Nothing To See Here
Author: Kevin Wilson
Dates read: December 13-16, 2022 & July 3-10, 2024
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
“This was how you did it, how you raised children. You built them a house that was impervious to danger and then you gave them every single thing they could ever want, no matter how impossible... Why couldn’t people figure this out?”
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Also by Kevin Wilson…
Long Story Short:
Lillian is an intelligent nobody on the fast track to nowhere after being thrown out of a prestigious school in her youth and unjustly wronged by her wealthy best friend. She stays pen pals with this friend, Madison, and is one day offered a job to take care of Madison’s twin ten-year-old step-children (Bessie and Roland). The catch is: the children will burst into flames whenever they’re upset. Even though this news is alarming, Lillian has nothing else going on, so she agrees and moves to Tennessee to live with Madison, her husband, their young son Timothy, and their bodyguard Carl.
Lillian befriends the children and learns more about their unique abilities. She learns of their troubled pasts and their traumatic upbringings. Although Lillian says time and again that she doesn’t love the children and doesn’t want to become a mother because of her own tumultuous upbringing, she feels “tenderness” towards the children and grows close with them.
After a trial period of learning what sets off the children’s flames and how to calm them down, the family learns that Jasper will become the new Secretary of State. The kids later watch on T.V. as Jasper is sworn in, and minutes later, when young Timothy bursts into flames for the first time. Jasper, Madison, and Timothy return home and chaos ensues.
Jasper wants to send all of the kids to a private facility away from media attention, while Lillian wants to protect the twins and Madison wants to keep Timothy close. A fight ensues and Carl restrains Jasper while the twins set their childhood home on fire in an act of rebellion. Madison and Carl instruct Lillian to take the twins and leave until Jasper can calm down. Lillian drives Bessie and Roland to her own home and waits until she is found. Once discovered, Madison asks Lillian if she would like to become the twins’ custodial guardian while parental care (in the form of money) would come from Jasper and Madison. Lillian agrees and becomes the new caretaker to her twin fire children.
Ruth’s Take:
This book had a lot to unpack and was funny, heart-wrenching, silly, and dark. I liked Lillian’s character and thought the way she spoke to the children was both honest and hilarious. While there are many questions left unanswered (i.e. why do the children burst into flames, how will they carry on in society as this continues, what will become of Timothy and will the siblings all ever reunite, etc.), the storyline is emotional with a dark, humorous twist that left me wanting Bessie, Roland, and Lillian to end up together. I’m glad that the book ended that way, because I think it was the best option for the three of them. Their misfit personalities were perfect for one another, and I can appreciate Lillian’s concerns about caring for the children and also her ability to see that so many before her have failed them; the twins just needed someone who cared about them, and they finally found that in Lillian.
Reading this for a Book Club?
Here are some questions to entice your readers:
When Lillian is forced to take the blame for Madison’s actions, how did it make you feel? Were you surprised by what became of her and what became of Madison? Who was to blame for this incident?
What was your favorite scene in the book? Why did it resonate with you?
Were you surprised to read that Lillian was in love with Madison? Did you think Madison loved Lillian as a friend, as a captive audience, as a confidant, or as a lover who could never be?
In the novel’s climax, Timothy also catches fire. What did you think about this development? Why do you think Timothy burst into flames at that particular time?
Which character did you like the most and/or resonate with? Which character did you despise and why?
Carl and Lillian were an unlikely pair who were asked to care for the children. Do you think one of them could have done it without the other? What did you think about their unusual coparenting relationship?
Lillian became Bessie and Rolands’ guardian at the end of the story. Were you expecting it to turn out this way? How did the ending make you feel? What do you think happens to the trio after the book ends?