OLIVETTI by Allie Millington: A Mock Newbery Practice Discussion
Introduction written by Heavy Medal co-blogger Emily Mroczek-Bayci.
Although the Newbery Committee will meet at the end of January 2025, to choose the most distinguished books for children published in the United States in 2024, the full Committee has already “gathered” multiple times (either digitally or in person) in 2024: to discuss their service and practice discussing books.
Here at Heavy Medal, we are also going to offer the opportunity for a practice discussion today about OLIVETTI by Allie Millington. This title received 12 Heavy Medal nominations but did not make our final book list. It is not eligible for voting but will help us practice discussing!
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(And of course I have to say that Merci Suarez Changes Gears was the practice title in 2018 and then went on to win the medal AND Maizy Chen’s Last Chance was the practice title in 2022 and went on to win an honor).
On the real Newbery Committee, members discuss each of the nominated books (minus any that may have been withdrawn by consensus), starting with an introduction by one committee member. We’ll follow that model in written form and then open it up to discussion.
OLIVETTI by Allie Millington depicts the story of 12-year-old Ernest and his large family, whose dynamic mysteriously changed in the past few years. Ernests mom, Beatrice, mysteriously sells the family’s cherished typewriter and simultaneously disappears.
Ernest takes it upon himself to solve the mystery, with help from Quinn, the daughter of the pawnshop owner, and surprisingly enough, Olivetti the typewriter itself.
This novel excels most in the Newbery criteria of delineation of characters and development of a plot, which go hand in hand- as we uncover the hidden histories behind Olivetti, the Brindles, and Quinn. Rotating narratives between Ernest and Olivetti provide a unique presentation that kids can identify with. Millington truly dives deep into the feelings of an “inanimate” object as shown through Olivetti’s reaction when Ernest finds him.
“Ernest was so near, I could almost touch him.
If I had hands, that is. And if there weren’t a window between us.
He wasn’t the Brindle I expected to come to my rescue- but all that mattered was he’d come. He realized I was gone and went searching.
Why did he not look more pleased to find me.”
Chapter 9, pg. 45
The plausibility of Beatrice’s disappearance and the children’s action can seem doubtful, however the book is magical realism after all.
There’s much more I can expand on here but I’ll leave room in the comments for what everyone else has to say. Is this book strong enough to be a Newbery contender? Let’s discuss.
Heavy Medal Award Committee members and others are now invited to discuss this book further in the Comments section below. Let the Mock Newbery discussion begin!
Filed under: Book Discussion, Heavy Medal Mock
About Emily Mroczek-Bayci
Emily Mroczek (Bayci) is a freelance children’s librarian in the Chicago suburbs. She served on the 2019 Newbery committee. You can reach her at emilyrmroczek@gmail.com.
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Herein is where I state that I was shocked that Olivetti did not make the final Heavy Medal list, and that I have it down as my favorite cover of the year and a very solid contender for the Newbery this year. I won’t discount the fact that my manual typewriter was my most prized possession for much of my childhood ~ obviously nostalgia plays into this for all adults in love with this book! One area that this book stands out in, though, in the sea of middle grade sameness, is the Newbery criteria of “individually distinct” as part of the “distinguished” definition. This story is delightfully different, and poses an original fictional premise even within the more common “sick parent” and “mystery to solve” realms.
Kate, I find myself agreeing with you on multiple counts. This cover immediately drew me in as different from all of the middle grade texts out there. Who can say a typewriter was a main protagonist? That is what truly made this book individually distinct for me and set it apart from other mysteries. Indeed even some magical realism.
Are we following the discussion model of starting with positives up until a certain time or # of posts?
Thanks for bringing that up Leonard. We dropped that last year and think it went OK. We would definitely like to acknowledge the positives of the book, before ripping it to shreds (probably why we haven’t heard from Steven yet HAHA) but don’t have any formal rules. That being said, I’ll add a few of my favorite parts and would love to hear some positives from the TWELVE NOMINATORS!!!
I also just now noticed my actual introduction text was not posted originally! It is above now and also shouts out when Ernest finds Olivetti. I just loved getting to know Olivetti’s character and seeing his unique personality (definitely in comparison with other typewriters). It’s hard not to be impressed by the character development of an inanimate object.
It’s great to be back for another year, thanks Emily and Steven for everything you two do!
I think the voice in OLIVETTI (and especially of Olivetti, the character) is one of distinctive features of the book. On that front, this reminds me of last year’s winner, THE EYES AND THE IMPOSSIBLE, where we’re also asked to connect emotionally with a non-human protagonist with a unique manner of thinking and speaking. I didn’t get there with EYES or OLIVETTI, but obviously a lot of people disagreed with me last year, and I think a lot do this year.
