I have been a longtime fan of Kevin Wilson and this book was definitely on brand for him, but not my favorite of his. I love a good road trip story and this one was similar to Annie Hartnett's recent release, The Road to Tender Hearts, in that it's a mix of heartbreak and humor. Ultimately, it's about family, lost and found. Wilson is great with character development and dialogue. I loved how I could easily picture every scene. Overall, a good read but didn't blow me away.

When Rube shows up at Mad's farm and tells her they share a father who left both of them when they were young, the road trip begins to find their other siblings and ultimately their father. Although each is different and their memories and experiences with their father is different they come together to form their own new version of family. This book was truly a delight - touching, heartfelt and humorous..

***Run for the Hills is the most recent Kevin Wilson gem; his quirky characters are irresistible, and his heartwarming story is messy, strange, and lovely as a chosen-family element overshadows past tragedies and disappointments.***

I'm a Kevin Wilson fan, and I'm here for all of his work. His wonderfully eccentric characters and story scenarios might seem self-consciously zany in another writer's hands, but in Wilson's novels, they allow for skillful, delightful, unexpected revelations and poignant character growth.

In Run for the Hills, Mad and her mother have run their farm in Coalfield, Tennessee, ever since Mad's father disappeared twenty years ago. Mad is a loner, and that's okay. But when a stranger who calls himself Rube shows up in a rented PT Cruiser and a story about how Mad is his half sister--explaining that their father has more kids spread across the country as well--Rube and Mad head out on an awkward, nerve-racking mission to find their siblings--and then try to track down their father.

Mad is quickly developing revenge fantasies involving her father, but a cross-country road trip in close quarters with Rube is a distraction, and, eventually a welcome one. As they locate two more siblings and bring them along to find their dad, each shares stories from their lives with him, comparing notes, picking apart details of each of his reinvented identities, and wondering what led him to abruptly leave each of them when he did. Each child ultimately realizes that any resentments, stories, justifications, or hopes they have built around their father pale in importance when compared to the unexpected gift of finding each other.

The tone of Run for the Hills feels reassuring in that everything seems headed toward resolutions. Wilson allows for confrontation, and he doesn't spare our characters a messy, somewhat unsatisfying reckoning involving their dad. He is, after all, an imperfect person whose fear of failure caused him to abandon each chance at a wonderfully imperfect life. The most tragic aspect isn't that his children were left, but that he missed out on time with these quirky, caring, wonderful oddballs who find that he is, ultimately, a relatively minor note in their newly formed, forever sibling family.

I received a prepublication edition of this title courtesy of NetGalley and Ecco.

More Kevin Wilson Love

This spring our local library foundation put on an event in which Kevin Wilson and Ann Patchett talked about writing, their friendship, and books they love. I'd first heard Wilson speak at the library foundation's annual fundraising event Verse & Vino, and my book club loved hearing him so much, we added his then-newest title to our reading list.

Kevin Wilson is also the author of Now Is Not the Time to Panic, Nothing to See Here, Baby, You're Gonna Be Mine, The Family Fang, Perfect Little World, and Tunneling to the Center of the Earth: Stories.

(Note: You can find my Bossy Reviews of Now Is Not the Time to Panic and Nothing to See Here on Bossy Bookworm, the blog.)

I read this while listening to Kevin Wilson’s ‘Nothing to See Here’. I enjoyed seeing the connections and parallels between the two stories, like basketball. In ‘Run for the Hills’ the story follows 4 half-siblings, especially his 2nd child- Madeline or Mad, as they meet each other and travel cross country to reunite with their father who abandoned each of them during their childhood. The ability for Charles to recreate (and excel) in a new life/career was fascinating, but what a loss for each of his children as they navigate adolescence and adulthood without a father. I appreciated Kevin Wilson’s mention of mental illness and the way that it might manifest itself, causing a person to live in a future dream, rather than the present. I enjoyed taking this road trip of unusual but well-defined characters.

