It's A Bit More Complicated Than That

Zelle and Callum used to be best friends. They haven't spoken in three years―not since the tragedy that tore them apart and forced Zelle to move away.

Shortlisted: NZ Booklovers Award for Young Adults 2026
Storylines Notable Book Award 2025
Winner: Best Unpublished Author Manuscript, Storylines Tessa Duder YA Prize 2024

Now Zelle is back, and both their lives are about to become far more complicated.

Struggling to admit that her drinking is spiraling out of control, Zelle is frustrated by having to leave the city behind and return home.

Meanwhile, Callum's future is thrown into doubt after a disastrous university interview and the collapse of a promising new romance.

Neither of them can keep running from the past forever. As circumstances force them back into each other's lives, they must confront the grief, guilt, and unanswered questions that have haunted them for years.

Told with warmth, humor, and emotional honesty, this beautifully crafted coming-of-age novel explores friendship, loss, addiction, forgiveness, and first love. An emotionally gripping page-turner, it keeps readers invested until the very last page.

'A brilliant new YA novel from a huge new talent.' ― The Spinoff

'An emotionally charged and beautifully written debut novel.' ― NZ Booklover

'Witty and readable. Hannah Marshall is a skillful writer, and her dual narrative keeps readers aware of things that the main characters don't know yet, creating some really amusing situations. The suspense is skillfully maintained.' ― Magpies

'All the hallmarks of a winner. Good stuff for young folk, and adults too.' ― Linda Thompson, NZ Herald

'Very well written, definitely a good read. The relationship between the two main characters is great.' ― Lisa Finucane, RNZ

'The friendship between the two characters is also the glue of the novel as they try to put the pieces back together. This is far from smooth and a difficult journey, making it an engaging read. So good to have a real-life teen novel amongst the plethora of fantasy―something real-life readers can get their teeth into.' ― What Book Next?

'Written with a good dose of humor, the novel explores relationships, love, grief, addiction, forgiveness and coming of age.' ― Heidi North, NZ Herald

Hannah Marshall has an MA in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington. She's been a winner of the Maurice Gee Prize in Children's Writing, an NZSA CompleteMS Manuscript Assessment recipient and won the Best Unpublished Author category in the Storylines Tessa Duder YA Award 2024. This is her first novel.