The Thing About Tilly

If you’re looking for a fast burn with low angst, this is not the book for you. And that’s okay but I feel a little sad for you, that you won’t get to experience the precious joy that is this book. I loved everything about this book when I first read it, and reacquainting myself with the characters in audio was pure joy. While Evie and Tilly are at the heart of the story, it is told from three points of views, Sean’s a counterpoint to the other two, at once an insider and an outsider, sometimes angry but always supportive. Sean really is a wonderful character and his work shenanigans bring welcome comic relief to both the characters’ lives and the story. Cat Gould’s narration brought them all to life wonderfully. Her voices, in particular, are perfect. All of them but, again, especially her voices for Tilly and Evie. Family is the main theme of this book, what defines a family, chosen or not, what makes a parent, finding one’s place in a family, biological parents and not, and of course it speaks to me, as a non-bio parent (who is finally legally a parent to my child) in a family with more than two parents. The secrets, both big and small, the love too, make it all feel heavy and deep and borderline stifling at times but that’s when Benson will inject the right dose of humour, the perfect amount of banter that best friends share, the word that breaks the tension. Then, when Tilly and Evie finally let love be, it’s beautiful, a miracle, an awakening. It’s happy and giddy and so lovely. And how does Benson write kisses that are soft and gentle and fierce at the same time?