Run For The Hills by Kevin Wilson

Another quirky and entertaining read by Wilson as he sets up a cross country road trip adventure. Maddy lives on a farm in Tennessee when one day a man shows up claiming to be her half sibling. He tells her of other siblings they have as their father had a habit of creating families and then starting over each time as a different version of himself, so why not go collect the others and find their father to confront him after all these years? A sweet story about found family but I could have used a little more depth and connection between the siblings as I kept waiting for that spark that made me really enjoy Nothing To See Here and Now Is Not The Time To Panic.

Madeline Hill is in for a shock when a PT cruiser arrives at her doorstep, the driver Reuben Hill claiming to be her half-brother. What’s more, he has hired a private detective to track down a handful of other half-siblings and their father, and wants Mad to come with him on the road trip of a lifetime.

What I love most about Kevin Wilson’s books is how quirky and offbeat they are on the surface, and yet go so deep in the substance. Whether it’s about children struggling to process their emotions or the domino effect one event can cause an entire community, you will find yourself feeling a spectrum of emotions as you read his simultaneously outlandish and relatable stories.

Run for the Hills, while not quite as off the wall, still held true to his roots. A story about newfound family, making peace with the past, and finding so much more once you learn to let go, it was hard not to feel utterly charmed by this witty cast of characters. While each struggled with their own long-standing issues, particularly around their father’s abandonment, watching them each come to terms with what has happened, as they are presented with this newfound family, was so interesting. And because the format is so character-driven, you, as the reader, feel that much more connected to them.

Read if you like:
▪️family dramas
▪️road trip fun
▪️emotional reads
▪️stories about human connection
▪️character driven books

Thank you Ecco Books for the gifted copies.

Looking for a heartfelt summer road-trip with quirky characters, newly discovered relatives, and warmth? Kevin Wilson’s newest novel RUN FOR THE HILLS delivers just that. This book goes down easy and explores sibling relationships from an interesting angle. Mad, an organic farmer and only child, discovers she is not alone when her father’s oldest son, Rube, shows up and invites her on a road-trip to track him down and gather their other siblings. Wilson excels at writing quirky characters that remain grounded, writing memorable, complicated people. This novel felt lighter than his previous books, but there is also a trick to this lightness. Within the delightfully strange and humorous moments, there is something heartbreaking, a loneliness that the quest must acknowledge. It made me think about what we inherit, how our past shapes us, the stories that help us survive, loneliness, and love.

After reading and vociferously recommending the author’s other book, Nothing to See Here, I was thrilled to dive into this story. Although not as laugh out loud as the other, it’s still an amazing work of familial relationships and adventure. I loved all of the siblings and trying to understand how their father impacted each of them. I didn’t want it to end and wanted to know what happens in the future for these wonderful characters.

I enjoyed this. The plot was compelling and I wanted to know what happened next. And while I was wondering that, I, like the characters came together like a family of siblings. There is a lot to relate to here—especially if you have been abandoned by family members. Well done.

Perfect title: your family is your family no matter how you feel about them.

Kevin Wilson is one of my favorite authors. His books are unique, funny, and quirky. However, this book wasn't like his others. This book was more emotional. Still funny at times, but not his usual style. This was about found family.

Rueben (Rube) shows up at Madeline's (Mad) farm and claims he's her brother. She can't believe what she's hearing until they start to compare notes. They share the same father, but neither of them knew of the other. They realized that their father left Rube's family, and then started a new family. This is where Mad comes in. Rube explains that he has researched their father, and he knows where he is. As Mad's head is still spinning after that bomb he dropped, he says that they also have two other siblings. He talks her into going on a road trip to find their siblings and drop in on dad.

First stop is Oklahoma. There they meet Pepper (Pep). Dad's 3rd child, a 20 year-old college basketball star. After explaining the situation to her, and after they tried to prove that they weren't psychologically troubled, she ventures on the road trip with them.

