What would you do if someone showed up in a PT Cruiser one day and told you that they were your older half-brother? Is the answer to jump in the car for a road trip to find your other half-siblings? Cause it is certainly not mine. But also, my dad didn't leave me as a child, resulting in multiple other families...

Mad runs an organic farm in Tennessee and joins her previously unknown brother, Rube, to drive across the country and collect their other siblings before finding their father, a man none of them have seen since he left that family. The idea of starting a new family each decade was baffling to me. The idea of willingly driving around in a PT Cruiser was also baffling. Thankfully, this was handled with mild humor.

All in all, this was a really fun book. It is not my favorite weird family road trip book for this year, but I did really enjoy it.


Thank you to Net Galley and Ecco for the ARC. All opinions are my own!

What happens when four children, fathered and abandoned by the same man, find one another? And what unfolds when they decide to track him down on a road trip in a PT Cruiser?

Kevin Wilson has one of the most distinctive voices in fiction. His storytelling carries the same quirky charm you’d find in a Wes Anderson film but with a flavor entirely his own — and in print.

The complexity of human and family relationships in this book is profound, especially given the relatively short page count. I adored these characters and will revisit them often.

I’m still processing my feelings about Run for the Hills, but it is unquestionably excellent.

Plot - 4
Writing and Editing - 5
Character Development - 5
Personal Bias - 4
Final Score - 4.5

Thank you so much to Ecco for my advanced review copy! My opinions are my own!

Run for the Hills is out on May 13th, 2025!

Kevin Wilson’s books are always guaranteed to make me laugh with how quirky they are and make me feel warm and fuzzy from how big-hearted they are. This one definitely made me laugh out loud a few times. All of the siblings in this are so unique and the road trip story was fun. Though I did really like it, at times it felt slow and I wanted to know the characters in more depth. I really loved Nothing to See Here so I think I might be a tough judge but I wanted a bit more humor and a lot more time with the characters because I loved all of them. I also felt like the ending was abrupt - I don’t know what a better ending would have been but it just felt a little unfinished. 3.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

In this familial road trip novel 4 half siblings are thrust together after learning about their father’s secret life. When Mad’s dad left when she was 10 she never heard from him again. Over 20 years later she’s surprised when a man named Rube shows up claiming to be her half brother. He has the same father and was born 10 years prior to Mad when his dad disappeared when he was 10. Join these sibling as they find their other half siblings and confront their father about his habit of abandoning his families.

I typically enjoy Kevin Wilson's books because of the quirky characters and unique plot lines but this book was a dud.

The premise is interesting. The book begins when a man shows up at a woman's house and reveals himself to be a long lost half sibling. He explains that he has tracked down their father and they embark on a quest to reunite with their siblings. The siblings are children the father has left in his wake. As they make their way across the country they collect siblings along the way all the way up until they reunite with their father.

I feel as if this book would have been better suited as a short story. Some of the scenes dragged on. What I was most disappointed in was the characters. To me they read as idiotic and much more immature than some of their ages. When we finally met the dad he was aloof.

This book could be for readers who enjoy the exploration of unconventional familial relationships and dynamics and or readers who enjoy books about chaotic journeys. Unfortunately it was not for me.

I am a fan of Kevin Wilson, so I was excited to receive this ARC and was not disappointed. "Run for the Hills" has plenty of quirky characters to get to know and love, and the story involves a sibling road trip for those of us who love the road trip novel. Highly recommended. Pub Date: May 13, 2925.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

#RunForTheHills

I LOVE Kevin Wilson! If you haven’t read anything of his yet and you’re a fan of Fredrik Backman, you need to pick one of Wilson’s up! Wilson has the some knack for creating quirky lovable characters!

Heartwarming, quirky and hilarious, this book will easily be in my top reads of the year! The characters, 4 siblings taking a road trip after just meeting for the first time ever, are endearingly dysfunctional ❤︎ This is a short read (256 pages) that has so much packed into it. I can’t say enough good things about this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and Ecco Publishing for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Run for the Hills was my first Kevin Wilson read. I have heard about his other books being funny and satirical but also emotional, so that is what I expected here. It definitely was lighthearted and emotional, with a theme of found family along with a roadtrip/quest trope. But apparently I am in the minority of reviewers for thinking that “Run for the Hills” is barely a “funny” book, let alone satirical. Or maybe somehow the satire went completely over my head? That being said, it is definitely a fun road-trip family book.

The story follows the POV of Madeline “Mad” Hill, a 30-something farmer who one day randomly meets a half-brother she never knew she had. They decide to drive across the country meeting their other half-siblings, and consequently finding their father that left them all during childhood.

I liked the clear structure of the road-trip quest, picking up siblings along the way. There are chapters of quick flashbacks and one POV chapter from each sibling interspersed regularly. I thought the ending was satisfying. Overall, though, this was a slightly better- than-average 3.5/5 read for me.

The characters label this a Quest story from the beginning. It is a cross-country drive where siblings discover and get to know each other for the first time and search for their father. He sequentially had different skills and interests for each of his children that he shared with and passed along to them. Some scenes are laugh-out-loud funny, but what the children are truly seeking is serious business...a search for self, siblings, and father.

When four half-siblings learn of each other's existence and bond throughout a road trip across America to learn about their shared, mysterious paternal figure, a tender-hearted chosen-family story emerges.

In classic Wilson fashion, there is a balance between the heartfelt and hilarious, and this will be a perfect summer read. Dare I even cringe and suggest that it's perfect for a road trip.

