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It’s a Bit More Complicated Than That
Book Review
this book is definitely about forgiving each other and not ignoring the past, but moving on
I really enjoyed this book. I think that this book is definitely about forgiving each other and not ignoring the past, but moving on. To talk about the difficulties they both had to figure what really happened and share their feelings. It might seem stupid but sometimes when you are in an argument you have to hear from both sides and learn the truth.
It’s not always what you want to hear but it helps letting things out and being honest even if it hurts you or the other person. I think that this book should be for 12+ as it teaches people how life can have its struggles and friendships change (especially when you step into secondary school) and how that might be a good thing. You might have ups and downs in it but you can always figure it out in the end even if it takes a while.
About the Book
This story is about two best friends that hadn’t seen or spoken each other in three years. It was very complicated due to the girl, Zelle, had been going through a very rough patch with her family at that point in time meaning she had to move house but she didn’t tell anyone. The boy, Callum, was going through a broken relationship with his boyfriend. Then something terrible happened to them both and they fell out because of this.
One day Zelle came back out of the blue and said she was staying for a while, as her mum was packing up the art studio that she used many years ago but also Zelle had a drinking problem and it needed to stop. The same day Callum had a Uni interview and when he got a text from the girl he has ignored for three years his heart stopped, he didn’t do the interview because of her. He kept lying saying that it went well but actually that never happened.
They both kept trying to hide or stay away from each other but things kept pulling them back together. They can’t keep running from the past and never forgive one another for what happened. They had to talk about it and help each other with their own difficulties to earn their trusts back. It was a long journey but in the end things figured out and they became close again.
Author
Hannah Marshall
Hannah Marshall is a New Zealand children’s and young adult author who completed an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters, Victoria University of Wellington.Her debut novel, It’s a Bit More Complicated Than That, won the Best Unpublished Author category in the Storylines Tessa Duder YA Award 2024 and was published in 2025, marking her emergence as a notable voice in young adult fiction.
Reviewer Profile
Chloe, 12
- Reviews: 10
- Likes: swimming, reading and sleeping
- Dislikes : unkindness of any kind
- Favourite Books: stories that make you think about the different challenges people face
- Favourite Artist : Chris Tomlin
- Favourite Films: Star Wars and Back to the Future
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