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Lila Mackay is Very Misunderstood
- Author
- Gill Sims
- Narrator
- Olivia Forrest
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 14 August 2025
- Run Time
- 7 hours 17 minutes
- Format
- x-book®
What to expect
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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…
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Perfect for fans of Geek Girl and readers who are that next age up from Lottie Brooks.
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Readers LOVE Lila Mackay!“I can't wait to find out what happens next for Lila as I know there are more diaries to read! Perfect for fans of Lottie Brooks. I was looking for a new series to get into!!” – Nia, 13
Critics Review
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Readers LOVE Lila Mackay!
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“Every time I put it down, my 16-year-old daughter picks it up” – Reader Review
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“I can't wait to find out what happens next for Lila as I know there are more diaries to read! Perfect for fans of Lottie Brooks. I was looking for a new series to get into!!” – Nia, 13 years old
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PRAISE FOR LILA MACKAY AND THE WHY MUMMY BOOKS
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“Took me back so hard to my teenage self that I dreamt I snogged Keanu Reeves” — Jo Middleton
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“Witty, relevant and bitingly sarcastic… Gill Sims nails the aspects of modern family life that drive us crazy – but which also make us who we are” – Sunday Express Magazine
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‘HILARIOUS’ – The Sunday Post
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‘Honest and very funny’ – The Sun
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‘God she’s funny’ – Jilly Cooper
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Gill Sims
- Narrator
- Olivia Forrest
- Duration
- 7 hours 17 minutes
- Release Date
- 14 August 2025
- ISBN
- 9780008513801
- Format
- x-book®
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Children’s / Teenage fiction: Humorous stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Family and home stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: General, modern and contemporary fiction, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Romance and love stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Friendship stories
Synopsis
The No.1 bestselling author of the Why Mummy series 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. 💜 Readers LOVE Lila Mackay! “I can't wait to find out what happens next for Lila as I know there are more diaries to read! Perfect for fans of Lottie Brooks. I was looking for a new series to get into!!” – Nia, 13
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