this ending left me frustrated, bewildered & enlightened all at the same time.
such a real experience written in such a tangible way. i found myself in both olive & millie at times.

my favourite & least favourite part of this book though was the fact that what i thought was the overarching theme of the book, was never explicitly said. although it was obvious. at least i think it’s obvious for those who have shared similar relationships. i’m not sure if many people could write that. brilliantly done.read-20243 s Courtney788 48

Ohhh how the narrative of this novel fulfils a niche interest of mine. Or you know... the themes and motifs that haunt me etc. The intense and borderline unhealthy friendships between teenage girls (bonus! they attend a catholic high school here) that often blur the line of friendship and something more.

For all the ways this novel ticked so many boxes for me, it also felt weirdly cold and remote and though the ending supplied some of the unspoken answers it was also left vague and open in a way that was deeply unsatisfying. While Millie is well characterised, Olive is mercurial and distant... and Millie's fascination with her never feels entirely genuine. Millie's parents are achingly familiar both entirely accurate and deeply frustrating. The relationships with the boys are both insignificant yet forming a concrete corner of the narrative.

It's a bit of a dreamy read, paced well but it never truly hit as hard as I wanted it too even though all the elements were there.2 s Laura Blundy Jones6

Delightfully threadbare writing that lays out the complexities of female relationships. Set at a catholic girls school, we follow the increasingly toxic relationship between Millie & Olive. Gentle and excellent, this is a writer who is not afraid to let the story carry itself. 2 s Alexandra Righi35

Inhaled this

50/10 on the complexity of female relashy’s especially if ur a queer queen. 2 s1 comment Alice Elizabeth2

Growing up queer in an all girls Catholic High School this book is highly relatable. Filled with just the right amount of teenage angst. 1 Isla Tomlinson2

Something sad in my little Catholic highschool girl heart has finally healed.

I love the way this book is written. It has a classical feel to it that I can only compare to the bell jar. The way the story doesn’t lose pace and knows when to pick up or flow into poetry is what really kept me engaged and sold me.

I felt so connected to Millie the main character. I can’t tell you what she looks or what her eye colour is and I think this was because I was her when I read. I became her eyes and that’s all that really mattered to me.

I wish I could just reread this once more.1 Lorraine44 1 follower

LEAD US NOT by Abbey Lay is published by Penguin Random House, March 2024
Review by Lorraine Parker
Have you, as an adult, mother, father, grandparent, or older relative of a teenager ever wondered what it is to be a teenage girl in her final years of schooling? Lead Us Not is a revealing, very personal captivating disclosure of Millie’s journey. Millie is the seventeen year old, only child, of ‘happily’ married parents.
Olive is the girl from their Catholic High School who has just moved to the house next door. They happen to have their bedrooms on the same side and also in viewing distance of their respective bedrooms. Olive is an aspiring actress, brought up in a strict Catholic home. She is bubbling with confidence.
Millie is an academically high achiever, reader and thinker, still finding her ‘place’ in the world. She has a quiet desire to break free of her parents. Even so, she is extremely interested in her parents’ relationship. A mother who is distant and completely involved in her real estate business and a father who escapes into his garden and world of plants. (I particularly enjoy Millie and her father’s relationship with botanical experiences at its core, however infrequently.)
A spell binding, captivating friendship is formed on the home front as the two girls spend more and more time together, sharing beliefs, personal secrets and sleep overs. Millie is intoxicated and mesmerised by Olive. Olive openly relates her close sexual experience with her oh so attractive boyfriend. The two girls occasionally mix socially at school and after school get-togethers. Millie’s curiosity is aroused as she is encouraged by Olive into her first venture into a sexual experience. Quote from Millie, “I tried to imagine the order in which things would happen, and my part in them. I was curious enough to continue. But I also wanted to go home”.
Millie is more and more intrigued by Olive. She is unable to fathom her. (Is this the attraction?) Her best friend and work buddy, Jessie, of many school years, is often sidelined. Jessie will prove to be a true friend.
Their Catholic School retreat to the Kimberleys as Year 12 students is a riveting account. For the first time Millie and Olive share a tent in this social setting that also included survival skills, challenging hikes, and the temptation of water that was a no go zone with probable crocodiles. Will this create bonding, different friendship and for Millie and Olive more closeness?
Millie will be absolutely thrown when Olive inexplicably withdraws her friendship. This is even more devastating as they near the final weeks of schooling. How Millie reacts kept me fascinated, enjoying every page and every sentence.
Author Abbey Lay, excels in using skilful poetic prose. For example, “my spine had unrolled the new leaf of a fern” and, “I was always aware of her presence, as though an artery ran between us”.
A must read for all ages.
1 comment Simone Mcphail201 2

Coming of age...

