All That's Bright and Gone

Aoife (pronounced ee-fa) is a six year old girl whose mom just had a nervous breakdown in the middle of an intersection. Aoife says her mom is "confused", especially about whether her brother Theo is dead. Aoife becomes convinced that the only way her mother can overcome her "confusion" is if Aoife can solve the mystery of her brother's death. As Aoife begins to investigate, other troubling truths come to life that will change her life forever. Heartbreaking and beautifully written, Nellums has given us a wonderful story about faith, mental illness and the meaning of family. I loved this book.

What makes this story unique and memorable is that it’s told from the perspective of a child named Aofie. I was drawn in from the beginning and couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend this book!

Oh such a good story!! 6 year old Aoife little world has been turned up side down. This story is narrorated by a 6 year old girl who mom has been taken away “to get better” and she along with teddy (her imaginary little bear) and her Neigbor Hanna try to investigate her brothers death (murder) of Theo thinking that’s the old way to bring her momma home.

I know my brother is dead. But sometimes Mama gets confused.

There’s plenty about the grownup world that six-year-old Aoife doesn’t understand. Like what happened to her big brother Theo and why her mama is in the hospital instead of home where she belongs. Uncle Donny says she just needs to be patient, but Aoife’s sure her mama won’t be able to come home until Aoife learns what really happened to her brother. The trouble is no one wants to talk about Theo because he was murdered. But by whom?

With her imaginary friend Teddy by her side and the detecting skills of her nosy next-door neighbor, Aoife sets out to uncover the truth about her family. But as her search takes her from the banks of Theo’s secret hideout by the river to the rooftops overlooking Detroit, Aoife will learn that some secrets can’t stay hidden forever and sometimes the pain we bury is the biggest secret of them all.


The story was told from the point of view Aoife. A book about mental illness and trying to make her world a better one. It was heart touching as well as times heartbreaking. Very much a sweet , book about love and family.
I was very moved and had to finish this one to have closure for myself and Aoife.

Reminiscent of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, this is a brilliant little story about mental illness and it’s impacts on family told from the perspective of six-year-old Aoife (EE-fa). Humorous, sad, quirky, and very well-written, All That’s Bright and Gone follows Aoife through her childish imaginations and mysterious discoveries on her hero’s journey after her mother is hospitalized to find out what happened to her older brother and reunite her family.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow so many emotions I felt through this book... tears and laughter I had it all. This was such an amazing read. I loved the storyline the characters everything about this.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW
Eliza Nellums' All That's Bright and Gone is an engaging story told from the perspective of a six-year-old girl, Aoife. Her world is turned upside-down with the murder of her older brother and missing her mother with her being in the hospital. She's staying with her Uncle Donny, and she's got her imaginary friend Teddy by her side. She's got a mission to make sense of her world and put things back together again. This book is challenging, but heartwarming as well. This novel will appeal to fans of Fredrik Backman and Mark Haddon.

PRAISE
“A luminous debut. Eliza Nellums’ six-year-old Aoife (pronounced ”EE-fah“, if you please) will knock you cock-a-hoop. A hero’s journey, with possible angels, ghosts, and Teddies. It will change forever the way you look at the little girl next door.”
—Alan Bradley, New York Times bestselling author of the Flavia de Luce mysteries

“A gripping and affecting debut that will leave you laughing. Prepare to fall in love with this beautiful mystery and six-year old Aoife. Eliza Nellums is one to watch.”
—Rhiannon Navin, international bestselling author of Only Child

AUTHOR
Eliza Nellums is a member of the Metro Wriders and has a Masters degree from the University of Michigan. Raised in the Detroit suburbs, Elizabeth now lives with her cat in Washington, DC where she is the manager of a grants program at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Her short story “Changelings” was published in the anthology Magical. All That’s Bright and Gone is her debut novel.

How do you not love Aoife (pronounced EE- fah)? Aoife is the voice of this entertaining and delightful read. She is six years old. Precocious, endearing, determined and driven by how much she loves and adores her mother. The characters in this novel are illuminated with details that pop them from the written page. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this highly pleasing and heartfelt book on every level. Do yourself a favor, read it.

I loved this book it hits you with the feels that a Picoult book does.
I love the character of the little girl. This is a heartbreakingly beautiful novel.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

This book was an quick and unique read! I have never read a book narrated by a 6 year old but it makes you see the story from an interesting perspective. This book was full of adventure and emotion as well as twists and turns. The ending wrapped it all up nicely but I wish it talked about the hearing. All in all, a nice, easy read!

I completely feel in love with Aoife! The author carefully crafts a distance between what young an naïve Aoife reports seeing and what we as the reader understand, making for a really poignant climax as Aoife unlocks the secrets around her brother's death. Fans of Mark Haddon will appreciate Aoife's wonderful narration, which is beautifully done. I would thoroughly recommend for any fans of mysteries!

This was a very unusual but very engaging and interesting story - even if I didn't always buy that it was being narrated by a six-year old... I have a six-year old. A VERY precocious, verbose, clever six-year old (if I may say so myself) with a sharp mind who seems years beyond her age much of the time. So I'm familiar with Aoife's breed (and more than a little partial to it). Fortunately for us all, our story is NOTHING LIKE HERS - beyond the presence of the aforementioned six-year old. But even accepting that trauma can age a child, I struggled to keep reminding myself that the self-aware (and even in her childish misconceptions she was always that) narrator of this incredible tale was a child...

