This book was so cute. I loved the premise: A father had several families throughout his life. He was a good, caring father while he was in their lives but left suddenly never to be heard from again (at least as far as his kids’ knew). The story follows his children , all nicknamed by their father, Rube, Mad, Pep and Tom as they journey across the country in search of their father. The second eldest Mad is the main POV in the book and I think I would have liked a little more solid resolution, especially for her, but it was really a sweet book with loveable characters.

Kevin Wilson can do no wrong. I didn't love this one as much as his other books, but I still loved it. A road trip across the US to collect siblings, is the best way to describe it. One father, four children, all from different generations and different mothers. Four completely different people who had completely different experiences with the same dad. Wilson has such a witty bent to all of his writing, and out of nowhere I found myself with tears in my eyes as he takes one of his patented sharp righthand turns into emotion. He's just brilliant.

This was an emotional family drama where 4 half siblings who have never met connect on a road trip across the country to find their father. I really enjoyed this one and it may have been 5 stars except I was expecting and wanted it to be far more quirky and weird based on the previous books I have read by Kevin Wilson so that felt like a little bit of a letdown.

With flashes of Wilson’s signature wit and heart, this uneven novel follows four half-siblings who discover that the father they believed had abandoned them didn’t just disappear—he started a new life, complete with a new family and another child. The story kicks off when Rube, the firstborn of Charles Hill, shows up at Mad’s farm in a PT Cruiser claiming to be her half-brother. Rube and Mad set off to round up Charles's other kids—Pep and Tom—and set off on a cross-country trip to confront the man who left them all behind.

I loved the humor and charm of the road trip. The camaraderie the group builds along the way is genuinely fun. But the emotional core—the complex family dynamics—fell a bit flat for me. While Mad and Rube were the most developed, Pep and Tom were underexplored. And the father's explanation for abandoning each child and reinventing himself didn’t land with the weight I’d hoped for.

I enjoyed the ride, but ultimately, this novel didn’t quite live up to the depth or resonance of Wilson’s two previous books.

Thank you NetGalley and Ecco for the advance reading e-book copy of this book for review!

I love all of Kevin Wilson's books and this one ticked all the boxes for me: unique plot, well-developed characters, and heartfelt.

Mad, Rube, Pep, and Tom have one thing in common: a father who left them with no explanation and no further communication. None of the three are aware that they have any other siblings until Rube does some research and discovers that he has three or more siblings. When Rube comes to find Mad, he enlists her on a road trip to meet their other sister and brother and take them with them to California to confront their father and get some answers: why did he leave each of them? How many families did he leave? How many siblings do they actually have?

By the time they reach California, the siblings have created a close bond they hope will last forever despite living in different places around the country.

Wilson writes in his funny yet endearing style and does what he is good at - creating wacky situations with great characters you fall in love with. By the end of the book I wanted to be siblings with these three too.

Definite 5 stars!

Run for the Hills is a quirky, heartfelt road trip novel full of unexpected charm. I was quickly drawn into the lives of these half-siblings as they embarked on a wild, bittersweet journey to piece together their shared past. The tone is light, with a blend of deadpan humor and emotional undercurrents that make the story both entertaining and touching. While I found myself wishing the father’s character had a bit more depth, perhaps that reflects the reality of some relationships—we don’t always get the answers we seek. A charming and one-of-a-kind story about found family and the bonds that connect them.

This is the story of an epic road trip with newfound siblings to find the Dad who left them all behind to create new beginnings. I really enjoyed it. The quirky characters were all very unique and enjoyable, but Mad was the main character, so I was glad to see it open and end in her perspective.

Not my favorite of his but not terrible? I wish I had something better to say. I thought it was just okay. I did not connect with any of the characters.

The gist, a foursome of half-siblings pile into a PT Cruiser on a roadtrip to find the father that abandoned each of them sequentially. They all thought they were only children until oldest brother Rueben pulls up to oldest sister Madeline's organic farm in Coalfield, Tennessee (the setting for Wilson's last novel, Now Is Not the Time to Panic). Mad's mother convinces Mad to join Rube on his quest and they pick up their hoops-playing, college-aged sister Pep at OU (Boomer Sooners!) and their 10-year-old brother Tom in Salt Lake City before beelining to California, which Rube's PI has identified as the current home of their father, Charles Hill. Run for the Hills, get it? It's fun and clever like all of Wilson's novels, but this one feels a little safer, a little less weird. It's still a great read, especially if you are a Kevin Wilson fan. 

[Thanks to Ecco and NetGalley for an opportunity to read and share my opinion of this book.]

Found family and a cross country road trip...I'm in! This is the second book I've read published in 2025 with this framework, and I did not realize how much I needed it in my life. This book by Kevin Wilson tells the story of the Hill siblings, who do not know they are half-siblings until the eldest of the bunch shows up in a PT Cruiser and takes them on a road trip to find the father that left each of them when they were young.

The book begins with Reuben, the first child of Charles Hill, arriving at the farm of Madeline Hill and declaring himself her older brother. Madeline is shocked to learn her father, who disappeared from her life when she was a child, had a family prior to the one he had with her and her mother. Reuben then informs her that their dad went on to create at least two more families, and they have two other siblings. Together they embark on a cross country road trip to find their siblings and confront their father.

This story runs the gambit of emotions. There is both humor and heartbreak. There is a good bit of anger at the father, but there is also a lot of love that develops between these newfound siblings. Some of the adventures on this journey are a little outlandish, but it works somehow. I felt myself growing attached to these reluctant siblings and their quest to find an answer to the question that has clouded their lives: Why did their father leave them?

If you like the found family trope and a good road trip adventure, you should read this book. It is a quick, fun read that will leave you hopeful that long time family scars can be healed.

Thank you to Ecco and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a review.

Despite having had Nothing to See Here on my shelf for YEARS, this is the first book I've read by Kevin Wilson, and it was such an experience! I'd definitely put this under the "weird fiction" category, but not weird as in strange, weird as in awkward. And yet, still left me feeling very fond of these characters and nostalgic about my own family.

The premise of putting together a family of siblings all left behind by the same man, who they intend to ambush and confront, was outlandish but not unbelievable. Men ARE trash. I loved the found family feelings here. Literally, found family. I found it funny and emotional and upsetting and warm. I think the fact that each of the four siblings were only children before meeting each other created a sense of loneliness and loss that was then filled by their newly discovered brothers and sisters. I also found it interesting that each of them ended up taking on the profession in some way of the father who left them, perhaps as a point of connection with someone they had no other way to connect to. The video memories interspersed as the new siblings were introduced emphasized the intense hurt - that he was a good dad, until he was just gone one day. Somebody else on Goodreads mentioned that it felt like a Wes Anderson movie in book form, and yes, totally agree with that.

Do I think there were life-changing insights? No. Was it messy and zany and at times poignant? Yes. Sometimes you go on a journey and you don't get answers, or if you do, they are not helpful or the ones you wanted. But that doesn't mean it wasn't worth the journey.

3.5 stars rounded up.

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.