Nothing to See Here: A Read with Jenna Pick

An Amazon Best Book of November 2019: Nothing to See Here is a lot of fun to read—and despite its improbable premise (children who spontaneously burst into flames) it is an incredibly moving and surprisingly authentic portrait of parenthood. There is a lightness and joy that permeates every page, even as Kevin Wilson tackles moments that are sure to tug at your heartstrings, if not your tear ducts. When Lillian’s childhood friend calls her out of the blue with a job offer and a promise of reconnection, Lillian takes it—leaving behind her attic room in her mother’s house and a job she hates. There’s a mansion, a paycheck, and a rekindled friendship with her former best friend. But the offer is not as simple as it sounds. (They never are.) It turns out her friend’s husband, who is also in the running for Secretary of State, has twins from a former marriage that have a few issues: They’ve lost their mom, their dad is absent and obsessed with politics, and, oh yeah, they burst into flames when they are mad, sad, anxious, upset—you name it. Suffice to say, Lillian has her hands full. But with time, the kids and Lillian begin to figure out how to care for one another—and might just find love, support, and purpose in the process. Nothing to See Here is an incredibly rewarding and entertaining novel about how we control ourselves, how we learn to protect the ones we love, and how to have fun in the process. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Book Review “I can’t believe how good this book is. . . . Wholly original. It’s also perfect. . . . Wilson writes with such a light touch. . . . 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.” — Taffy Brodesser-Akner, The New York Times Book Review “A peculiar, entertaining and insightful book about the hazards of child-rearing and the value of friends.”xa0 — People "[Wilson’s] most perfect novel. Paradoxically light and melancholy, it hews to the border of fantasy but stays in the land of realism. . . . You can sense the real heat radiating off these pages. . . . This novel may seem slight and quirky, but don’t be fooled. There’s a lot to see here." — Washington Post “It’s a giddily lunatic premise, one that author Kevin Wilson grounds with humor and deadpan matter-of-factness. . . . Wilson’s observational humor is riotous in its specificity. . . . The writing dazzles. . . . But what dazzles most are the warmly rendered dynamics of an ad hoc, dysfunctional family that desperately wants to work.”xa0 — USA Today “There’s hardly a sentence that feels like anything you’ve read before, that’s how fresh his voice is. . . . Witty, confiding, breezily profane. . . . That the supernatural elements feel so right is a testament to Wilson’s innate skill as a storyteller.” — Entertainment Weekly A pleasing blend of tartness and tenderness. . . . . Wilson’s ability to capture such tangled sentiments makes him a thoroughly engaging and appealing writer. — Boston Globe Darkly funny yet quietly devastating. . . . Wilson crafts a stunning portrait of the push and pull of parenthood. — Time "Funny and even eerily beautiful. . . . It’s the sweetness of this novel that will melt you." — NPR.org Perennially weird and wonderful. . . . Wilson’s portrayal of these fire children conveys more emotional truth about life with a difficult or neurodivergent kid than any of those parenting guides. . . . Funny and affecting. — Minneapolis Star Tribune “[A] deadpan, hilarious modern fairy tale.”xa0 — Newsday “Wilson’s latest is outlandish and laugh-out-loud funny.”xa0 — Parade “Weird, funny, but also unexpectedly moving. . . . An affecting reflection on the blithe cruelty of the rich and what it means to be a good parent.” — Buzzfeed “Quirky and insightful, strange and delightful.” — Popsugar Kevin Wilson once again dazzles with a bizarre, comic, and heartbreaking tale. . . . A dryly comic, surreal phantasmagoria reminiscent of Kafka, Garcia-Marquez, and their heirs, from David Foster Wallace to Karen Russell. — Chapter 16 “Wilson captures the wrenching emotions of caring for children in this exceptional, and exceptionally hilarious, novel .” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Wilson is a remarkable writer…. A funny and touching fable about love for kids, even the ones on fire.”xa0 — Kirkus Reviews “A love letter to the weirdness and difficulties of children and of parenting, with or without spontaneous human combustion. . . . [With] an easy, engaging voice, cynical and funny without being caustic. Like the author’s The Family Fang , this is another story of a family that is as delightfully bizarre as it is heartfelt and true.”xa0 — Library Journal “Lillian tells the story, revealing immediately that she’s another of Wilson’s normal extraordinary protagonists. . . . She fills the book with her wry humor and large, embracing heart.”xa0 — Booklist “Laugh out loud funny. I love the way Kevin Wilson writes.” — Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award winner Kevin Wilson is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Nothing to See Here, which was axa0Read with Jenna book club selection; The Family Fang , which was adapted into an acclaimed film starring Nicole Kidman and Jason Bateman; and Perfect Little World ; as well as the story collections Tunneling to the Center of the Earth , winner of the Shirley Jackson Award; and Baby, You’re Gonna Be Mine . His fiction has appeared in Ploughshares , Southern Review , One Story , A Public Space , and Best American Short Stories. He lives in Sewanee, Tennessee, with his wife and two sons. Read more