I can see where some readers may lose the story in that. I didn't - and was surprised, because I usually don't take to adult stories with child narrators because most authors have a difficult time finding the right tone or voice that balances the linguistic/observational skills of the child with the necessary revelatory requirements of the narrator. Nellums did the best job I've ever seen at walking that wire, and if it occasionally required me to forget Aoife's age for the sake of the narration, it did so in a fairly seamless and non-disruptive fashion that deserves a lot of credit. But that's not all she deserves a lot of credit for - she also deserves it for telling an original, engaging, entertaining tale that is about a child but also about the more fundamental need we all have to understand, to be loved, and to find our truth in the midst of the misunderstandings, protections, and secrets of those around us.

This is a lovely and heartbreaking story that genuinely surprised me at multiple turns. Aoife is a delight and the magical realism that edges her world was brilliant, offering just the right mix of magic and confusion and acceptance of whatever comes that is the hallmark of childhood. Nellums wrote a beautiful paean to family and love here, and she did it without preaching or sappiness or tropes. The story folded in on itself like origami, with each fold seeming a bit random but adding up to a marvelous "AHA!" at the end. I loved it and am definitely keeping Nellums on my watch list...

'There is a woman who is crying in the corner, real quiet. I don’t like it when grown-ups cry. Most of all I don’t like it when Mama cries.'

Aoife (pronounced EE-fah, which the adults never seem to get right) is caught up in the confusion and chaos of all the grown-ups around her. She understands the meaning of gone. Gone is forever, gone is DEAD– just like her big brother Theo. She knows better than to talk about it or ask questions, he was murdered and Mama can’t stomach the grief. She has a vague memory of him, one day on the beach, she was lost and he found her, but it’s all so muddied. Luckily for Aoife, she has a constant companion, Teddy who isn’t imaginary no matter what people say! She can see him clear as she sees her best friend Hannah, so he is real! He is a bear! It isn’t smart to talk about him though, especially not to the ladies Dr. Pearlman sends from sea-pee-ess. Sea-pee-ess are government people that help families, but if you say things that seem weird they might take it the wrong way. One thing is certain, the adult world is confusing! Theo's murder isn't the only mystery, her whole life feels like one.

Siobhan (her Mama) has gone away, but she isn’t gone away like Theo, she can and will return at some point. Something is wrong inside of her and it all goes back to the day she broke her own rule of talking to people who aren’t there. Mama was so angry, yelling at her dead son. The doctors just need Aoife’s help trying to understand the incident, and looking for someone to take care of her while Mama is away. There is no daddy for Aoife, she is special, she was born in the cabbage patch, it’s a fact- her Mama told her! There is an Uncle Donny, her mother’s younger brother and he tries his best to care for her (after all, he is a single, childless bachelor) but he can’t keep Aiofe from running off with Hannah, trying to gather clues and weed out suspects of her brother’s murder.

Uncle Donny knows Mama’s sickness is confusion sickness. He understands the deep disappointment Aoife feels, Mama promised to take her to see the fireworks this year, but if she’s away she won’t be able to go. He also understands and says it’s okay if she doesn’t always miss Theo, but any mention of her brother is met with “let’s not talk anymore about Theo today.” No one ever seems to ever want to talk about him. Hannah gets secret messages in dreams, Hannah is older and is going to be a detective one day. She can talk about Theo to her! Hannah even dreamed about him. Can she solve the crime still if Hannah abandons her? Soon, Aoife begins to wonder if her family really is crazy, like people say. But the church has saints and the holy ghost, that’s not crazy.

Could Mama’s friend Mac be a killer? He is sort of strange and angry. All she wants is to escape to the Secret Place that Teddy discovered. Teddy is trying to tell her something, all the time, but it doesn’t make sense. Uncle Donny is doing his best with Mama gone but he isn’t the greatest looking after her. What if the big bad man comes to drag her off to the Children’s Prison like Hannah warned her would happen?

Everything is happening fast, adults are telling her things that she can’t comprehend, the story of her family is different than what Mama has told. What if she is ill, like her mother, maybe Teddy isn’t real! Even he is starting to scare her. Is she crazy? If memory is tricky, it’s a foreign language for a six year old. In the interest of protecting the innocence of a child, adults often aim for silence, which leaves an imaginative kid like Aiofe to construct a world so far removed from reality that what she believes to be concrete fact is more painful than the truth. Mental illness swims through the story, it’s disheartening because there is no doubt Aiofe and Sibohan (her mother) love each other, but she slips away when the meds are wrong and the stresses of life are magnified when you also have to cope with your health. The world is often kinder if your illness is physical rather than mental, not to say it’s easy either way, but the stigma of mental illness is cruel when children catch wind of it. Worse, there is always the looming threat that if Sibohan can’t keep it altogether, Aiofe can be taken away! Our little Aiofe, at six, is becoming aware of what society deems normal vs. abnormal and just where her family fits. There is hope, and I think Uncle Donny beautifully explained what being sick for Sibohan means. Sure, you may not be cured, but you can be treated to live with it better. I like that, that’s reality.

