Looking for Levity in a Sad World

My family and friends experienced a very tragic loss this week. A young man who was only a month younger than my sister and who grew up side by side with her died in a car accident. It has been hard to believe that it happened. I used to babysit for this family when I was a teenager. I can picture this boy in my head when he was about five years old with his disheveled, white blond hair and always a little dirt on his face, quiet and thoughtful. To know that his life has ended at twenty-one is incredibly sad.

One side effect of coping with this tragedy is that I realized that very little of what I read is light-hearted or very happy. This last week, I couldn't stand to pick up a ghost story or a dreary Victorian novel. I didn't want to read about pain or loss or sadness or violence. The only series I have that are cheerful are the Thursday Next series and the Hitchhikers' Guide series. I read a little bit of YA fantasy fiction that is kind of neutral but not exactly happy.

So my request from my two readers is to recommend something that can help me escape a broken heart, if just for a few hours. I'm not a fan of romance but I will read just about anything else.

Attempting escape,
K