"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
