This was a quirky one but I really liked it. Four half-siblings find one another and trek across the country to find their father, who left each of them during their childhood to “start over” with a new life/family. The writing is clever and funny (and sometimes sad) and the characters are interesting. I loved Nothing to See Here but This is Not the Time to Panic was not for me, so I am happy that this one worked! Likely to be amongst my favorites of the year! Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC and opportunity to share my thoughts.

As someone who has loved Kevin Wilson's other books, this felt a bit like a rehashing of old work. That said, I really enjoyed it. He has such silly, reflective moments. I thought the ending didn't exactly stick the landing but it was such a lovely story that I'll forgive him it.

I think it’s time for me to realize that Nothing to See Here was a one off for me with Kevin Wilson. I don’t think I’ll read something by him again unless I know enough going into it that I can be sure of it being a hit. This book was boring. I don’t know I nicer way to say that. There was a lot of dialogue that was telling, not showing. The characters were flat. The plot device was unforgettable, but as for the rest, I think it’ll be gone from my memory within a day. I kept reading because I was hoping it would get better and because it was short.

I just scrolled through the reviews and am definitely an outlier. So check it out for yourself!

Madeline “Mad” Hill’s day is normal, tending her semi-famous farm with her mother, when a man pulls up on a car claiming to be her brother. He claims, too, that he tracked their father down, discovering two other siblings on the way, and now he wants to go find him. And he wants Mad to come with. A road trip novel with Wilson’s signature…something at its heart. An acute understanding of the way events can be so big and life altering and feel so normal. Of the way normal day to day events can feel so big, when looking at them anew.

As much as I love Kevin Wilson, this was just not my favorite from him and I hate writing that! The story just lacked his usual depth and charm, there was no real allure or resolve for these characters with their father, and it just fell very flat for me. I’ll always read Kevin’s books because the ones I’ve loved I’ve REALLY loved, but this was just not my cup of tea sadly.

Run for the Hills was such a fun, heartfelt, and surprisingly tender read. Kevin Wilson’s writing always strikes that perfect balance between quirky and meaningful, and this book was no exception. The characters felt real and offbeat in the best way, and I loved watching their relationships evolve through all the chaos and humor. The pacing was solid, and while it wasn’t quite a five-star read for me, I really enjoyed it. 4 stars for a charming, slightly oddball story with lots of heart.

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.

Excuse 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.

Run for the Hills is a terrific road trip story of siblings who discover each other and go searching for their father, who left all of his children suddenly and without warning. The book opens at a roadside market when 34 year old farmer Madeline Hills ( nick named Mad) spots a PT Cruiser that slows and stops at her stand. Rube, a writer in his mid 40’s introduces himself as her half - brother and invites Mad to accompany him on his quest to locate their other half siblings and their wayward father, who apparently adopted a completely new identity with each new family he acquired. A story filled with heart and humor will hold readers captive.

Highly recommend.

I love Kevin Wilson. He is one of my favorite authors. I loved Nothing to See Here and his 2 short story collections. I thought his last novel was just okay, and unfortunately I feel the same way about his upcoming release, Run for the Hills. I love his quirky characters, you can’t help but root for them. The main problem I had with this book was the writing style. Wilson’s prose started to decline with his last book, and it’s continuing with this one as well. His prose has become extremely choppy, it was never like that with his earlier works. I find it extremely confusing because he is a strong and emotional author. His writing has become so lazy and uninspired lately. The plot of this book is very sweet and offbeat, but I just don’t click with the clunky writing, it made my reading experience difficult to enjoy. Such a disappointment. I recommend his early books instead.

Kevin Wilson is an auto-read author for me—he's a master of tone and character, and I find myself thinking about his books for weeks and months after finishing. RUN FOR THE HILLS, happily, continues that trend. Wilson is so great at finding situations that reveal character, and here it's the road that serves that purpose. I'm a sucker for a road trip and a family story, so I was delighted by the twists and turns, literal and figurative, that happened here. It's funny, emotional, surprising—everything I've come to expect from a Kevin Wilson novel!

I had previously read one book by this author and really like it, which is why I wanted to read this book. I’m so glad I did. This book was equal parts emotional and silly-goofy. As cliche as it is to say “I laughed and I cried,” I can honestly say I did both! I was fully invested in the storyline and never once bored. I loved all of the main characters. I would read a spinoff book about any of the main characters because I love them all and their stories so much! I really loved that this book was able to be emotional while remaining lighthearted. After this book, I want to go back and read everything this author has written!

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest rating and review.

In this touching novel, a road trip transforms from a quest to find a long-lost father into a heartfelt journey of self-discovery and familial connection among four half-siblings. As they navigate the complexities of their relationships, readers witness the blossoming bond that emerges from shared experiences and laughter, infused with Wilson's signature humor. The narrative thoughtfully explores themes of belonging and the bittersweet nature of memories, reminding us that what we seek may not always align with our dreams. With each mile traveled, the siblings uncover not just their father's identity, but also the deeper meaning of family and the ties that bind them. This beautifully crafted story resonates with anyone who has ever yearned for connection, making it a delightful read for those who appreciate the nuances of human relationships.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC which I was provided in exchange for my early review.

3.5 rounded up
Rueben, a 42 year old author, hires a private investigator to find his long lost father. The investigator finds an address, but also finds 3 half siblings he did not know about. Renting a PT cruiser, Rueben starts a cross country trek to meet his siblings and see if they want to join his road trip to California to confront their father, who has a bad habit of starting families and then leaving them.

This is a literal found family story which does have Wilsons trademark sense of humor throughout. I enjoyed seeing the family connect with each other, but for some reason I was unable to connect to most of these characters myself or relate at all to the fathers story. I was never bored by their cross country trek, but never totally immersed in the story or the characters either. For this reader his earlier works were more enjoyable, but that may not be true for you.