Next stop is Utah. This is where Theron (Tom) lives with his mother. He's an 11 year-old who filmmaker has lived a lavish life with his mother, Utah's most popular TV news anchor. Rube and Mad discuss their father and their plans with Tom's mother. She allows Tom to go with his siblings.

Off the siblings go in a hunt for their absentee father. What they find, may surprise you.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Run for the Hills.

I've read previous books by the author who specializes in tales of dysfunctional families and Run for the Hills is no exception.

Madeline "Mad" Hill has a quiet life in Coalfield, TN working with her mom on their farm. When an unexpected half sibling Rueben "Rube" Hill shows up with an audacious plan to locate their father aka sperm donor in California, Mad reluctantly decides to join him.

Along the way, they'll meet and pick up the rest of their half sibling brood, have adventures, and discover the bonds of loyalty sibling love along the way.

The narrative is more from Mad's perspective and how she's dealt with her father's absence after so many years and how it's affected her personal life.

I loved getting to know the siblings, their interactions, their different personalities and how they each contributed to the family dynamic.

Siblings are an important part of your life if you've been blessed to have one or two or more.

Siblings change you, usually for the better, in my opinion, and the Hill sibs soon realize even though their father left them, he left them with one another and now they will always have each other.

The only person I didn't like was the father; Chuck, Charles, whatever alias he called himself.

It felt like the author gave him a pass for being a deadbeat dad by saying he had a 'mental illness' for absconding each time he was 'bored' or searching for himself.

Puh-leaze.

Excuses only allow people, especially men, a reason not to take accountability for their actions and to justify their bad behavior.

The cliche at the end did make my eyes roll even though I expected it.

I felt like Mad, sort of dissatisfied but glad to be home on her farm. I liked how everyone came together in their goal of finding their father, but in some way the answers her father provided weren't inadequate.

And that's life.

Sometimes you don't get the answers you're looking for or you never find out why a parent left you.

This is, in the most literal sense, a story of found family. I liked each of the siblings, how their perspectives and reactions made sense, while showing their deep sadness. Their ability to relate with each other and their willingness to hope as the story went on was really lovely.

This is the kind of book I wish I could write, with deep emotional connections but an interesting plot to make it worth reading.

Thank you for the ARC. I purchased for my library. Kevin Wilson is now one of my must-read authors.

Thank you, NetGalley and the author/publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. TL;DR: I love Kevin Wilson's goofy, odd narration style and stories, and this was exactly what I expected from him. It's funny, and emotional, and packs a punch.

If this is your first Kevin Wilson, yay! Here's what to expect: a quirky narration style and an odd cast of characters. A book that is seemingly about nothing but is actually incredibly reflective and will get you thinking. A character focused novel - seriously, the characters kind of are the plot in Wilson's works, and this was no exception. A somewhat absurd plot but it works somehow.

I did enjoy this sibling road trip romp. Mad and her siblings were a riot to learn about and there was a lot of depth to their journey. Pep might have been my favorite character, so I was a bit bummed that she didn't have a bit more depth to her.

Which brings me to my major criticism of this book: it seemed somewhat shallow compared to his others. And this is odd considering that it's his most "real" plot (finding a missing dad with a bunch of half siblings feels like a hero's journey with a lot of potential). Don't get me wrong, there were still some great lines and insightful thoughts in this novel, but it felt a little bit underwhelming. This could be a case of high expectations, but I couldn't help but think this wasn't my favorite book from him.

If you're looking for a character focused novel with humor and heart, this might be a lovely choice for you. It's a great summer read, too, and I did fall in love with the Hill siblings and absolutely enjoyed the journey, despite my minor gripes with the execution of the novel.

I love Kevin Wilson. I feel like he really gets people. All his characters are very full and funny and relatable. I really enjoyed this story, and I thought the ending was satisfying, while also being realistic because there was no big epiphany or reveal.

