A couple hundred years ago, poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote about the "willing suspension of disbelief." I'm going to paraphrase him a little bit here (what's he going to do about it - he's been dead for 186 years?) Basically, it's the idea that you have to set aside some of the improbable in order to enjoy poetry and works of fiction.
Ya need ol' Sammy C. to enjoy this book, but once you employ this principle, you'll fall in love.
Stay with me here...
Two old friends are living very different lives. Lilian is still in the town she grew up in, living in her mom's attic and working a dead-end job. On the flip side, Madison is living in an estate with her senator husband whose about to be nominated to be the Secretary of State. They've kept in touch, though superficially, and harbor a past that slowly comes to light throughout the book. When Madison writes Lilian and says she has a job for her to do, Lilian realizes she has nothing to lose and heads over.
When she arrives, Lilian finds she's being asked to serve a very important role: care for the senator's children from another marriage who just happen to spontaneously combust when they become agitated.
Yes. The children burst into flames.
It doesn't hurt them, but it's hella weird and obviously could cause some serious issues in the old secretary of state vetting process. So, Lilian takes on the task and finds herself in deep very quickly.
See why I said you have to suspend the disbelief?
I don't know if it's the way the characters are developed or just the way Kevin Wilson writes, but I could not put this down. I finished this in one day and immediately tracked down all the other books he's written. I know for sure it will be one of the best books I read this year.
It's a book about friendship, about risk, about what we try to hide and what makes us us. And, deep in this improbable tale is a lesson that either you embrace what makes you - and, your kids - different, or you let it burn you down.
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