Thank you to net galley and Ecco books for an e galley in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading ‘Run for the Hills’, it has warmth and wit. I must say it is not my favourite Kevin Wilson book but I will be recommending it nonetheless.
The siblings and their journey was a good read but I couldn’t see Rube and Mad as adults and every time their age was mentioned I was surprised.
The book had a satisfying ending.

I didn’t quite know what to expect when I started Run for the Hills, especially after reading Wilson’s book, Nothing to See Here. (That plot still baffles my mind. It was ingenious). Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. I adore stories about family, and the twists and turns with these newfound siblings getting to know each other warmed my heart. They each have their own unique personalities, and I loved getting to know them all. I would recommend it.

I like Kevin Wilson's books a lot, but I think this one is my favorite yet. He is just so very good at creating these quirky characters in messy situations that feel very real. The premise of the story, like his other books, seems a bit far-fetched at first glance. However, by the time I was one page in, I had forgotten any doubts I ever had. I was immediately wrapped up in this story.

The story is set in motion when a man shows up out of the blue on the doorstep of Mad Hill's farm and claims he is her half brother then shares they actually have more half siblings spread out around the country. The plan is to round up their long-lost siblings, track down their missing father, and get some answers.

I absolutely love a good road trip story, and the characters in this one were exceptional company. I loved seeing how each sibling's life was so wildly different and watching them form connections with one another.

I cannot wait to recommend this book to everyone! It is really that good.

This riotously humorous, heartwarming and deeply moving novel grabs onto you and never lets go.

Madeline (nicknamed Mad) has grown up helping her Mom run their family farm after her Dad suddenly abandoned the family twenty years earlier and disappeared without a word or a trace. Since then Maddie and her Mom have become famous for their amazing eggs and featured in innumerable magazine spreads. But Mad’s life has been full of hard work and loneliness until the day that Reuben Hill (Rube) pulls up in his PT Cruiser to share that he is her half-brother. He informs Mad that their Dad abandoned him and his Mom in Boston before moving to Tennessee. He has hired a detective who found an address for their Dad in California as well as identifying addresses of other siblings. Rube is off on a road trip to confront him, and Mad, with her Mom’s support, makes the spontaneous and scary decision to tag along.

They want to check out two other kids he fathered, who turn out similarly abandoned by their Dad. They both want to meet them and see if they want to join them. What’s crazy is that with each new family iteration, their Dad completely changed his profession, came up with a new variant of his first name, and given each child a similarly catchy nickname. Each child has grown up unaware of the others and raised as only children spaced about a decade apart. They each feel that when he was with them, their Dad was great and supportive. But their father’s abandonment has left different emotional scars for each, and they slowly build trust to share these vulnerabilities as well as childhood stories with each other.

As the adventure ratches up with new stops, attending a championship college basketball tournament in Texas, and new siblings, they begin to form the deep bonds as a emergent new kind of family. Hilarity also ensures, with the cross country trip taking comical twists including the fate of the PT Cruiser itself. Each sibling is unique, fully realized, and compelling.

They race to find their Dad with a litany of unanswered questions, including what kind of man totally abandons those he loves and is emotional reparation even a possibility?

Thanks to Ecco and Netgalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Title: Run for the Hills
Author: Kevin Wilson
Publisher: Ecco
Genre: Humor Satire
Pub Date: May 13, 2025
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 256

Our protagonist Madeline “Mad” Hill is a thirty-four year old farmer in Coalfield, Tennessee. She is managing the family business with her mother. She loves the farm life- in fact prefers her chickens over people especially since her father abandoned them when she was ten.

One day Madeline while busy on their farm, a man who looks to be in his early forties named Ruben (Rube) claims to be her half-brother. He states they have the same father—who abandoned not only them but other families – she therefore has other siblings ~
Ruben tells he hired a PI to locate the siblings and discovered that their seventy year-old dad is alive living in California.
Ruben invites Mad to go on a road-trip with him. At first she refuses but curiosity gets the best of her and she joins him.
FAMILY TREE~
• Reuben "Rube" Hill (42), Dad -Charles Hill, mystery writer, Boston, Ma.
• Madeline "Mad" Hill (32), Dad- Chuck Hill, an organic farmer, Coalfield, Tennessee.
• Pepper "Pep" Hill (21), Dad- Chip Hill, basketball coach, Fort Smith, Arkansas.
• Theron "Tom" Goudy (11), Dad - Carl Hill, a cameraman living, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Now that four Hill siblings found each other, they are heading off to find dad!
I was curious and it was kind of fun read but wasn’t the humorous story I was expecting.

I was drawn to this story as our delightful next door neighbors here in Southern California have five chickens that make a delightful clucking
sound each morning. However our wonderful neighbors just moved to ~ you guessed it – Tennessee!

Want to thank NetGalley and Ecco for granting me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 13, 2025.

Kevin Wilson’s new book, Run for the Hills, is a delightful story. That elusive “light read” that is smart, funny, well-written, and has zero sappiness. Charles (aka Chuck, Chip, Carl) Hill is a great dad. The problem is, he disappears without warning, leaving his adoring children behind. And then he starts a new life and a new family. But this isn't his story as much as it is his offspring’ who find out about each other and try to find their father. You will fall in love with Rube, Mad, Pep, and Tom.
Thanks, Netgalley, for the arc of this book.
This book will be released on May 15, 2025. Preorder from your favorite indie bookstore. It is a joy to read.

I love Kevin Wilson and his weird, quirky characters so much. This one follows a group of siblings, newly known to one another, on their cross-country adventure as they attempt to reunite with their long-lost father. It was slower-paced, charming, and lots of fun.