All That’s Bright and Gone by Eliza Nellums

ABOUT ‘ALL THAT’S BRIGHT AND GONE’: I know my brother is dead. But sometimes Mama gets confused.

Six-year-old Aoife knows better than to talk to people no one else can see, like her best friend Teddy who her mother says is invisible. He’s not, but Mama says it’s rude anyways. So when Mama starts talking to Aoife’s older brother Theo, Aoife is surprised. And when she stops the car in the middle of an intersection, crying and screaming, Aoife gets a bad feeling–because even if they don’t talk about it, everyone knows Theo died a long time ago. He was murdered.

Eventually, Aoife is taken home by her Uncle Donny who says he’ll stay with her until Mama comes home from the hospital, but Aoife doesn’t buy it. The only way to bring Mama home is to find out what really happened to Theo. Even with Teddy by her side, there’s a lot about the grown-up world that Aoife doesn’t understand, but if Aoife doesn’t help her family, who will?

MY THOUGHTS: This is the story of a family struggling with mental illness told from the perspective of a six-year-old girl, Aiofe (Eef-fa).

Aiofe is a star character. I wanted to hold her and hug her and make her feel safe. She tore at my heart and brought tears to my eyes. She has an invisible friend, Teddy, who seems to lead her into trouble frequently, but Aiofe is savvy enough to know not to talk about Teddy or to Teddy when adults are present. It angers or upsets them. But this is an incredibly poignant thread to the main story.

She is quite a solitary child who takes great comfort in her Catholic religion. Her Patron saint is Joan (of Arc) and she takes great comfort from this as well as channeling courage. She is dogged, determined, and unwittingly funny. It is easy to forget just how literally six-year-olds take the things that adults say.

Aiofe uncovers many truths and solves many things that have been mysteries to her – like who her father is – in her quest to find Theodore’s killer and bring her mother home from hospital.

The author has done a superb job of showing us the world as Aiofe sees it. Her vocabulary is just what I would expect from a six-year-old and I loved her thought processes, which caused me to chuckle more than a few times. I felt sad when Aiofe learned that adults can and do lie.

But what really shines through is Aiofe’s unconditional love for her mother.

A wonderful story that no one should miss. A stunning debut.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.2

#AllThatsBrightAndGone #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Raised in the Detroit suburbs, Eliza Nellums now lives with her cat in Washington DC. She is a member of Bethesda Writer’s Center as well as the Metro Writers, a weekly critique group that meets in Dupont Circle. ALL THAT’S BRIGHT AND GONE is her debut novel.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of All That’s Bright and Gone by Eliza Nellums for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

I listened to the audiobook of All That’s Bright and Gone, written by Eliza Nellums and superbly narrated by Jesse Vilinsky.