Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson

 

Lilian's life isn't going well.  She's in another deadend job and living back at her mother's place, up in a stuffy attic room.  She had thought she would break out when she won a scholarship to a private boarding school in her teenage years, but that didn't happen.  She did find a real friend, Madison, who came from a rich family and was her roommate  But when Madison got into trouble, Lilian's mother sold her out for a cash payout and Lilian took the blame and was expelled.  Lilian and Madison had kept up a loose relationship over the years writing each other sporadically.

So when Madison calls her with a proposition, Lilian doesn't have much going on.  Madison had married a Senator who has designs on being the next Secretary of State.  One thing could hinder his ascent.  He has ten year old twins from his first marriage and their mother has just died.  Would Lilian be interested in moving down to Tennessee and keeping them for the summer?  Madison has a four year son with the Senator so Lilian isn't sure why she needs a nanny for the twins.  That's when Madison tells her the rest.  The twins, Beatrice and Roland, both are spontaneous combustion children and will break into flame when upset. 

Lilian has nothing else going on and she'd love to see Madison again so she agrees.  When she meets the twins, they are almost feral.  Their mother had never sent them to school and their father hadn't seen them since the divorce.  They had no outside friends but had been raised totally isolated in their mother's house.  Lilian is taken aback but emphasizes with them and soon is committed to their care.  As the days go by, Lilian finds ways to help them manage their talent and starts to help them find ways that they can go into society.  The twins start to form a relationship with their little brother as well.  But when their father's aspirations seem to be working out, he wants to send the pair overseas to an institution.  Can Lilian find a way to save them?

I've loved every Kevin Wilson book I've read and this one was no exception.  He explores the idea of dysfunctional friendships.  Madison is a calculating individual, taught by her wealthy father that others are there for what they can do for you.  She has used Lilian since they met and feeds her a little friendship occasionally but Lilian is always the steadfast friend.  He also explores dysfunctional families.  Beatrice and Roland have never known anything else and at first their only loyalty is to each other.  Lilian falls in love with the two in a maternal way she never expected and they form a little family of their own.  The ending is satisfactory and the reader will remember these characters long after the book is done.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.