I was surprised as much as Aiofe by the revelation of what happened to Theo and I felt as frustrated and confused as she did. There is this strange span of time when you’re still not fully present, your mind is just giving birth to reasoning, it’s developing and you are learning to distinguish between emotions, facts, and fantasy. This is where Aiofe is. I especially like what happened with she and Hannah, because kids can be fair-weather friends sometimes and mean as snakes not because they’re terrible beings, but because they are immature. It made the story far more genuine. Well done, this will be released later in the year, add it to your December TBR list.

Publication Date: December 10, 2019

Crooked Lane Books

I feel for Aoife. She has a name that is constantly mispronounced, is misinformed about her brother’s death and her family as a whole. Aoife is so poor that she and her mother have crackers and water for lunch.. When her mother has to stay in the hospital for “confusion”, Aoife’s uncle comes to live with her. Fortunately, he is able to provide her with a stable environment and a full refrigerator. Her constant companion is Teddy....a bear that only she can see. Determined to find her brother’s killer, Aoife uncovers surprising information about her family I received an advanced copy of All That’s Bright and Gone by Eliza Nellums,and am voluntarily supplying my review.

This was such a cute, fun read for me. This is told from the POV of six-year-old Aoife (pronounced "EE-fah") who is trying to put back together her very broken family. Aoife's mom is in the middle of what appears to be a mental breakdown, Aoife has a, seemingly imaginary bear named Teddy, and her brother Theo is gone. Her uncle Donny comes to try and put the pieces of Aoife's life back together while supporting his sister as best he can. If you loved any of Fredrik Bachman's novels (especially "My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry"), you will eat this book up. It's a quick read that's charming and heartwarming. I breezed through this book and just adored the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of All That's Bright and Gone, which is set to release December 10, 2019.

Told through the eyes of a 6 year old, All That is Bright and True is a story about the good, bad, and ugly that is family. There is a lot going on here, but it still rings true, even when it probably shouldn't. I enjoyed this twisty, imaginative story, that takes a unique approach on the family drama genre. Topics touched on include, mental health, sexuality, religion, death, and family stepping up and stepping in when they are most needed. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for an advanced digital copy of this novel.

I liked this book. I thought the author did a fantastic job with nailing the point of view of a six year old girl who was the main character. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

What a fantastic read!! It took me totally by surprise; when I read the blurb, I thought it was going to be about a six year old coping with brother’s death. It turned out to be so much more than that! I loved this story, I thought the author did a wonderful job at not only keeping me hooked from start to finish, but writing from a 6 year old’s point of view. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to write a novel about such a heavy subject from a child’s point of view. But I thought it was done very well, it seemed very real and made the story all the more interesting. Aoife does not understand the magnitude of the things & conversations happening around her and the reader is left to read in between the lines and piece things together, which made me feel very much apart of the story.

The characters were great, the writing was great, the plot was full of twists and turns; this book is going straight to my favorites shelf!

A truly lovely book. Told from the perspective of a child, it is moving and unexpectedly thrilling. Despite the fact that it is about the death of her brother and her mother's mental illness, there are still moments of lightness and humor, too. I cannot wait to see what Eliza Nellums does next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read it.

This was an interesting book. It was reminiscent of Room as it was told through the eyes of a 6 year old girl. It gave a unique perspective of how children view the world and what is important to them and how the world is interpreted. This reminded me as the mother of a six year old that it is important to explain things and not always shield children from reality. I read parts of this book to my daughters as it give a nice explanation of what I do for a living working for “sea pee-ess” and what can be misconstrued and how important children’s safety is.

“Mama says I should ask politely and be gracious about the chance to learn something new.”

I enjoyed, All That’s Bright and Gone, and will be looking forward to reading more by Eliza Nellums. Solid 4 stars!

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for my advanced copy of, All That’s Bright and Gone, in exchange for my honest review.

***Will post to Goodreads a month before publishing and Amazon/B&N on publishing release date.

What a good book! I loved how Eliza wrote this book through a 6 year old point of view. The storyline was heart breaking and I felt for everyone in this book at one point or another.
I look forward to read more from Eliza!

Title: All that’s Bright and Gone

Author: Eliza Nellums

Length: approx 250 pages

Publisher: Crooked Lane Publishers

Publication Date: December 2019

Genre: General Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

My rating: 4/5

Summary:

The story is about 6 years old girl named Aoifa pronounced as EE – Fa. The story narrated from her perspective, is her quest to solve the mystery behind her elder Brother’s murder.

My Take:

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC for reading and reviewing this wonderful book.

The story transports you to the world of a 6 year old innocent girl who is still grasping things based on the happenings around. It was a welcome change from reading the books from a grown up perspectives. Author has done a fabulous job of describing things the way a little child would. Though sometimes the actions portrayed pertained to the older version of the girl. The same can be ignored though.

The story is a bit slow paced with lots of details given for describing scenes, enabling reader to identify with the surroundings and imaging the scenes right in front of you. The pain of a six year old is beautifully portrayed when she’s away from her mother and missing her. It just takes your heart away.