There is also the contrast between Olivetti’s and Ernest’s voices, since they’re the two who narrate chapters. Olivetti speaks (types?) at a higher grade level than Ernest – you can tell who is who from things like word choice. But they contrast less than I would expect, and I think that comes down to Allie Millington’s style. This might be a prose novel that secretly wants to be a novel in verse – there are a lot of sentence fragments and one-line paragraphs for emphasis from both narrators. Like Olivetti’s voice, this is probably a personal taste thing, but after a while it felt to me like a shortcut of “a sentence break makes something Significant, a paragraph break makes something Very Significant.”
With that said, this is an interesting premise and plot, and these choices in voice and style set it apart from the other novels this year. Also, this was the only book from the shortlist that was on my middle school-aged niece’s Christmas list this year!
Okay, starting out positive, I can do this! Uh….it was very unique and distinct! The pacing of the revelations flowed well. And….that’s all I’ve got. Sorry to the many people who loved this book, but I just didn’t!
I find it interesting that so many people who loved it cite the characterizations as a major strength, because I thought they were one of the biggest weaknesses of the book. Everyone gets one (1) quirk, and then that is their entire personality, no need for anything else. I can see how in a magical realism type book the author might choose to paint their characters with very broad strokes, but it felt to me less like a fuzzy/dreamy view of people and more like an attempt to make everyone distinct from one another that fell flat. Ezra was the jock obsessed with pushups (and really, he’s been that way since at least 8? No change in personality or interests? Also implying that the obsession with exercise is inherent, not necessarily a reaction to medical trauma, which would have been interesting), Ernest had the dictionary, Arlo had frogs and Adaline…was a girl? We see this flat perception in which each sibling is defined by a single interest from both Olivetti’s point of view and when Ernest is the narrative focus, which makes me think that it wasn’t a purposeful choice to showcase that Ernest’s emotional withdrawal in reaction to trauma colors his perception of his family. There was the beginning of further development of characters at the very tail end of the book, but there just wasn’t enough page time left to really delve into it.
I’m about to go on a rant about Arlo’s frogs, and I fully realize that some people will think that it’s focusing too much on a minor aspect of the book, and one that might have been intended to be funny. But every time the frogs were mentioned, it threw me out of the story, and really cemented for me that the siblings had been given a “thing” just to make them quirky, rather than something that organically highlighted their personality or added to the themes of the book. Frogs are amphibians with very specific habitat and care requirements, especially the sort of exotic frogs that you buy in a pet store, which is the most likely place the city-dwelling family acquired them. Carrying frogs around in your hoodie, plopping them on the table, having them constantly get loose in the hallways of your apartment building…these are not caring behaviors of a responsible pet owner, and while the family is clearly somewhat distracted, these were all presented as normal Arlo behavior, meaning that he regularly mishandles and mistreats his pets. That just doesn’t seem to be in line with the characterization of the family as struggling in the aftermath of the mother’s cancer treatments, but fundamentally loving and kind. I also think that in the context of a family who had almost lost their mother, endangering the lives of a child’s beloved pets would be even more on the forefront of everyone’s mind.
I have more to say, but I’m going to stop there for now, because I don’t want to be too negative all at once. I didn’t actually hate the book. I just thought it was “fine” rather than “distinguished” and my bar for what a Newbery contender should be is rather high.
I agree with a lot of what Brian and Alys said. I adore the cover, like the concept, and appreciate the voice. The buildup of suspense in the first part of the book is well done. I also thought of The Eyes and the Impossible…but my impression is that it’s weaker than Eyes. The characterization (or lack thereof) and especially the plotting bothered me. I didn’t care for the ending—it seems overly sentimental and really far-fetched. Ultimately, this did not appear as a very strong contender to me. That being said, I think that Millington’s style has a lot of potential. I look forward to reading her next novel (Once for Yes) in 2025, and I hope that the weaker elements of Olivetti will get stronger as she continues to write.
Hi all! This is my first year really tracking with Heavy Medal, and after spending the summer and fall poring through a decade’s worth of archives, I’m so excited to be able to chime in on this year’s discussions :).
I just need to caveat my thoughts with the fact that I’m currently a few states away from my copy of Olivetti, so apologies in advance for any misremembering.
As others have noted, I think the uniqueness of this premise is really what helps this title stand out. Yes, I’m just about a decade removed from Ernest and take my refurbished Walkman everywhere haha, but even outside the personal connection to old gadgets I think it gives the story a lot of intrigue and a great hook. I was pleased with some of the plot mechanics that came from this, such as the sequence with the artist and Olivetti’s temporary disassembling; I didn’t expect Millington to take things that far, and I was on the edge of my seat. Additionally, in a year flush with troubled-mom books, Olivetti’s unique premise does help it to stand out from the crowd.
