Nothing To See Here

Description

The New York Times bestselling novel Lillian and Madison were unlikely roommates and yet inseparable friends at their elite boarding school. Then Lillian had to leave the school unexpectedly in the wake of a scandal and they've barely spoken since. Until now, when Lillian gets a letter from Madison pleading for her help. Madison's twin stepkids are moving in with her family and she wants Lillian to be their carer. However, there's a catch: the twins spontaneously combust when they get agitated, flames igniting from their skin in a startling but beautiful way. Lillian is convinced Madison is pulling her leg, but it's the truth. Thinking of her dead-end life at home, Lillian figures she has nothing to lose. Over the course of one humid, demanding summer, Lillian and the twins learn to trust each other-and stay cool-while also staying out of the way of Madison's buttoned-up politician husband. Surprised by her own ingenuity yet unused to the intense feelings of protectiveness she feels for them, Lillian ultimately begins to accept that she needs these strange children as much as they need her. Couldn't this be the start of the amazing life she'd always hoped for?

Kevin Wilson is the author of the collections Tunneling to the Center of the Earth, which received an Alex Award from the American Library Association and the Shirley Jackson Award, and Baby, You're Gonna Be Mine, as well as two novels: The Family Fang and Perfect Little World. He lives with his family in Sewanee, Tennessee, where he is an associate professor in the English department at the University of the South.

'Good Lord, I can't believe how good this book is...It's wholly original. It's also perfect...Wilson writes with such a light touch that it seems fairly impossible for the book to have a big emotional payoff. But there is, and that's the brilliance of the novel-that it distracts you with these weirdo characters and mesmerizing and funny sentences and then hits you in a way you didn't see coming. You're laughing so hard you don't even realize that you've suddenly caught fire.' * New York Times * 'There's hardly a sentence in Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here that feels like anything you've read before, that's how fresh his voice is, and how willfully, wonderfully bizarre the book's plot...That the supernatural elements of Nothing feel so right is a testament to Wilson's innate skill as a storyteller.' * Entertainment Weekly * 'Wilson captures the wrenching emotions of caring for children in this exceptional, and exceptionally hilarious, novel.' * Publishers Weekly * 'It's a satisfying ending, steeped in a very human mix of ambivalence and optimism. Wilson's ability to capture such tangled sentiments makes him a thoroughly engaging and appealing writer.' * Boston Globe * '[A] deadpan, hilarious modern fairy tale complete with impoverished heroine, cruel princess and neglected children with magical powers...You'll close the covers with a smile.' * Newsday * 'In this funny and affecting novel, Wilson has introduced one outlandish element that exposes more truth than strict realism could.' * Star Tribune * 'Wilson understands the mixture of affection and embarrassment that runs through all loving families. His satire is always marbled with tenderness....[this is] his most perfect novel. Paradoxically light and melancholy, it hews to the border of fantasy but stays in the land of realism.' * Washington Post * 'Though the conceit of the novel is startling, Kevin Wilson treats his characters with such love that the children's affliction quickly becomes believable.' * TIME * 'Blackly funny and surprisingly sweet...If you're looking for an addictive and fun book to keep you sitting by the pool all day long, this may be just what you need.' * Readings * 'The oddly humorous narrative is peppered with such random, laugh-out-loud gems...As big-hearted as it is bizarre, Nothing to See Here is a charming story about people who do not fit into conventional boxes forging unlikely bonds and finding their place in the world.' * Chicago Review of Books * 'Wilson's vibrantly original new novel about a woman's adoption of moody twins who (literally!) catch on fire gets plenty weird, but resonates as a warm, funny ode to the mysteries of parenthood.' * Entertainment Weekly * 'A complicated, charming, and totally engrossing story about friendship, family, and the things we want people to know about us.' * Town and Country * 'Disturbing, rollicking, and unabashedly in love with life.' * AV Club * 'Delightfully absurd and a refreshing treat.' * Better Read Than Dead * 'Completely engaging...Wilson has a laconic wit in his writing that makes Nothing to See Here such an easy read.' * Stuff.co.nz * 'Nothing to See Here is one of the most unique and captivating stories I have ever read. It is charmingly addictive-I didn't want to put it down...You'll just love this wonderful book.' * Better Reading * 'A delightful, stealthily affecting story about what it means to be a family.' * The Times * 'Funny, surreal, and tender.' * Observer * 'It's rare that I find a book so good that I'll sacrifice sleep over it. But I inhaled Nothing to See Here...The writing is truly brilliant; the kind of brilliant that creeps up on you.' * Shameless Book Club *