Olivetti

by Allie Millington

Really, who wouldn’t love a story told by a responsive and faithful typewriter who helps his family survive a crisis? Olivetti is a charming, bittersweet middle-grade novel that blends magical realism with emotional depth. Narrated in part by Olivetti himself who is a witty typewriter who breaks his “typewriterly code” to help a struggling 12-year-old boy find his missing mother. The book is both whimsical and poignant. As the family confronts grief, illness, and the weight of unspoken truths, Olivetti becomes a symbol of connection, storytelling, and resilience. It’s a celebration of words, memory, and the quiet magic of old machines with very big hearts. I think typewriter-as-hero should be a new genre.