"Intergenerational differences are swept aside in this entertaining dual-time frame story of coming to joyous understandings through mother-daughter misunderstandings."
August 2025 Debut of the Month
Laugh-out-loud hilarious and smartly pitched for younger YA readers, Gill Sims’ Lila Mackay Is Very Misunderstood is sure to make those on the cusp of their teenage years feel totally understood. Fabulously funny and filled with empathy as it relates a 14-year-old’s frustrations and MASSIVE CRINGE moments, it’s sure to strike a powerful chord with tweenagers and oldies alike, as Emily comes to realise that she and her mum might not be so different after all…
“I am only fourteen years old, and my mother hates me. She must hate me, because why else would MY OWN MOTHER purposely, selfishly, cruelly set out to ruin the life of her only daughter”. In this case, Emily’s mum is ruining her life by forcing her daughter to spend the holidays with her best friend Tom while she goes on a residential writing course. As a result, Emily is forced to take a Train of Doom away from the boy she’d been hoping would ask her out.
While Uncle Tom is pretty cool, and in the process of doing up a Brontë-esque rectory Emily should adore, given her love of Wuthering Heights, Emily is absolutely certain she will have absolutely NO FUN whatsoever. But then, after finding her mum’s diaries from the ancient 1990’s, and discovering a world of Wonderbra worries, reading Cosmo and shopping in River Island and Top Shop, along with her mum’s parental woes and aspirations, Emily gradually comes to the shocking conclusion that they might have more in common that she could ever have imagined.
Super-readable and eminently entertaining, Emily’s present-day narrative and her mum’s diaries combine to create a relatable account of coming-of-age issues that affect pretty much everyone, with Uncle Tom’s warmth and wisdom adding to the gloriously feelgood vibe.
A spectacular novel serving as a relatable and realistic mirror of young lives.
Lila Mackay Is Very Misunderstood is a mesmerizing tale that will teleport you into the world of exploring the prevailing experiences of growing up and adapting to life’s difficult complications. Reading this novel is the finest way to spend your Summer relaxing with a book-in-hand, underneath the sun as throughout the novel, we dive into the protagonist, Emily’s Summer starting off with a train ride to her impending doom with no access to technology, no social life and no entertainment except her Mum (Lila Mackay)’s diary and Uncle Tom’s snippets from the past to keep her company. No one seems to understand her despair and longing to spend a normal summer with her BFF Poppy and the stunning Toby. This spectacular novel serves as a realistic and relatable mirror of young lives.... Read Full Review
I couldn’t put it down. I could relate to it. It is such a good read for us teenagers growing up.
Fourteen-year-old Emily is gloomily spending the summer with her mum’s best friend Uncle Tom, helping him renovate his house. Lila is hoping Toby will be her boyfriend. Her phone is broken and her iPad isn’t with her.
She can’t contact her BFF and no technology.
No one understands how awful it is for her.
Lila finds her mums old diary and realises she is so similar to her mum growing up.
I couldn’t put it down. I could relate to it.... Read Full Review
I enjoyed reading this and talking about it to my mum who was a teenager in the 90s. We both found it funny and I liked the it a lot
I really enjoyed this book as I like reading about girls my age or slightly older. This book was also about Emily’s mum and her diary which was very funny as some of the stuff that was written were things my mum has spoken to me about before that she used to do at that age. I like that the book went between chapters about Emily and her mum and seeing that most of the time we all grow up and have similar experiences.
I read some of it to my mum and she enjoyed it with me as it was something she could relate to.... Read Full Review
The No.1 bestselling author of The Why Mummy series, Gill Sims, is back with her very first book for young YA readers!
Fourteen-year-old Emily is gloomily spending the summer with her mum's best friend Uncle Tom, helping him renovate his house, instead of being at home hoping the gorgeous Toby will ask her out. Worse, she's broken her phone and left her iPad at her dad's house. How is she supposed to survive without her tech, her BFF and her social life? No one understands her despair, least of all the boomers.
Then she finds her mum's old diary. MASSIVE CRINGE. But as Emily starts to read, she's stunned to discover that her mum was once a teenager too. A nineties teenager called Lila MacKay, who was VERY MISUNDERSTOOD. It's a long-forgotten era of weird fashions, TV shows and music Emily's never heard of. There are boys too, notably cute Park Boy Tom and her mum's dorky neighbour Weird Nicky. And as she becomes more and more invested in Lila's teenage life, Emily begins to wonder if perhaps she and her mother are not so different after all …
Perfect for fans of Geek Girl and readers who are that next age up from Lottie Brooks.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Lila Mackay Is Very Misunderstood and determined it is suitable for children aged 11-14 years old
Lila Mackay Is Very Misunderstood features in the following genres: Featured Books for 11+ readers, Featured Books for 13+ readers, Books Reviewed by our Reader Review Panels, Debuts of the Month, Recommendations, Stories about Family and Friends, Funny, Romance / Relationship Stories, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Children’s / Teenage fiction: Friendship stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Romance and love stories, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: LGBTQ+, Children’s / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
Lila Mackay Is Very Misunderstood is available in Paperback
Lila Mackay Is Very Misunderstood was written by Gill Sims and published by Electric Monkey an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Lila Mackay Is Very Misunderstood has 322 pages
Yes it is part of Lila Mackay series
£8.99
