The Unexpected

‘A novel that comes with a whole different way of thinking – it takes in a rich wide queer world of angelfish and allomothers, and it's a story of real love between friends' Daisy Hildyard, author of Emergency 'A heartwarming depiction of female friendship as a bond stronger than any other' The Times A funny, addictive and poignant novel about what happens when the lines between friendship, romance, and family begin to blur. Robin and Kessie have been best friends since childhood when their families fractured. Now, in their mid-thirties, they are keen to have children themselves, but each faces daunting obstacles. In stepping up to support each other, they begin to negotiate unconventional routes towards motherhood, challenging assumptions about normal family relationships along the way. Delving into anthropology, animal behaviour, family law, and artists and thinkers from Zora Neale Hurston to Joni Mitchell, this novel offers a fresh contribution to contemporary writing on female friendship, motherhood, and queering the nuclear family.