Reminiscent. Adolescent. Imaginative. A meaningful middle-grade book, especially for tweens and moms. No spoilers.

The Age of Typewriters

Are you old enough to remember life before smartphones and personal computers? Have you used a typewriter? If so, comment below!

I remember my mom’s typewriter, positioned perpendicular to her desk in our half-finished basement where our 1980s homeschool classroom was. A cozy lamp cast a warm light over her workspace. I loved sitting in her chair, typing stories and assignments. I remember proudly typing my final draft of a lengthy mystery I wrote.

My grandparents bought the typewriter for Mom before she left the nest for nursing school. Mom’s typewriter may have been a Remington Rand model. She’s unsure.  She and Dad moved a few years ago, and she hasn’t seen her typewriter since. Either she sold it or it’s in a box in their basement.

Another typewriter brand was Olivetti, an Italian manufacturer founded by Camillo Olivetti in Italy. According to Wikipedia, they stopped producing typewriters around 1994. That’s about when the story of Olivetti takes place.

Book Cover Critique

I forget how I came across this book, but I remember liking the cover. It’s simple and pretty. Set against a black background, colorful flowers bloom from the top of a typewriter. The title Olivetti sits just above the middle in large white typewriter font. On the audio cover (featured blog post image), the subtitle at the top says, “Typewriters know more than we think they do.”

The cover above was taken from Allie Millington’s website and features an accolade from actor Tom Hanks. It appears the book is now a national bestseller (congrats, Allie)! Her name appears at the bottom in a simple sans serif font. A different subtitle spreads across the bottom of the typewriter, “A boy, a typewriter, and the stories they hold.” 

The cover appealed to me as a woman who grew up with a typewriter at home. After reading the book, I think the subtitle that mentions the book is about a boy is helpful. Olivetti is about a 12-year-old boy named Ernest Brindle and his relationship with his mother. Half of the story is from his perspective. Ernest reminds me of Greg Heffley in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.

Olivetti is a book I’d want my son to pick up on his own, but the publisher must be appealing to moms with the floral cover. Considering it’s a middle grade book, it was happenstance that I discovered it. It was recently published in 2024, so I may have read a blurb in a publication, or the cover might have caught my eye in a Goodreads email.

To the cover designer’s credit, it is a touching story that moms will appreciate. There’s also a tween girl in the story who is instrumental in helping Ernest and his family solve a mystery.

The Brindle Family

Olivetti is about a family of six—Dad (Felix), Mom (Beatrice), and their four children (three boys and a girl). Ernest is number three in the birth order. As a young family, they valued story time together on the roof of their San Francisco home. They prized books. One of their favorite sets was The Chronicles of Narnia. Ernest is fascinated with dictionaries and is content to sit alone with one.

Felix had gifted Beatrice an Olivetti typewriter when he proposed to her years before. She used it frequently for a period of time to type tapestries (as she called them)—letters, poems, short stories, and memories for her children.

“Humans don’t always remember the memories inside of them.” (Olivetti)

Beatrice even taught her kids how to spell on Olivetti, which reminded me of my mom homeschooling me. The Brindles didn’t know that Olivetti was aware of them and what they were typing. He remembers everything, and he is the one who tells us the rest of the story. Olivetti is a little jealous of all the books in the Brindle home, but Beatrice makes him feel useful.

“The Everything That Happened” Mystery

Then something bad happens. We don’t know what, but Ernest refers to it as “The Everything That Happened.” And not long after (about a year), Beatrice goes missing. This might be a scary concept for younger kids, but I think it’s okay for 10+. Evidence later leads us to believe that Beatrice chose to go somewhere. But where? Moms aren’t supposed to run away, right? Another sad, difficult concept, but it makes for a fascinating mystery.

What’s worse, though, is that Ernest hadn’t spoken to his mom in a week. She’d been trying to help him through some things, but Ernest was refusing help and withdrawing. On the day she disappeared, she’d left a note for Felix to take Ernest to an appointment she’d made for their son with a new therapist. How many parents can relate to this? So many. If you’re one of them, you’re not alone.

Meanwhile, Beatrice suddenly packs Olivetti in his case and takes him to a pawn shop to sell him. We hear about this from Olivetti.

Enter Quinn, a friendly girl who works at the pawn shop. Her dad owns it. She recognizes Beatrice on the missing person flier Ernest is posting around the neighborhood. She befriends Ernest to help him find his mom.

This is new territory for Ernest. Not only does he not have any friends, but this person trying to be his friend is a girl. Well, he doesn’t need friends. Nor does he need help (with anything). That’s his mindset. But Quinn keeps showing up anyway. She empathizes with Ernest, and that motivates her to help him find his mom.

Conclusion

Olivetti is a four and a half hour listen on Audible. There are some good themes throughout—family togetherness; appreciating your siblings, parents, friends, and neighbors; and the importance of stories, libraries, and screen-free creativity. Olivetti could also be an allegory for seeking comfort and refuge in God. Read or listen to it and tell me what you think below.

“He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.” (Psalm 62:6-8)