Teen Shortlist - The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2024

Diary of a Confused Feminist: Must Do Better by Kate Weston

Meet Kat Evans: Feminist. Overthinker. Hot mess. A hilarious antidote to our Insta-perfect world, Diary of a Confused Feminist is for girls who want to do it right but always feel they’re getting it wrong …

15-year-old Kat wants to do GOOD FEMINISM, although she’s not always sure what that means. She also wants to be a writer, get together with Hot Josh (is this a feminist ambition?), win at her coursework and not make a TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT of herself at all times.

But the path to true feminism is filled with mortifying incidents, muddling moments and Instagram hell. And it doesn’t help that Hot Josh is just, well, properly, distractingly hot.

And when everything at school starts to get a bit too much, Kat knows she’s lost her way, and the only way forward is to ask for help …

Ellie Pillai is Brown by Christine Pillainayagam

My name is Ellie. Ellie Pillai . . . And I suppose I am a little bit weird, but then, aren’t we all, just a little bit?

Most days, Ellie Pillai is somewhere between invisible, and not very cool – and usually she’s okay with that. But suddenly, Ellie feels different. Maybe it’s the new boy at school who makes her brain explode into rainbows every time she sees him (and also happens to be going out with her best friend), or maybe it’s her new drama teacher, the one who seems to have noticed she exists. Suddenly, her misfit style, her skin colour, her songwriting and all that getting lost in the music in her head seem to be okay too. Because maybe standing out isn’t a bad thing after all.

The Reluctant Vampire Queen by Jo Simmons

Meet Mo Merrydrew – independent young woman, Mini Battenberg fan, president of the debating society – and reluctant vampire queen …

Fifteen-year-old Mo Merrydrew isn’t exactly expecting to be asked to be Vampire Queen of Great Britain when she’s cycling home from school one wet Tuesday evening. Apparently, she is ‘the Chosen One’. Aside from being uncomfortable with the idea of unelected power (not very democratic), there’s the blood drinking to consider (Mo is a vegetarian), and frankly it’s just not really the sort of role Mo’s looking for (she wants to aim for a real job in politics). But – if you’re Vampire Queen, you probably don’t have to do PE any more, and when the dreamy Luca, a vampire familiar, turns up, it all suddenly starts to look a bit more appealing …

You’re Not the Boss of Me! by Catherine Wilkins

Amy Miller is a very positive person and she is fully prepared to be the star of the school Comedy Show. But when Harry is put in charge, he stops her from performing or writing or doing anything fun.

Amy can’t understand what’s happening until her sister tells her: Harry is being sexist, and Amy must take a stand. Armed only with killer one-liners, Amy goes into battle to fight for her right to make people laugh.