The characterisation is great but depth is only in the main girls character. Her uncle Donny is an adorable character. The mystery of her friend Teddy whom only she can see is a surprising mystery solved in end.

The revelations towards the climax does leave your jaw dropped but a very satisfactory ending. The climax was totally unexpected and that’s what makes it a great read. The ending leaves you feeling full and happy.

I would recommend this book to everyone who wish to read something new. A great job by the writer.

The story is told through the eyes of 6 year old Aoife as she is left to piece together the story of her family after her mother is sent away after a mental breakdown. The story has you playing guessing games of what happened to her older brother Theo with the help of her imaginary character Teddy. This book was hard to put down, I wanted to keep reading more and more!

I. Love. This. Book. I have never read anything like this in my life. It's a book for adults but written from the perspective of a six year old. The way Aoife was thinking the whole time was exactly how I would think of things as a kid. Aoife represents every child who goes through something traumatic and their parent is unable to escape the cycle of trauma so the child is drawn in. You could understand the effects of trauma on Aoife and her way of thinking, interacting, and surviving. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

All That’s Bright and Gone by Eliza Nellums a four-star read that will shine brightly. This was a great story and such a great way of narrating the story from the perspective of six year old Aofie who is adorable in her own right, at least over her name she is, she is this little creature who wants to get to the bottom of things that a girl her age just shouldn’t know. The details are good, but at times do go a bit far and into too much detail, but if you like thrillers that will keep you guessing you will enjoy this.

All That"s Bright and Gone is a compelling read with an authentic child narrator - apart from A Curious Incident, I have never read another book with such a believable child as a narrator. It is an effective mystery novel as details are drip-fed to the reader in a way that keeps the novel feeling fresh and moves it along at an enjoyable pace. I really liked the characters Aoife and her Uncle Donny, although I felt very sorry for them both at times.

This is easy to keep reading and I finished it in one day - I would recommend it as a great holiday read. Thank you very much to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fantastic story told from the perspective of 6-year olf Aoife as she, and the reader, try to uncover both what is happening with her mother (shes confused and in hospital) and what happened to her brother (he died and no-one will talk about it).

I love stories from a child's perspective, it's a very effective way of revealing a story but is difficult to do well. In All That's Bright and Gone, Eliza Nellums uses it spectacularly. I loved Aoife, her observations and experiences are both extremely child-like while further revealing to the reader a bigger, more complex picture.

It is a thrilling and immersive reading experience, Aoife is endearing and the other characters are well-developed - I particularly loved the friendship with Hannah. I loved the twists throughout the story as Aoife discovers more about her family and what happened to her brother.

All That's Bright and Gone was very different from what I ever read before. The story is narrated by six year old Aoife (pronounced Ee-fah, so like Eva in German I just thought...) trying to solve the murder of her brother Theo to help bring back home her Mom which has a mental breakdown and has to stay in a hospital. Her uncle moves in and takes care of her and together with the girl next door who loves to solve mysteries (and Aoife's imaginary friend Teddy, which she isn't supposed to talk about to other people) the journey to begins.

I just loved this book, it got me hooked from the start and the descriptions how a six year old sees the world were just lovely. Already one of my favorites of this year!

Thanks Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review and to Eliza Nellums for writing this beautiful story!

A unique and charming story. This is all told through the eyes of a 6 year old little girl. It is heartwarming to see things through the perspective of a young child. They are so pure and guileless. Aoife (pronounced EE-fah) is a 6 year old whose brother is dead. Her mama gets confused a lot and her best friend is an imaginary bear that can grow to any size as necessary but seems to get her in trouble all the time. She has another real life best friend, who lives next door and is two years olde than her. One day, Aoife's mama gets super-confused and ends up being taken away in the blue van, and Aoife is left in the care of her Uncle Donovan. Aoife knows that she has to solve the case of who killed her brother in order to bring her mama home. She enlists the help of her next-door neighbor (who is great at investigating things). Together, they make a list of suspects and witnesses and write down clues and try to solve the case and bring Aoife's mama home. Things, however, even in the world of a six year old, are never that simple, and there are a few bumps and twists and turns. I was utterly charmed by this story as I remembered back to my early childhood years, where everything was so simple, yet so complex. It reminded me that as adults, we need to listen to children and try to understand and help explain things to them, rather than just telling them they'll understand when they are older. I adored Uncle Donovan. He was the perfect stand-in parent for Aoife, and did his very best to help her understand what was happening in her world. This whole story left me feeling nostalgic for my childhood years.

This book exceeded my expectations, I was really impressed.
I think it's very hard to write from a child's perspective but the character of Aoife is very well written and fleshed out. It reminded me a little of The Boy In The Striped Pajamas which is high praise for sure.
A special, moving and emotional book.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This complimentary ARC was courtesy of netgalley - the opinions below are mine and unbiased

I loved this

The story is told from the child's perspective which is unusual but very effective

Extremely well written characters - I found the book moving - couldn't put down
.

