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Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

--Staff Picks

Nothing to See Here

Kevin Wilson
Published: 2019
Age Range: 15+
Genre: fiction
Awards: #ReadwithJenna 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

Lillian is in her late twenties. She works at a grocery store and lives in her mother’s attic. She is unhappy, but has no inclination toward change. That is, until she receives a letter from her childhood best friend, Madison. Now married to a state senator who has his eyes on the presidency, Madison needs a nanny to care for her step-children. Even though Lillian has no childcare experience, Madison believes her to be the perfect candidate for the job. Why? Because the family wants to keep a secret — the children occasionally burst into flames.

Spontaneous combustion aside, the book is a riveting work of realistic fiction. The writing is rooted in the real emotions Lillian feels as the unlikely nanny of these two troubled children. Like many caretakers, she finds herself initially resistant to them. By the end of the story, she does not want to let them go.

This book was a selection of #ReadwithJenna, the Today Show book club moderated by Jenna Bush Hager. The story is fast-paced and riddled with moments of dark humor. One memorably funny scene involves a dinner table declaration that Dolly Parton is the most important person ever from the state of Tennessee. Through the smoke caused by flaming children, the book shines with moments of profound truth. To read Nothing to See Here, click here.