Like Alys, I had pretty big issues with characterization here, with the siblings being the most egregious example. It was hard to become invested even in the most striking moments in the story because I never felt I had a good sense of who these people *were.* If this makes any sense, I found the family-as-character to be much more compelling than any of them individually. Also, I know that this has little to do with Newbery criteria, but I have a grudge against “making X go viral” being used as an easy resolution, so the library subplot rang hollow for me. Overall, a compelling story that ultimately did not rise to the level of distinguished.
One thing I appreciated about KAREEM BETWEEN was that when Kareem recorded an Instagram video with the plan of having it go viral to help find his mom, he came back the next day and it only had 25 views. A realistic depiction of how these things actually turn out!
I am going to start with the positives. Ultimately this book is about a family that has gone through a terrible ordeal and is struggling in the aftermath. On the surface Ernest has had the hardest time dealing with everything which is reflected in his reaction to his dad’s advice on page 71 and 72 – “the best way to make things feel normal is to do normal things. Until we know what else to do, doing is all we can do.” Ernest’s response is that the plan was complete “do-do”.
The image of a sand castle is used several times to reflect the family. On page 198 and 199 Ernest reflects back on a trip where their sandcastles were sinking with the rising tide. His dad told him that “they were already crumbling long before this” and you don’t notice it at first because it it “grain by grain”. This reflects the family and how disjointed they have become. But yet, as they learn the truth they remember that “sand is stronger when it’s all packed together.”
I felt the pawn references in the book were also quite good. Olivetti is in a pawn shop and compares himself to a pawn – worth less than the other pieces, don’t seem to matter when they are lost (pg. 33) and yet at the end of the story Olivetti realizes that as the pawn he sacrificed himself for the queen which is another role of pawns (pg. 239).
To me the strength of the book lies in the characterization of both Ernest and Olivetti as well as the obvious uniqueness of Olivetti as a character. The plot is strong and well paced with some good sentence level writing and humorous bits.
All that being said, I do agree that the other family members and Quinn were not developed enough. There were also several things that were repeated so often that they lost their initial impact – various liquids substances on Olivetti and the Darth Vader heavy breathing references to name a few.
Concerning characterization, I found Millington’s portrayal of a typewriter super fun and original. It is not so far off for kids to think about digital footprints, and the idea of an “ancient recording device” developing its own identity, motivations, and psychology through a shared history of documentation is timely. While some reviewers may argue that this could be highlighted under the rubric of “Interpretation of the theme or concept,” others may see it as strong characterization. Both were achieved, and Olivetti was one of my 7 nominated titles for HMAC 2025.
Millington’s use of anthropomorphism of Olivetti drove the characterization and was both creative and distinct. The identifying font became a visual prompt for the typewriter’s dialogue. This is punctuated with alliterative descriptions that expertly balance vocabulary with imagination, giving context to the development of an inanimate object that holds human memories while maintaining its own distinct voice.
For example, page 34:
‘I am Olivettiti,’ I typed. ‘I thought I was the only one of our kind left.’ (in typeface)
(aside in narrative text) I should mention: Typewriters don’t speak the way humans do, with loud, wasteful words. When we are alone, our keys click and clack, free of any fingers. We do all this without paper inside us, and instead, the sound of our letters smack and sing, spelling words into the air. It’s a language only we understand.”
The typos dropped letters, and spelling errors provided humor and gravity. Strings of jumbled letters articulated confusion, mirrored by a child’s first attempt at writing words.
I also noted that librarians and teachers will enjoy the nostalgia of typed phrases like “Once Upon a time” and the references to C.S Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. Critical thinking opportunities exist for readers of all ages while ideally suited for a child audience in the Newbery target age range. I think this book would make a great multi-generational or classroom read aloud.
2024 was a year full of new books from Newbery-decorated authors such as Lowis Lowry (Tree. Table. Book.), Kate Di Camillo (Ferris, The Hotel Balzaar), Katherine Applegate (The One and Only Family), and Erin Entrada Kelly (The First State of Being). In a sea of powerful storytelling veterans, I love it when a debut author delivers something new, unexpected, and different. Olivetti was that breakout book star of 2024.
Type on.
Completely agree about this making a wonderful read aloud, Quade! I actually listened to it via audio and was enchanted.
Wow, lots of interesting comments here! I had “Olivetti” on my TBR list, and I’m glad I had a chance to finally read it during Christmas break.
