Nothing to See Here

Nothing to See Here (Les Enfants sont calmes, en français), by Kevin Wilson, was one of the sweetest books I’ve read in a while. It looked very weird, and sounded even weirder, but I found it by googling « books that are not too depressing, too complicated, or too stupid » and that was a suggestion, so I had to read it.

The story sounds very weird but really, I have read weirder things. It’s the story of Jillian, who comes from a very poor family, and Madison, who comes from a very rich family. They become friends, but things happen at school and Jillian gets kicked out of school. A few years later, Madison asks Jillian to take care of two very strange children. The children catch fire, sometimes! Really. So Jillian takes care of these odd children for a summer, and things don’t really go as planed, of course.

This is a book about money and power, how to be different, how to find a purpose in your life, how to forgive others, and how to find happiness in unexpected moments. Also about parental love, or lack thereof. It’s a very touching book. I totally empathize with Jillian, who became a caustic, depressed, cynical, and very down-to-earth woman (with a great sense of humour) because of how life and other people treated her. And the kids’ story is just heartbreaking!

Some people said the ending was too quick, too easy, too predictable. I hadn’t predicted what would happen to Timothy, that was a great moment, but I did agree that the ending was predictable and a bit cheesy. However, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I wanted it to end well for the kids and for Jillian. They totally deserved it. I loved the tone of the book (told from Jillian’s perspective), and the narrator of this audio book was great, too. It definitely wasn’t a depressing, complicated, or stupid book, and if I didn’t have to work sometimes, I would have listened to it all in one day!