that I think can be digested well by the intended middle grade audience. It's very well done to me as an adult as well. It was a wonderful standalone that had a very uplifting ending.
There were 2 narrators of this book, one for Ernest and one for Olivetti. Olivetti's narrator was an older British man which I think fit his personality so well. If an old typewriter could talk, that's what I would imagine it sounding like. The narrator for Ernest was well done as well.

Well this is precious!

Olivetti is a typewriter who live most of his life in a family home. He loved his family even with all the sticky substances the children of the family dripped onto him.

Then one day something in the home changes and he’s no longer used, replaced by a laptop. He sits there, forgotten until the day the mom of the family packs him up and takes him to a pawn shop.

We get both Olivetti’s perspective and Ernest’s (one of the family’s children) as they begin the hunt for their mom and discover Olivetti’s secrets along the way.

Ultimately this is a great middle grade novel about how we all need help sometimes, even when it’s hard to ask for.

Also, love that typewriters hold a grudge against books for being more beloved.

I already had a crush on typewriters, but this book, and the witty typewriter contained within, sealed my fate. I will forever love and adore typewriters!!

This is also the story of a family, broken by life like all families are, but also finding resilience where they thought was none. It is about friendship and dictionaries and the unexpected.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the opportunity to enjoy this audiobook!

“Typewriters do not have the luxury of moving on. Remembering is the very language we speak. I'm a patchwork of past, stitched together with stories, a tapestry of tales.”

This book was a true jewel. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. The listening was short (less than 4h30) but intense, and left me full of feelings –of every kind.
Of course, first comes the POV choice. How fantastic to make an old (philosopher) typewriter speak first person AND to alternate with a boy’s voice? As I’m talking about the voices, I can’t forget to mention the audiobook’s readers. Both of them were incredible (how delightful was that English accent, and so was the young reader)!
But Olivetti isn’t only that little touch of magic with the conscious typewriter. Ernest’s character is so deep. I fell in love with his way of thinking and seeing the world. With short and simple sentences, A.M. delivers such a rich and poetic world (and words), such magnificent images, that I shivered, laughed, cried every second of my listening. The story (and the writing) hooked me, immersed me, since the first sentences and never let me go.
Olivetti is a book about memory, about words and their power (beyond their definition), about attachment and about trust. It’s a book about running away, about finding the strength to ask for help and face our problems. No matter how old (or young) you are, it’s a lesson we all need to hear.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Allie Millington and RB Media for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.


(posted on goodread but not via netgalley who couldn't find it)

What do we do when mom sells a treasured family heirloom, then goes AWOL?

Obviously, we overlook the parental toxicity and abandonment and go on an adventure to solve the mystery!

This fun middle grade features a typewriter as one of the narrators. Make sure you listen on audio to catch his phenomenal British accent. The other narrator is the antisocial, probably neurodivergent son of the missing person, who figures her disappearance is probably his fault.

While I’m not sure my middle grade reader would handle the dark content or nuance well, this reminds me of something I would’ve read growing up in the 90s. Super fun, lots of puns and SAT words (iykyk). There are a few nit-picky things that irritated me as a mom and nurse that kept me from giving it 5 stars, but they are not out of line with the perspective of an adolescent. And, as in most middle grade, there is a satisfying swing-up at the end. 4⭐️!

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.