Millington does a great job of giving Olivetti personality and a “human” side. I really liked the descriptions of Olivetti thinking/responding to Remi’s questions – and he’s reacting to them because it stings him.
“She didn’t mean to leave me,” I typed back. “It was a misunderstanding. She’ll come back for me. You’ll see.’ Remi’s space bar tapped three times in a row. Something typewriters do when we are trying to think of what to say.” (pg. 38). Even just the use of the space bar to show Olivetti and Remi thinking – the characterization is there.
With Ernest – I loved his use of vocabulary words. However, I find it interesting that Ernest only used vocabulary words when he’s faced with difficult situations. For example, when Officer Dimas and Felix question Ernest about the missing typewriter – “My head snapped up. Blowing the cover I never had. Caught. Cause. Cauterize. Caution.” (pg. 159). Or when Mrs. Vivien finds out that Beatrice is missing and she apologizes to Ernest (pg. 101) “Avoid. Avoidance. Avoirdupois. Avow. Avowal.” Ernest never uses vocabulary words to describe positive situations – not even with Quinn, or at the end of the story. I was kind of bummed out about that. Also, I had to look up a couple of the words Ernest uses. Will kids do the same? We can only hope.
I do agree with Alys’ analysis of the frog. I also felt like the frog was added just to show that Arlo is a young kid and playing with frogs is what kids do. I think “The Eyes and The Impossible” was a stronger book in terms of the writing and pacing for sure. The ending resolved things a little too nicely – especially Ernest using Olivetti to bring attention to Mrs. Vivien’s library in order to save it from being closed (pg. 243). I thought that was a stretch.
I totally agree with what you and others have said about the ending – the viral use of Olivetti and saving the library both seemed unnecessary.
I did like the use of vocabulary but you make a good point about it only being used in negative situations… interesting.
Ah Janee, you hit on something for me about Ernest. It was his vocabulary words but reserving them for a certain time and space. I know for many readers finding a new word is a wonderful phenomenon. They want to learn all they can about it. So I do believe that kids will look words up.
While I agree the ending was wrapped up too nicely (almost a la Hallmark), I find that I was not too bothered, in large part due to it being magical realism.
Gabrielle, you make a wonderful point that Ernest reserved using those words for a certain time and space. Also, I agree with you that kids do get excited when they discover new words and what they mean.
Olivetti’s highs for us were its portrayal of the family as imperfect but overcoming and complex. Olivetti’s reflections on humanity also yielded some great food for thought. The sand castle comparisons were some of my favorite. The plot point about Olivetti’s memory erasure was unexpected.
The conversations between Remi and Olivetti reminded me a lot of the conversations between the rovers in Warga’s Rover’s Story and hit some similar thematic notes.
Okay, I was ready to proclaim OLIVETTI as “the book that we should have included in the list of 15,” but after reading all these insightful comments I feel like my enthusiasm for it may have been recency bias. I just finished this one last week and I was fighting back tears in public! The book’s strengths lie in its theme, characterization, and style. Thematically, I appreciate this entry in the category of books about grief because it addresses the state of limbo that many people are unfortunately familiar with, but that I haven’t seen much in middle grade books. Many great Newbery and ASLC Notable books are about children experiencing the imminent loss of a loved one (WHEN YOU TRAP A TIGER, KIRA-KIRA) or the grief that comes after a loved one’s passing (like last year’s THE LABORS OF HERCULES BEAL). But OLIVETTI takes place entirely during a time when a child is still anxious about the health of a recently-recovered parent while everyone else around them seems to have healed… only for those anxieties to be justified when the parent’s illness returns. A main character being the only person who knows the truth and isn’t supported is a common trope in middle grade books, but in OLIVETTI the stakes are just so much higher and our hearts absolutely break for Ernest and the Brindles when we all find out together that Beatrice’s cancer is back and we don’t know what is going to happen next! Such a thematically strong book.
Ernest’s character was also developed very well, I thought. We know from the beginning that he loves dictionaries and words, but Millington doesn’t rush in showing us why. Ernest finally tells us: “It didn’t matter how many times I’d looked up its definition, or how many times I’d studied its synonyms – cancer was incomprehensible. There’s no rhyme or reason or rules, no why or how or what. It just shows up and does whatever it wants” (142). It takes a while for readers to learn why Beatrice left home and why Ernest is so reticent about the events he calls “Everything That Happened” – but I think our experience as readers mirrors Ernest’s learning curve about accepting that he needs help and learning to trust and let people in. And making a beloved typewriter into an omniscient character that helps Ernest uncover the truth and find his mom? Very stylistically unique!
