The Unexpected Mess of It All: A romance YA for readers of NINA KENWOOD, JENNA GUILLAUME and WAI CHIM. Shortlisted for the 2025 ACT Literary Awards
About this ebook
Jamila Dakhoul wants to escape her life.
Forget everything.
Forget that her only friends are strangers on the internet.
Forget that she's stuck in a caravan after a fire destroyed her family's house.
Forget that Year 12 is a brutal hellhole where bullying is an Olympic sport.
Forget Billy Radcliffe once and for all.
But as Jamila tries to untangle the messy threads of her life on a weekend away with her family, it becomes clear that she can't outrun her past, no matter how hard she tries ...
A coming-of-age story about falling apart, starting over, and the people and places you can't live without from the award-winning author of Remind Me How This Ends, Can't Say it Went to Plan and The Intern.
AWARDS
Winner - ACT Literary Awards 2025 (YA Fiction)
Shortlisted - 2025 ACT Literary Awards
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About the author
Gabrielle Tozer is an award-winning author based in regional New South Wales. Her latest works include The Unexpected Mess of It All, which won the 2025 ACT Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction, beloved picture books Before We Met and Tiny Good Things (illustrated by Sophie Beer) and Can't Say It Went to Plan.Over the years, Gabrielle has received honours including the State Library of Victoria's Gold Inky Award for The Intern, and appeared on the CBCA's Notable List for Older Readers for Remind Me How This Ends. Gabrielle loves sharing her passion for creativity, and has spoken at the Sydney Writers' Festival, Canberra Writers Festival, CBCA national conference and more. She has also worked as a mentor for the Regional Arts Network, Regional Arts Australia and the ABC's Heywire initiative.Gabrielle's seventh novel, This Is How It Should Be, hits shelves in 2027.Say hello: gabrielletozer.com
