Lila Mackay is Very Misunderstood

Name: Lila Mackay is Very Misunderstood
Brand: Harper UK
Availability: InStock
Author: Gill Sims
ISBN: 9780008513801

Author: Gill Sims

Series: Lila Mackay #1

Narrator: Olivia Forrest

Unabridged: 7 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Electric Monkey

Published: 08/14/2025

Categories: Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Family, Clean & Nonviolent, Coming Of Age, School & Education

Synopsis

The No.1 bestselling author of the Why Mummy series is back with her very first book for young YA readers! Readers LOVE Lila Mackay! 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. “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

Reviews

Goodreads review by Vivian on December 03, 2025

Emily, 14, is seriously annoyed with her mum, Lila. After dropping her phone, she’s stuck without a way to chat with her best friend or her crush. To make things worse, Lila – who is divorced from Emily’s Dad - refuses to get the phone fixed. When Lila heads off for a course, she leaves Emily at Unc......more

Goodreads review by Theediscerning on September 18, 2025

Perfectly decently written, just not my thing – this shows a bitter, exaggeration-friendly teen called Emily struggle with the constant idea that her single mum hates her and wants to get rid and never understands her. To get over such thoughts, when she spends an Easter fortnight with an uncle doin......more

Goodreads review by Lisa on September 26, 2025

Lila Mackay is very misunderstood is an early YA read about a young teenager who’s convinced nobody understands what she’s going through, about her fitting in or her boy woes. When her mum lands a job she can’t turn down Emily is off to stay with her uncle. A broken phone and a forgotten iPad ends w......more

Goodreads review by Alice on July 24, 2025

I loved this book! It was funny and perfect and just great read. 14-year-old Emily feels like no one except from her best friend, Poppy, understands her. Plus, she’s started off the Easter Holidays badly. she’s stuck with her mum’s friends in a house she doesn’t know, with no tech, no Poppy and no c......more

Goodreads review by Amelia on July 22, 2025

Thanks to NetGalley and Electric Monkey Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. It's 2025 and Emily is going to stay with her Uncle Tom for the holiday... with a broken phone and no iPad! How on earth will she be able to stay in touch with her friend and find out if the love of her life......more

Quotes

Readers LOVE Lila Mackay! “Every time I put it down, my 16-year-old daughter picks it up” – Reader Review “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 PRAISE FOR LILA MACKAY AND THE WHY MUMMY BOOKS “Took me back so hard to my teenage self that I dreamt I snogged Keanu Reeves” — Jo Middleton “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” – ‘HILARIOUS’ – ‘Honest and very funny’ – ‘God she’s funny’ – Jilly Cooper