This story is timeless. It could have been any teenager, in any time. It was a book about nothing but also everything all at the same time. I can see this story being picked apart in every English class, teenagers resonating in classrooms.

Millies experiences felt so familiar in parts it was scary. Especially that lost feeling. Others were so foreign it was all the more frightening.

If you're looking for fast paced, this isn't the place to find it. Olive and Millie were so captivating though, that the pages did turn themselves.

A story of growing up, being on the precipe of everything you know changing somehow as you take your first steps into adulthood, not really knowing what you want, where you want to be or who you are. A wonderful read I highly recommend. Di594

This is a sensitive first novel that was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Award for Unpublished manuscript and luckily was picked up by Penguin Random House.

Millie is in her final year at a Catholic Girls' school. She is naturally gifted and bright, not needing to apply herself too much to her studies. Her focus is on the relationship that develops between her and Olive when Olive and her family move into the house next door. The relationship becomes all-consuming and intense, excluding others including her best friend Jess and her boyfriend Leon. Then suddenly Olive shuts down, almost shunning Millie who is mortified and unable to understand what happened.

It is a very readable and emotionally charged novel.
Scarlett7

I read this so quickly, the pacing is incredible, it draws you in and makes you want to keep reading. I loved the exploration of teenage female friendships and their complexities and intensity. The novel really captured how invested and intense teenage friendships can be, including all the feelings of rejection, angst and confusion as well as the dynamics of a girls only school and that stage in your life where you begin to see your parents as people too. Loved!!!!! Read it!!! Ashlee5

Slow paced, but heart wrenching

This book was very slow at the beginning, but it was spaced so well that you could really feel the emotions the girls felt. I ended the book crying. This was fantastic. The book was really fleshed out, at points a bit too much, but it really helped build a picture in my mind.
I’m looking forward to Abbeys next book. Sandy44

Teenage angst, oh the memory this story has revived. The intense relationships we find ourselves in at this stage of our lives were very well depicted in this story. While it was not the hard-hitting storyline I expected, it was still easy to keep turning the pages in anticipation. The underlying prose was obvious from the get-go but a little understated towards the end. chloe78 5

4.5 rounded up. this evoked something in me i don’t think i’m ready to reckon with. i suppose that’s what happens when you can resonate with the protagonist and their circumstances, or at least one version of you can. such a beautiful debut novel. Louisa178 Read

picked this up in a random book drop outside a church in melbourne, was surprisingly readable and decent. lay treats the vagaries of teen love seriously, which i find worthy of respect in and of itself LOL Sasha Chopra4

Relatable, however a frustrating end. Although, it is one that I feel matches the reality of similar situations. Mil Bishop34 1 follower

Very heard! Frustrating ending Sara Regan7

One of my quickest reads. Couldn’t put it down.

The vulnerability, detail and emotion throughout Millicent and Olive’s character is truly incredible. I can’t wait for Abbey’s next book. Vivian231 4

This story of two teenage school girls is sharp, engaging and thought provoking. And whilst teenage girls have intense relationships, Millie’s obsession with Olive is next level. There are so many themes in this book - teenage friendships, teenage angst, strained relationships with mothers, but many are glossed over and not fully explored. There are other problems with the complexity of this book - Jess, the dumped former best friend, is far too forgiving and given the context of intense female friendships unbelievable. Olive’s explanation as to why she ghosts Millie is far too simplistic and doesn’t ring true, given Olive’s charisma, self confidence and social assurance. I wasn’t sure whether this was aimed at the YA market but it probably sits better in that genre given the dramatic unease it pursues.
Audrey136 4

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