Writing: 4/5 Plot: 4/5 Characters: 4.5/5

A strange and captivating book that gets better and better with each page. Six-year old Aoife (pronounced EE-fah) misses her mama who is “confused” and has been taken someplace to help her feel better. With the help of her imaginary friend — a large bear named Teddy — and her slightly older and more confident neighbor Hannah, Aoife sets off to solve the mystery of her brother’s murder with the childish logic that this will allow her mother to come home again.

Aoife is the most compelling of narrators — her mind is young and she has been kept uninformed about the big issues facing the family (as is typical of six-year olds). She tells her story piece by piece, describing events and her interpretation of them in an utterly convincing manner — her mother’s “confusion,” visits from cee pee ess (child protective services), and the explanations her Uncle Donnie, Father Paul, and her mother’s “special friend” Mac give in answer to her questions.

A beautifully imagined book about a child growing up and making sense of her (in no way average) world. A surprising and well-structured plot, good writing, and well-drawn characters as depicted from Aoife’s perspective. Understated themes of mental illness and what it means to be crazy.

Highly recommended.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Family story told from the viewpoint of a 6 year old child whose mother suffers from a mental illness. Very sweet novel that shows empathy for the parent who truly loves her daughter and is doing the best that she can.

I love this book and all of its loving, flawed characters.

Nellums pens an intriguing mystery as seen through the innocent and curious eyes of 6 year old Aoifa and her “imaginary?” Friend Teddy.
Caught in a world of adult assumptions and forgotten memories, Aoifa unravels the tale piece by spellbinding piece.

Review posted on Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2907840735


6 year old Aoifa knows her brother Theo is dead. She also knows that no one else can see her best friend Teddy. What she doesn't know, is why her mother stopped the car in the middle of an intersection and got out, or when her mother is coming home.

Raised by a religiously devout mother, Aoifa is extremely sheltered, and the grief her mother went though in losing her first born child lends itself to the confusion surround his death.

A murder mystery told by a child, "All that is Bright and Gone" is an engaging and well written story that unfolds in ways you don't expect.

loved this book. Highly recommend. Great character development. Interesting story. Didn't want it to end.

I thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. This author was new to me and I was not let down. It was a great story and very well written. The characters were easy to relate to and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend this to everyone!!

I wasn’t sure if I’d like this book, seeing as it’s told from the POV of a six-year-old girl, but I was really surprised by how quickly I devored it.

The story begins with Aoife, whose mother is in the hospital after having experienced an episode while in the middle of a busy road. Aoife is no stranger to her mother being confused, but she is caught off guard while her mother begins speaking to Theo when she knows he‘s dead.

Aoife’s Uncle Donny comes to take care of her until her mother is able to leave the hospital, but Aoife is convinced the only way her mother will be allowed to come home is if she solves her brother’s murder. This seems like quite the endeavor for a six-year-old to take on. Even with her imaginary friend Teddy and her neighbor Hannah to help her along the way, she discovers that there is a lot she doesn’t know about the grown-up world and her family’s history.

I really enjoyed reading this story! For such a young girl, Aoife was a very strong and determined character. My heart ached for her, especially while experiencing all of the pain and frustration she went through. At times I felt anger for her too. I didn’t realize until much further into the book just how little she knew about her family. I think there’s a time and a place to keep secrets from children to protect them, but sometimes it’s better to be open and honest to help children grow and mature in a healthy way. Making that distinction is not always easy for a parent, so I understood why Aoife’s family kept so much from her.

Highly recommending this one!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2920689460

This book is so touching and beautifully written from a young girl’s point of view. She embarks on a journey of discovery when her mother has a breakdown. In her quest to bring her mom back she finds out the truth about her brother and her imaginary bear friend Teddy. It is poignant, endearing and well written. A sad yet gentle tale of tragic happenings written from a child’s perspective, the story unfolds through her innocent eyes and naive world view. Highly recommend this book!
Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/21448068-tania

What a clever premise for a book. This is a story that is told from the POV of Aoife, a 6-year-old girl who has already dealt with some serious dysfunction in her family. The beginning is a traumatic experience that occurs while Mama and Aoife are driving to the mall to shop. Her mother receives a phone call and becomes agitated and seems to have a complete mental health breakdown, endangering both of their lives. This leaves the daughter alone and alternative care must be found. So many intriguing issues in this story. This really dove into how mental illness affects families and how sometimes trying to protect loved ones from information we think will hurt them may do more harm than good.
I work with people who have mental health issues and really appreciate a book that addresses the subject in a respectful and realistic way.

Highly recommend this book!

#AllThatsBrightAndGone #NetGalley #CrookedLaneBooks

This was such a sweet and intriguing story. I fell in love with Aoife and her voice in this story instantly. Nellums did an excellent job of writing the voice of a 6 year old who is really only able to interpret the world the way that it's explained to her. I loved Aoife's perspective as she navigates her mother's hospitalization, and the other members of her inner circle as they step in to care for her. This story had some perfectly timed reveals and just enough suspense to keep me 100% hooked. A fantastic first novel from Eliza Nellums!

Hold the presses...I absolutely LOVED this book, cannot say enough about how amazing it was and can't believe this is a debut novel. Eliza Nellums, if this is your first shot out of the gate, I can't wait to see what your future holds.