I somehow managed to convince myself all over again of the merits of this book as I typed this, so I’m back to thinking that OLIVETTI is indeed one of the year’s best books for children. But I do acknowledge the flat nature of the other characters. (Did anyone else feel like OLIVETTI could be a movie? Ernest’s siblings feel like comic relief at some point, and the moment when Olivetti is taken apart felt like an “oh no!!!” moment when something tragic happens in a movie. But maybe that’s just me). Looking at the other Newbery criteria, I don’t believe that OLIVETTI has a particularly unique setting. But would this and the flat supporting characters discount it among the actual Newbery committee? I’m not so sure. I really think its theme, main character development, and unique style make it a strong contender.
“Recency bias.” Yup. The struggle is real.
When I first came across Olivetti, it was face out on a library shelf. To be honest, I first checked to see if it had been put in the wrong section. Indeed a manual typewriter and florals felt like an adult read, possibly a teen. I hadn’t seen anything like this before in publishing and so I had to check it out.
I was immediately struck by the voice, theme, and style, especially for that of a debut author. Rare is it that I feel debuts are strong (one exception being Lauren Wolk’s Wolf Hollow–which went on to win a Newbery Honor). Here, however, I immediately felt like I was in Olivetti’s mind and in Ernest’s mind. As someone who has a friend battling cancer, and how her kids are handling it, I understood the character of Ernest. His trying to make sense of things, to seek information, because it helps him process. Being able to create characters like that shows a poise that makes me feel we will see more Allie Millington books in the future.
As someone who also lives in the Pacific Northwest (well, moderately), I appreciated the shoutout to Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock. I can stay delineation of setting was spot on!
Here is a question I have and one that always comes up when discussing Newbery. Will readers love this as much as I did? Is the use of a manual typewriter hard to grasp? I have sold it this book when doing readers advisory as a magical mystery and that gets it checked out…….again, popularity and interest does not a Newbery winner make, but I pose the question still.
This has been an excellent practice discussion and I’m feeling good that we used OLIVETTI. Because it’s a book with clear strengths: an interesting premise and, quoting Emily, “character development of an inanimate object” that’s really impressive. It also has, for some readers (including me), shortcomings in terms of the development of secondary characters and plot resolution. With Newbery discussions it goes like this often: you can hear (or read) one person extolling the strengths of a book and think, “yes, this is the book!” Then someone points out possible weaknesses and think, “oh right, maybe not.” It reminds us that no book is going to perfect for every reader or every Newbery voter, real or mock.
If I must start with a positive I will say I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought it was clever yet found the family situation to be totally plausible. It is the kind of middle grade book that adults love. If I am being honest though, I do not think it is the kind of book that young teen readers love. The cover is stunning, but not teen-age exciting. The 12-15 year old set doesn’t truly even understand what typewriters are, in fact, few have ever seen one in person. Current teens are regular users of devices that are run by a force they cannot see. I am not sure they will find it as magical as we all hope they will.
I loved Olivetti. I agree that the ending does tie everything up in a neat little bow, but I don’t think it detracted from the overall arc of the book and I thought it was just such a joy to read. I kept trying to figure out what the *EVENT* was that had derailed Ernest and his family, and the book kept me guessing til the very end. The ending scene was so beautiful. I cried and I know in some ways we are supposed to be using the very strict rubric of the Newbery Medal criteria, but sometimes when a book hits you right in the feels, it overrides my sense of being able to parse it super critically. I think Olivetti will touch many readers’ hearts and it did so without having to be the saddest novel with the most trauma possible being dumped on the main characters. (I feel like the Newbery hopefuls, like the Oscar hopefuls, tend to be serious and sad.)
I think it does so great on characterization and plot and theme, but maybe where it fell a little short for me was setting. San Francisco is such a cool city and I honestly kept forgetting where they were. The Brindle’s apartment and the pawn shop felt distinct, as well as the ending at Cannon Beach. But when they did the big reveal that Beatrice had purchased a bus ticket with her Olivetti money, I literally had to go back to the beginning of the book and figure out how a bus ticket from NYC to the PNW would only be $126.
A sentient typewriter is a fascinating hook, and I was excited about this book. I enjoyed reading it back in April 2024, but it didn’t stick with me at all, and perhaps that has a lot to do with what Alys said about the characterization not being very deep: each character has their Thing and that is it. There’s also a bit of tension supplied by withholding information about Beatrice and what happened in the Brindle family – that’s a mystery for the reader until the reveal – but overall this just didn’t have the same impact for me that many other books this year did, or books from other years with unusual narrators (WISHTREE by Katherine Applegate, A ROVER’S STORY by Jasmine Warga).