Kevin Wilson has a very identifiable signature sensibility - a mix of whimsy and quirk that are dialed up or down and with greater or lesser success. In this case, the dials are set to 1 and the novel was a lovely success for me.

When Madeline “Mad” Hill was nine, her father left her and her mother on the farm they had established in Tennessee, never to be in touch again. Now, over twenty years later, with the farm a roaring success, a stranger drives up to the farm in a PT Cruiser (a random and unnecessary bit of whimsy) and informs Mad that he is her older half-brother, Reuben “Rube” Hill, whom their father had left in Boston, years before meeting Mad’s mother. And…they have at least two other, younger, half-siblings. Rube and Mad set off on a roadtrip to meet their half-siblings and maybe even track down their mutual father who is now in California.

As they drive across the country, comparing notes, they find that their father changed identities with each desertion, change of scenery, and family. As Charles Hill, he was a mediocre mystery writer and as Chuck Hill, he was an organic farmer. Later he was Chip Hill, a basketball coach and Carl Hill, a TV news cameraman. Each of his children followed in his footsteps but much more successfully.

The dynamics between the siblings as they settle into having a family that’s spread across the country and the age range are at the center of the book and the author does a fine job of creating distinctive and (yes) quirky characters, showing their growing affection and bonding. It’s warm and heartfelt, and worked very well for me even if others have found it had a bit less of Keven Wilson than they were looking for.

Thanks to Ecco and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

Run for the Hills is a sweet family romp with a fairly bonkers premise: a group of four siblings, initially strangers but united by the experience of having been left abruptly (and consecutively) by their father, road trip across the country to confront him. The novel is best understood as a quest, with the small hiccups and conflicts of the trip dwarfed by the siblings' shared desire to hold their absent father accountable and by their growing appreciation for one another.

My favorite part of the book is Wilson's depiction of the missing father, who reinvents himself completely every time he leaves one family and creates another. This mystery writer turned farmer turned basketball coach turned filmmaker is a mythic figure in the lives of his children, who remember him as preternaturally talented in whatever passion he was pursuing during the time they knew him, and who thus can barely believe that his other lives looked so different. He is larger than life, both for his abandoned children and for the reader. Given this build up, it's hardly a surprise that the end of the novel feels a little deflating. Without giving too much away, I finished the book feeling somewhat disappointed, both because of the unanswered questions and because of the pedestrian nature of the answers we do get. But maybe that's the point. After all, there is no explanation good enough to counteract the pain of being abandoned. At the end of the day, and the end of the book, Mad gets exactly what she was missing: a family, in all its complexity and frustration and joy.

I’m sad to have to say this because I’ve really enjoyed a number of Kevin Wilson’s novels, but this one is a dud.

I love a road trip novel and don’t mind a sweet family story so in theory the premise for this seemed promising, but I was pretty bored reading this and felt like there was absolutely nothing here we haven’t seen a hundred times before.

If you just like sweet books about family and forgiveness, you’ll probably like this more than I did. But this doesn’t do much with the material and has very little real humor.

Wilson has previously managed to write stories that are sweet but not schlocky, and here we lean more towards the latter, mostly because the story feels underdeveloped and lacks the humor needed to cut through some of the more saccharine aspects of the book.

It feels a bit like Wilson phoned it in on this one, capitalizing on previous success in a subgenre that unfortunately often lets writers get away with it. I have no intention of giving up on Wilson entirely as he’s produced too much smart fiction in the past, but I hope this one isn’t a harbinger of things to come.

I am an instant reader of any of Wilson's work. I love his voice, character development, and sentence structures. This a YES for me!

I loved this story from the start, a story of family, even if it is a family that is divided time and time again. A story of finding family you never knew that you had, and a story of a journey that brings them all together.

Pub Date: May 13 2025


Many thanks for the opportunity to read Kevin Wilson's latest courtesy of NetGalley

I was slightly disappointed given how much I loved Wilson's last two novels. Maudlin and disheartening tale of families lost and found,..