TIGERS ON THE BEACH by Doug MacLeod

I grabbed this one as I loved reading 'The Shiny Guys'. I am about a third of the way through and I am thinking this is a perfect read for Year 7s (12-13 year olds) given the protagonist is a young teenager.
There are plenty of themes to engage this age group: sibling rivalry (his younger brother has Asperger's Syndrome which provides an intriguing insight into seeing the world through different eyes); telling jokes; first 'crush' (when is it right to have that first kiss?); living at a holiday resort as caretakers... Sadly, but highly relevantly, there is foreshadowing that Adam's parents might split up. His grandma's behaviour is creating tension:

   Mum and dad are in the front office when I get home. Incredibly, they are arguing.
   'You need to have a word with your mother,' Dad says. 'There was another incident today. While you were out shopping, she climbed a ladder.'
   Mum is shocked. 'Ken, you shouldn't let her climb ladders. She's old. Imagine if she fell.'
   'I didn't find out about it until afterwards.'
   'What was she doing up a ladder?'
   Dad replies in disbelief, 'She was hanging four teddy bears from a tree.'
   'Oh.' This doesn't seem so strange to Mum.
   'It's an old trick,' she says. 'It's meant to keep away possums. You know mum hates the possums.'
   'I think everybody at The Ponderosa knows that by now. Nathan took down the teddies.'
   'Then there's no problem, is there?'
   'This is a holiday resort, Georgia,' Dad snaps, 'not The Blair Witch Project. You can't have hanging teddies. It's disturbing for the children.' (pp.86-87)

The language is simple and the story-line fairly engaging. Thus far there is not enough conflict to keep me charging through the chapters but a Year 7-er would definitely enjoy it.

Just finished reading it. Very enjoyable. The story has quite a philosophical look at humour, as it goes. It starts and ends with classic jokes. I suppose that should have been a bit of a giveaway :)