All That’s Bright and Gone by Eliza Nellums is the story about a young girl on a quest to save her family. Published just this week, I found this book through NetGalley couple months back and requested it. I don’t often read books written from the point of view of a child, so this was a different kind of read for me – something adventurous, but not as much as Aoife (pronounced EE-fah) herself. Let’s meet her and then I’ll tell you more about my thoughts on the story.
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?
Between Aoife’s vivid imagination and her steadfast goal, All That’s Bright and Gone illuminates the unshakable bond between mothers and daughters in an increasingly unstable world.
The Short Take
If you could be six again, what do you think your worldview would be like, when it comes to religion, things that your family tells you and the unsaid expectations of society, whether it is to have a slim body or a family with both the parents?
Aoife lives with her mom but an accident separates them, leading Aoife to live with her Uncle Donny. Aoife believes that her brother, Theo, died many years ago but her mom is still struggling to deal with his loss. When her mom moves into a mental health facility, the six-year old makes it her mission to solve the mystery of her brother’s death, with the hopes that this will bring her mom back home. Aoife has a very active imagination and this is further fueled by her neighbour, Hannah, who is a bit of a detective.
Written mostly through the eyes of little Aoife with some narration in the form of letters from her mom, All that’s bright and gone is a story about believing in what parents tell us and doing the best a child can to see her guardian again. The book also touches on the tendency of adults to underestimate the child. Aoife is intelligent and remembers things that can be of help to her family, but they do not ask her, nor explain Theo’s disappearance to her well. I really enjoyed Uncle Donny’s character and without him, this book would not have been as good as it was. He brings a voice of reason to the whole narrative.
Overall, I liked this book. There are lots of references to the Saints and teachings of Christianity, since Aoife grows up in that religious setting, going to church every Sunday and attending bible studies. She believes in these messages without a shred of doubt, because her mom believes it too. As much as I enjoyed reading this understanding of religion from the eyes of a child, I think it was a little too much for my tastes. It did blend into the story well and helped Aoife throughout her quest.
Themes for Thought
Time to share the big ideas and takeaways from this book! As I mentioned, this is a very different book from my usual reading trope. It has been a long time since I have thought like I child, let alone read through the eyes of one. There were three things that spoke to me about this book.
On an Active Imagination
Aoife is a sensitive child with an active imagination. She has a bear, named Teddy, that she talks to. She imagines people as animals when she first meets them and her minds races many light years ahead of her when she is tackling a problem in her head. Eliza’s story portrays Aoife as the central character in the story who is trying to understand the adults around her, while at the same time doing her best to help them.
Taking the reader to secret places in her little town, and sometimes, faces bigger conflicts like whether Teddy is really real, All that’s Bright and Gone is a sweet story about a little six-year-old growing older in so many ways. Ultimately, it is her imagination and determination that helps her through everything.
This reminded me about the power of imagination – we all have it as we are growing up, but at some point of time, we forget to exercise it. The mundane aspects of life, work, study, take over and we no longer tap into these reserves in our mind.
On Resilience
Aoife adores her mom and wants her to come back. In the course of the incident that separates her from her mom, living with her uncle and doing some investigative work with her neighbour, she learns new things about her family. Yet, Aoife is not deterred. Yes, she has been lied to and things have been hidden from her, but she understands that there must be a bigger reason behind it. As much as I wanted the adults in this story to not treat her like someone who does not understand the world at all, Eliza’s portrayal of the relationships in this book are a true representation of how childhood looks like to the child.
On Hidden Memories
There are things that we experience, events that we see that our mind stores away. We either never access them again, repress them or forget about them altogether. All that’s Bright and Gone reminded me of this phenomenon. As kids, there is so much we don’t understand and yet register in some manner in our brain. There are things that Aoife has seen but does not know how to put in words. Only the right circumstances will reveal these secrets.
I am thankful to the author and publisher for making this book available to be via NetGalley, a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Stay tuned for the author interview tomorrow! 🙂
** All that’s Bright and Gone is now out in stores so get a copy and let me know what you think! **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
Cover image: Photo by Ray Hennessy on Unsplash
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