In the vein of Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend or Only Child, our narrator here in a child, more specifically, 6 year Aoife. Aoife is in the care of her uncle following her mother's hospitalization for some mental struggles related to the death of her older brother. Aoife is determined to find out what exactly happened to her brother in the hopes that it will bring her mom back to her faster. Along with the help of her neighbor Hannah and imaginary friend, Teddy (like the bear), Aoife just wants things to go back to normal.

Nellums does an excellent job at voicing Aoife and making you feel for her and her situation, while staying true to a child's voice. This book surely tugged at my heartstrings and while there is a mystery component, it appealed to me much more on an emotional level than anything.

While exploring “the secrets” that families keep from little children - this story from the child perspective lends a totally different view of coping with mental illness. Great read - very timely subject matter,

It’s unusual for a protagonist and narrator to be 6 years old but that’s what makes All That’s Bright and Gone so special. It’s fascinating to see the world through the eyes of a young child and be privy to her thoughts. We get to see how a child interprets a sentence/thought literally, which is not always correct. For instance, Aoife’s Mama tells her that her Uncle Donny has a silver tongue but Aoife says she saw it and it’s pink. When her neighbor is able to watch Aoife while her Uncle Donny is away, he calls them lifesavers and Aoife notes that it’s a candy. Eliza Nellums does an amazing job capturing a child’s voice and thought process.

Aoife has a very special imaginary friend named Teddy and guess what, he is a bear and he is able to change his size. For example, when they are at the park, Aoife says he shrinks to his smallest bear size which is the same height as her and they play together. Aoife sends Teddy downstairs to check for intruders because he can make himself bigger than they are and eat them. And if she is ever confused about something, Teddy is able to clear I it up for her. Essentially, Teddy is her constant companion — he is her best friend, protector and adviser.

The reader gets to know Aoife very well and cannot help but feel for her as well as root for her. She is innocent and adorable, often saying things that will make the reader smile. For example, Aoife admits to trying to be a big girl at the hospital but would rather go home to see her stuffed animals. Also, she says that God makes people different colors like a rainbow but doesn’t understand why no one is a fun color.

The first sentence of All That’s Bright and Gone pulled me in and piqued my curiosity. Aoife states that her brother is dead. This reader had to stay to find out more, like the When and Why for starters.

Aoife knows her Mama gets “confused” and that’s why she is in the hospital. She believes that if she can find her brother’s killer then her Mama can come home. Aoife enlists the help of her next door neighbor Hannah, who loves to play detective and solve mysteries. She learns all about finding clues, evidence, suspects, and material witnesses.

This six year old girl understands more than her age would lead you to believe. She does a lot of growing up in the course of the story, learning about her Mama’s past, her father and what happened to her brother. All That’s Bright and Gone is a story about family, mental illness, love, secrets, and misunderstandings. Come along on Aoife’s adventure with her sidekick Teddy the bear and help her solve the mystery. You’ll be glad you did.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I know my brother is dead. But sometimes Mama gets confused.

This is a coming of age story that is more down to earth than many you will have read before now. Engaging, impressive and heart-wrenching - told through the eyes of a precocious and utterly charming six year old.

This story is narrated by six-year old Aoife who is trying to solve the mystery of her brother, Theo's, death along with work out exactly why her Mama has been taken away from her and put in hospital. Aoife is accompanied by her imaginary friend (Teddy) and at times, her neighbourhood friend, Hannah. Whilst Mama is in hospital, Aoife is in the care of Uncle Donny (Mama's Brother) - who helps her try and piece her life back together.

Aoife is an interesting character. She's bright and curious - her level of intellect fluctuates between that of her true six years of age and that of someone much older. We're regularly reminded of her innocence... Aoife believes that in order to bring Mama home she needs to get to the bottom of the mystery of Theo's death. She also believes that she was found in a cabbage patch and has no father. It's these kind of moments that bring you up short to remember exactly Aoife's vulnerabilities.

“Sometimes when grown-ups ask if you can do something, they are really just telling you to do it.”

This book is written carefully and with excellent style. Throughout the book Aofie is the narrator, not really fully understanding what's going on. But it's written so well that as the reader we are able to interpret the adult goings on and read between the lines.

Aoife is steadfast in her belief that in order for Mama to come home, she needs to get to the bottom of the mystery of Theo’s death. And so, her desperation to find out the truth has her making potentially dangerous decisions.

It's a beautiful book - made even more magical by the fact that it's a debut novel.

Sweet Aoife. I loved this story and the fact that it was told from the perspective of a 6 year old gave it more charm. This book is sad to read but it is beautiful. Aoife tries to search for the truth surrounding the death of her big brother. She gets the run around that all adults normally give her "we will talk about it later" "soon" "maybe" all things that we adults are guilty of saying to children when we are pushing something off. Aoife is smarter than the adults around her give her credit for. I have s full review of this book on my blog at angelasepilogues.wordpress.com. I give this story 5 stars

What’s the deal with cover designs featuring night skies and stars lately?

To be fair, the cover of "All That’s Bright and Gone" actually has fireworks on it, and it does tie into the plot. But still. It’s so generic compared to what’s within, which is a rollercoaster ride of mystery, told from the perspective of 6-year-old Aoife.

