Kevin Wilson is one of my favorite Ecco authors. I’d read his books even if I didn’t have to; his stories of unconventional family life are immersive and poignant, but also slightly cock-eyed and very funny. And they are always thought-provoking for their wider implications.

In his latest novel, Nothing to See Here, two old friends (boarding school roommates) reconnect when one is between jobs and the other needs a nanny for her new stepchildren. The catch is that if these kids get too agitated—whether from excitement or unhappiness—they burst into flames. They themselves are not harmed, but they do risk burning everything and everyone around them. That’s the literal danger, but there’s also a figurative one as well: their father has been nominated to be Secretary of State, and offspring who spontaneously combust would ruin his chances, if not his entire career. So the nanny’s job is to keep the kids calm and seemingly normal. What could possibly go wrong?