While the premise was interesting and the desire to learn about each new sibling and the eventual story of their father drove (hehe) me to finish, I can’t say there was much else that kept me involved. The characters were clearly defined in their own archetypes, but overall felt flat and one-dimensional. I now know insta-family is not a sub-genre or trope I enjoy (or insta-anything for that matter).

While this isn’t anything that will change your world, it is fun, perfect for the summer, and something I think people will enjoy. I loved NOTHING TO SEE HERE, so this was a little bit of a disappointment, but they’re two different novels and hard to compare.

Thank you Ecco and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

Four siblings that just found out each other existed go on a road trip to find their estranged father.

Dysfunctional family and road trip is a great combo! I enjoyed the characters and how they grew to love each other so quickly. This wasn’t my favorite Wilson book but it may be someone else’s. It was a fast read, short but packed a lot of emotion.

“You weren’t supposed to suddenly get a new family at eleven o clock on a Saturday after you’d sold out of eggs.”

Run For the Hills comes out 5/13.

"An unexpected road trip across America brings a family together, in this raucous and moving new novel from the bestselling author of Nothing to See Here."

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Very charming and quirky with a lot of humor and love. It's a sibling story as well as a found family story. Nothing is heavy handed, and the emotions of the story are handled well.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the digital arc. The novel will be released on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.

SYNOPSIS
-When Reuben Hill finds out his long-lost father has kids scattered across the country, he sets out on a chaotic cross-country road trip to track them down.
-He convinces Madeline (Mad), who lives on a quiet Tennessee farm, to come along. Turns out she’s his half-sister—and not the only one.
-Together with two other siblings they’ve never met, they piece together the life of a man who lived under different names and identities.
-It’s a weird, emotional journey full of awkward sibling bonding, stories of their father, and questions about what it means to make a family out of strangers.
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MY THOUGHTS
-This one was really slow. I kept waiting for it to pick up, but it never quite got there.
-The characters felt flat and didn’t leave much of an impression—especially disappointing for a story that relies so heavily on relationship dynamics.
-The premise had potential (and honestly would’ve made a great short story), but stretching it into a novel just made it feel dragged out.
-The ending didn’t do much for me—it felt too neat, too predictable, and lacked any real emotional punch.
-That said, there were moments that almost hit—tiny flashes of humor or weirdness that showed the talent of the author.
-The idea of building a chosen family is cool, and the awkward tension between siblings from totally different worlds should have been fun to explore… it just didn’t go deep enough.
-I wouldn’t talk anyone out of reading it—Kevin Wilson is clearly a talented writer—but this one just didn’t land for me.
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TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️A slow and forgettable road trip novel that never quite delivers on its quirky premise. Would’ve made a better short story.
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THANKS: Thanks to Ecco and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on May 13, 2025.

This was such a fun story with so much humor and several liveable characters. What a unique premise-m - made dor a great read!

When life feels heavy, reach for a Kevin Wilson book. Run For the Hills is filled with so much heart and humor, written in that strangely tender way that is a signature of Wilson’s books. He has such a talent for painting challenging emotions in a way that feels safe, relatable, and thoughtful - I trust him to take me through each part of the journey.

This is a found family story in the truest sense of the phrase. The characters are all quirky, yet believable and very easy to root for. I loved following Mad’s journey as she met her previously unknown siblings on this wild goose chase quest to reunite with her long lost father. Each of her three siblings is such a unique character who adds their own brand of humor and dysfunction to the storyline.

My favorite part of this book is how Wilson juxtaposes slightly absurd or surreal moments with reflective narration that is so purely, beautifully, messily human. Wilson’s books are always fun and heartfelt, and this one is no exception. I highly recommend!

Yet another fun road trip novel! This is shaping up to be the year for them. Wilson's newest book is about half-siblings newly discovering each other's existence. The characters are quirky and engaging, the plot is a bit zany as they set off westward across the United States to track down their deadbeat disappearing father, and there are some great laugh-out-loud moments. If it weren't for the ending, which fell a bit flat, this probably would have been a 5-star read for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for a digital review copy.

Fun and charming road trip tale of four half siblings (previously unknown to each other) who set off to find their father. Kevin Wilson is a delightful storyteller—this novel feels like Little Miss Sunshine + The Wizard of Oz. Perfect summer read, can recommend this widely.

Kevin Wilson writes perfect novels! They are never too long, full of heart and wit and the storylines are just crazy enough to be believable.
Madeline Hill works the farm where she grew up and where her father had left 20 years ago. Until the day that Reuben Hill pulls up in a PT Cruiser and tells her he's her half-sibling, left by their father 30 years ago. Mad and Rube embark on a road trip to find their other siblings (yup, they weren't the only ones!) and eventually their father.
This novel is full of Wilson's deadpan humor and family hijinks! This may be his best yet.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Ecco for this digital e-arc.*

I avoided picking this book up as much once I realized how much I related to it. I related so much to certain aspects that it took me way longer to read it than it deserved. Or maybe I was just sitting with how it made me feel? It’s a weird feeling, but this book is good. It hurt pretty good.
Kevin Wilson is one of my favorite authors, I’ve decided. He’s my fellow tennessean literary Wes Anderson. He delivers quirky dynamics and plots while balancing them with an authenticity that leaves me feeling like a wrung out dish towel. But ….like an ultimately persevering wrung out dish towel. 4.25 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for the ARC. Another quirky novel by Kevin Wilson. A bunch of siblings unbeknownst to each other go out in search of their dysfunctional father and we are along for the ride. Great book!