Nothing to See Here: A Read with Jenna Pick
A New York Times Bestseller • A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, People, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, TIME, The A.V. Club, Buzzfeed, and PopSugar
“I can’t believe how good this book is.... It’s wholly original. It’s also perfect.... Wilson writes with such a light touch.... The brilliance of the novel [is] 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.” —Taffy Brodesser-Akner, author of Fleishman is in Trouble, New York Times Book Review
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Family Fang, a moving and uproarious novel of literary fiction about a woman who finds meaning in her life when she begins caring for two children with a remarkable ability.
Lillian and Madison were unlikely roommates and yet inseparable friends at their elite boarding school. But 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 caretaker. 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, the life that has consistently disappointed her, Lillian, a truly unforgettable and witty protagonist, 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—urgently and fiercely. Couldn’t this be the start of the amazing life she’d always hoped for?
With white-hot wit and a big, tender heart, Kevin Wilson has written his best book yet—a most unusual story of parental love and the power of a found family.
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✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *Nothing to See Here* is a quirky, original story blending humor with heartfelt explorations of family, trauma, and belonging, centered on...
What a CLEVER - and very funny - little story! I'm confident there is much metaphor to be contemplated, but I'll save that for a second pass. Which, with high probability there will be. In fact, I collect 5-star reads in hardcover, but the audio version of this was just too good to not acquire that version. Personally, the story had a few sad moments - the narrator's descriptions of her mother hitting a bit close to home. Late into the game did I have a lightbulb moment: the narrator's voice, descriptions, and delivery are reminiscent of Quinta Brunson's Miss Teagues in Abbott Elementary. A big fan of Abbott, hearing a parallel was pure bonus. SO glad I finally borrowed this book. Thank you Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hagar for bringing "the pants on fire" book into one of your conversations and sharing it on social media!
T
thenextgoodbook.com
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
254 pages
What’s it about?
Ten years after leaving boarding school ,under troubling circumstances, Lillian's former roommate and old friend Madison calls out of the blue asking for a favor. Madison needs help with her strange 10-year-old step-kids. She wants Lillian to be their caregiver and keep them out of the public eye. The only problem is that they combust into flames at the drop of a hat....
What did it make me think about?
The unlikely places we find love.
Should I read it?
I SO enjoyed this book. It has sat on my shelf for awhile just because it just sounded so strange- and am I pleased I finally picked it up. It was just a quick, fun, unexpected story- told with a sense of humor. Did I say quick- because this is an exceptionally fast read? I can't wait to see what Kevin Wilson comes up with next!
Quote-
"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 that they could ever want, no matter how impossible. You read to them at night. Why couldn't people figure this out?"
If you liked this try-
Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
2 AM At The Cat's Pajamas by Marie Helene-Bertino
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
254 pages
What’s it about?
Ten years after leaving boarding school ,under troubling circumstances, Lillian's former roommate and old friend Madison calls out of the blue asking for a favor. Madison needs help with her strange 10-year-old step-kids. She wants Lillian to be their caregiver and keep them out of the public eye. The only problem is that they combust into flames at the drop of a hat....
What did it make me think about?
The unlikely places we find love.
Should I read it?
I SO enjoyed this book. It has sat on my shelf for awhile just because it just sounded so strange- and am I pleased I finally picked it up. It was just a quick, fun, unexpected story- told with a sense of humor. Did I say quick- because this is an exceptionally fast read? I can't wait to see what Kevin Wilson comes up with next!
Quote-
"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 that they could ever want, no matter how impossible. You read to them at night. Why couldn't people figure this out?"
If you liked this try-
Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
2 AM At The Cat's Pajamas by Marie Helene-Bertino
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman
I loved this book. It may be my favorite thing I've read all year. But first, let me explain how I came to pick it with such enthusiasm in the first place.
See this image?
Yes, it's the same one on the cover of the book - the original, in fact. It lives in infamy in my family now as the "weird vintage ad that broke my brother during a family dinner at that nice restaurant." Basically, we were celebrating a birthday in the family - I can't remember whose, maybe my mom's? My brother was scrolling through Facebook on his phone only to see this and thought it was so funny that he started laughing so hard - you know the kind of laugh that you can't breathe anymore. It comes to a point it's not even the thing that was funny in the first place, you're just laughing at how hard you're laughing that you can't stop? It was like that. It dragged us all in laughing at him - his face was turning red - then purple. Maybe he would have died if one of us hadn't thumped him on the back a few times. It is a great picture, though.
So now this image resurrects a few times a year and it's an immediate sale. He has a t-shirt with it on it. I have this book. I'm going to cross-stitch into a sampler at some point.
Right, well as for the book it's self, I'm glad it lived up to its cover. If it hadn't had it would have been too tragic for me to go on. I'd like to think it left a similar impression on Kevin Wilson when he saw it while scrolling around on Facebook one boring Sunday morning and it was a direct inspiration for this story. I loved the characters, I loved the children, and I especially loved the casual sass of Lillian's narration.
See this image?
Yes, it's the same one on the cover of the book - the original, in fact. It lives in infamy in my family now as the "weird vintage ad that broke my brother during a family dinner at that nice restaurant." Basically, we were celebrating a birthday in the family - I can't remember whose, maybe my mom's? My brother was scrolling through Facebook on his phone only to see this and thought it was so funny that he started laughing so hard - you know the kind of laugh that you can't breathe anymore. It comes to a point it's not even the thing that was funny in the first place, you're just laughing at how hard you're laughing that you can't stop? It was like that. It dragged us all in laughing at him - his face was turning red - then purple. Maybe he would have died if one of us hadn't thumped him on the back a few times. It is a great picture, though.
So now this image resurrects a few times a year and it's an immediate sale. He has a t-shirt with it on it. I have this book. I'm going to cross-stitch into a sampler at some point.
Right, well as for the book it's self, I'm glad it lived up to its cover. If it hadn't had it would have been too tragic for me to go on. I'd like to think it left a similar impression on Kevin Wilson when he saw it while scrolling around on Facebook one boring Sunday morning and it was a direct inspiration for this story. I loved the characters, I loved the children, and I especially loved the casual sass of Lillian's narration.
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