Aoife knows her brother is gone, and I guess she knows he’s been murdered because Hannah from next door told her so, and she’s always playing detective (plus, she’s eight). Mama knows Theo is gone too, but sometimes, like now, she gets confused. It’s up to Aoife to figure out who killed Theo and make things right so Mama can come home. The only problem is, no one wants to talk about him. Lucky for Aoife she has Teddy, her friend (and bear), to help her figure things out. Even if all the grown-ups say he’s imaginary, Aoife knows he’s real.

All I had to hear about this story was '6-year-old narrator' and 'imaginary friend' and I requested it immediately. Then I settled in for some twisted and possibly very strange stuff.

It sure was delivered.

What’s fantastic about this book is the way the narration allows us as readers to get both sides of the story; we understand more than Aoife about what the grown-ups are telling her, getting all the hints at what they don’t want to say, but also Aoife’s thinking, her memories, and what she sees when the adults aren’t watching. It always seems like we, as readers, are getting the most information, and so we’re always on the verge of discovery, always on the edge of figuring out what happened.

And yet…we’re not.

This, mixed with the perfect pacing and the natural tension caused by wondering what the heck happened to Theo, drives this story forward, making it an absolute page-turner. I couldn’t put it down. I raced toward the reveal, that moment in a book like this that can either make or break the rest of the story.

And then, when we finally do figure out what happened, it was nothing I expected.

It’s a rare and beautiful (yet highly sought-after) moment in mystery novels where the reveal is actually, well, a reveal, and not something we saw coming, but also makes total sense. Where suddenly all the clues become so clear, so much so that you want to start back from the beginning and see all the genius foreshadowing that I couldn’t piece together before.

This book had one of those moments.

I also admired how mental health was addressed here. Mysteries and thrillers often incorporate mental illness as an explanation or a plot device. I’ve read too many stories where trauma is caused to someone (often a young and innocent character) by a person (often a mother) who has an out-of-control mental health health issue. These characters are too commonly portrayed as being one and the same as their disease, and vilified. Their terrible actions are blamed on their poor mental health and lack of treatment, end of story.

If you think about it for a moment, I’m sure you’ll be able to think of at least one example.

But here, we see characters struggling with mental illness (which is never specifically categorized, an aspect I liked) but portrayed, still, as people who have their good days and their bad days; who are doing their best to cope with something that is trying to take over and ruin their life and don’t always have the means or funds to stave it off. Characters with mental illness here are misunderstood by others (as is, unfortunately, realistic) and could have easily been made into villains, but were not. And I applaud that.

Next, maybe we can have a mystery that…doesn’t need mental illness as an explanation for events??

No? Ok.

…Maybe in a century or so.

There is also a magical realism element to this story that some readers may not like but that I really enjoyed. It’s not clear going in to the story that it will be included, but I loved that it allowed some things to be left in question, open-ended, while everything else was coming to a close and being solved. I thought it also worked really well with the fact that Aoife is a 6-year-old girl with a wild imagination. I think it will definitely be a great source of discussion amongst readers (book-clubs rejoice).

My only true complaint was that I found the inclusion of the letters somewhat confusing. They came in a bit too late in my opinion, and so were somewhat jarring. I wasn’t sure at first whether they were from past, present, or future. I can see why they were included, but also think that a majority of the information in them was unnecessary. I like the idea but think it would have been better to incorporate them more throughout so that they felt more cohesive with Aoife’s chapters.

I rated "All That’s Bright and Gone" 4.75 out of 5 stars. I would highly recommend it, especially to those who enjoyed the narrative style of "Room."

"All That's Bright and Gone" is a much needed story. The title and description was very captivating, and after reading the story I think the title is absolutely beautiful.

What's unique about this story is that it portrays our mental health views through the eyes of a six year old named Aoife.

Although the description offers Aoife's mother to be confused, there is a significant confusion in Aoife herself and she is determined to find some answers.

I adored the innocent thoughts Aoife had whilst navigating the confusion. The plot had an engaging manner, and the turn of events and the realisation that young children can sometimes be greatly impacted by experiences we think they forget was a unique one.

I would definitely encourage others to read this story.

Thanking NetGalley and Eliza Nellums for a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was so intriguing! I loved how the story was told from 6 year old Aoife’s perspective. I loved the mystery aspect and I kind of guessed the ending, but not quite. 5/5 stars for me!

I really enjoyed this book. After all the thrillers I've been reading this book was a nice change. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, though I believe the author has had a short story published. I loved Aoife and her vivid imagination. The author s writing as a six year old was just right. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Eliza Nellums for my copy.

This book was received as an ARC from Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Immediately I fell in love with this book because of the name of the main character, Aoife! That is the coolest name of all time. On top of that Aoife has the mind of every six year old so imaginative and curious all about what happened to her mother and her brother. It's all thanks to her imaginary friend Teddy and her nosy neighbor next door to uncover the secrets and have them find answers to what really is going on in her life and what her role and future is with her family. Usually I do not like plots that have a young child tending to themselves and figuring out what their lives are all about but what made up for this story was the whimsical mindset Aoife had and how she used that as an advantage to uncover the secrets.

