giftteenscomic Life can be a little serious sometimes, so there’s nothing wrong with reaching for a book that will crack you up. Dark and angsty are fine for some, but there are only so many brooding fallen angels called Luc that you can take before you need something to lighten the mood. To cure the angst, pick up one of these books which are guaranteed to make you laugh.

resized_9781742377070_224_297_FitSquare Beauty Queens
Libba Bray

When a plane load of beauty queens crash lands on a desert island, you know there are going to be tears, but in this case it’s tears of laughter. Bray’s spot-on satire of the beauty industry will have you in stitches.

9781842708446 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie

When Junior transfers out of the Spokane reservation school to a nearby wealthy campus populated entirely by white students, he knows life isn’t going to be easy. But neither are things easy at home, and often his family problems threaten to overwhelm him. While this sounds rather bleak, Alexie manages to tell this tale with lightness and humour.

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9780007156825 Withering Tights
Louise Rennison

In true Louise Rennison style, this is over-the-top drama comedy at its best. This new series from the author of Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging features Tallulah – a wannabe actress who’s on a drama camp in the middle of nowhere. Will things start to get more interesting for her once the boys show up?

resized_9781742376196_224_297_FitSquare A Pocketful of Eyes
Lili Wilkinson

Bee works with Toby at the Natural History Museum, and when they stumble across a dead body, it piques her love of all things detective and mystery. This is a quirky book packed full of laughs, as well as being a thrilling whodunit.

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9780143203919 The Life of a Teenage Body Snatcher
Doug MacLeod

When Thomas Timewell’s grandfather died, he had one wish: for his body to be donated to science. So when he ends up getting buried, Thomas must step into the shoes of a bodysnatcher to get him back. A hysterical black comedy complete with resurrectionists, gypsies and the Grim Reaper.

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holly-pic Holly Harper is a children’s bookseller at Readings Carlton. She also writes books for younger readers under the name H.J. Harper. Find out more about her books here and follow her on twitter - @hj_harper.