Paperback

Laughter is the Best Ending

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Zee is a loner. She likes to read Oscar Wilde and watch documentaries all day which, according to her parents, is not normal for 13 year olds. So they decide to send her on a five-day holiday camp, hoping she'll make 'at least one friend'. Now, Zee would rather take a bath in Tabasco sauce than attend a camp called Youth Fusion.

But with influencer Tiffanee and super-nerds Jonah and Moses, she soon finds herself in the middle of a hair-rising mystery, hurling her into some fierce detective work and bringing her face to face with the notorious Old Bat Viv.

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MORE INFO

Format

Paperback

Publisher

Pan Macmillan Australia

Country

Australia

Date

13 August 2024

Pages

272

ISBN

9781761560132

Format

Paperback

Publisher

Pan Macmillan Australia

Country

Australia

Date

13 August 2024

Pages

272

ISBN

9781761560132

Book Review

Laughter is the Best Ending
by Maryam Master, Astrid Hicks (illus.)

by Angela Crocombe, Jul 2024

The latest middle grade novel from last year’s winner of The Readings Children’s Prize is a delightful story about friendship, adventure and intergenerational friendship. It begins with 13-year-old Zee laughing hysterically at the funeral of 86-year-old Dame Viv. She backtracks to explain why.

Because her parents are worried that she has no friends, Zee is forced to attend an outdoor camp and team up with twins Jonah and Moses and influencer Tiffanee for a mystery-solving activity. When the children meet Dame Viv (aka Old Bat Viv), an elegant old lady who is rumoured to have eaten numerous children, many remarkable things happen, not the least of which is that Zee and Viv become best friends.

This is a heartwarming (and truly hilarious) story about being yourself and finding your people. It’s pitched perfectly at middle grade readers, even reluctant ones, and will be a hit with everyone from 9 to 99.