We will consider adding this title to our Mystery collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

This story is told to you through the eyes of a child. She is trying to figure out what happened to her brother, her mom gets put in the hospital cause she is confused about her son. She isn't able to take care of Aiofe, so she has to go and live with her uncle.
This story takes you down the road of mental illness and makes you open your eyes more to the fact as to what others might go through and how they feel.
I can't wait to see what more this author publishes. Thank you Netgalley for this book with an honest review.

When her mother is hospitalized (she “gets confused”), six year old Aoife decides she has to solve the mystery of her older brother’s murder so that her mother can get better and come home. Aoife’s guileless voice and imaginative perspective on the world will grab readers from the first page and not let go until the mystery is solved and the last page is turned.

I was so excited to receive a copy of this book. I really love books from a Child's perspective. There is a very pure and fresh way of looking a things, and I love that,
This book came with all the feelings of confusing, fear, sadness, and frustration from Aoife. I felt what she was feeling, and I was completely enthralled by her story.



Synopsis: There’s plenty about the grownup world that six-year-old Aoife doesn’t understand. Like what happened to her big brother Theo and why her mama is in the hospital instead of home where she belongs. Uncle Donny says she just needs to be patient, but Aoife’s sure her mama won’t be able to come home until Aoife learns what really happened to her brother. The trouble is no one wants to talk about Theo because he was murdered. But by whom?
With her imaginary friend Teddy by her side and the detecting skills of her nosy next door neighbor, Aoife sets out to uncover the truth about her family. But as her search takes her from the banks of Theo’s secret hideout by the river to the rooftops overlooking Detroit, Aoife will learn that some secrets can’t stay hidden forever and sometimes the pain we bury is the biggest secret of them all.
Driven by Aoife's childlike sincerity and colored by her vivid imagination, All That's Bright and Gone illuminates the unshakeable bond between families—and the lengths we’ll go to bring our loved ones home.

All That’s Bright and Gone by Elisa Nellums tells the story of a dysfunctional family as seen through the eyes of six-year-old Aoife. She knows something is wrong, and she knows she needs to fix it.

Reading this story made me laugh out loud and ache for both Aoife and her family as they struggle to right themselves.

Thank you to both Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this lovely novel.

This was such an amazing read that I couldn’t put it down. It went everywhere with me. To the doctors office, the dentist, the eye doctor. IT WENT ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE. I was so sad when it ended that I immediately went and bought more books from this author!

In the vein of Room, this is told from the perspective of a young child. Aoife is just six when her mother is sent away after an incident at a mall. I was utterly captivated by this story and it took just a page before she captured my heart. Seeing through a child’s eyes is always filled with vivid descriptions, imagination and pure innocence. I loved how her faith was interwoven with her story. Such a fantastic debut. Highly recommend!

This is a book that you don't think will instantly grab you, yet it does. Aoife may be young, but Nellums gives her just enough of that amazing insight that kids have, to see where something isn't adding up, and secrets are being kept. As the book unfolds, and you follow the trail with the kids, it's a descent into functioning dysfunction, and a surprising ending, that will stay with you for weeks. Make sure to add this one to your holiday reading list!

“...this family, we may fall down sometimes, but we always get back up. We are clever and brave and strong. We can get through anything.”

All That’s Bright and Gone follows young Aoife (pronounced EE-fah) as she tries to understand what is happening to her family. She doesn’t know what happened to her brothers and her mother has been taken away to the hospital. As she, and her invisible friend Teddy, tries to solve the mystery of her brother, she begins to uncover things about her family that have been long kept secret.

This was such a heartwarming story, filled with great characters being seen through the eyes of a child. I loved Aoife’s point of view on life. She’s such a strong girl, and I never felt like she was dumbed down for a second, even though she’s supposed to be six years old. I also appreciated that the adults never really seemed like they were talking down to her, even if they were telling her she was “too little” to understand some things.

The mystery of Aoife’s brother kept me on the edge of my seat. I had to know what happened!

All That’s Bright and Gone is a must-read for 2019! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

What an absolutely amazing first novel! The story centers around six year old Aoife and her journey to solve her brother’s murder in order to help get her mother out of a mental institution.
The story is told by Aoife and we get to share her pain as she struggles to come to terms with both her mother and brother out of her daily life. Some reviewers called the writing simplistic because it is written in the point of view of a six-year-old but that is far from the truth. The writing is beautiful and you really get to know the small family. I would love to hear more about Aoife and her life after the return of her mother.
I am so happy to have received this advance copy from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books and highly recommend it.

Have you ever read a book that you loved from the very first sentence and it just kept getting better and better the more you read? Then when you reach the last page you almost feel depressed and let down that it was over and you don't have any more to look forward to? Well, that happened to me when I read All That's Bright and Gone. My favorite books are ones with children as the main characters, especially when written in their point of view, and I just adored reading about Aoife and her life. She is so precious, so real, and so innocent, and I could not get enough of her. Her take on life and what happens around her pulled at my heart strings and I wanted to hold her close and shelter her from the truth and from any pain thrown her way. I flew through this book and loved every single word. There are so many breathtaking scenes, some painful and some beautiful, and I found myself feeling so emotional throughout the entire book. I cannot say enough great things about this book, I LOVED it!