Dead Yard: Seeds of Doom

Dead Yard: Seeds of Doom by P.J.Killburn is a great book to re-inspire Year 7 readers, with its mix of ghosts, humour and a smattering of Jamaican culture making this a highly entertaining read. The only downside to this fab read is that my ability to recreate the Jamaican patois used through this tale falls decidedly short. As a shared read or read aloud to a young audience, I am sure this book would hit another level altogether.

The book's main protagonist, Jermaine, is attending his great-great-uncle's wake - or 'Dead Yard' - and as a keen film-maker, Jermaine is hoping to capture some footage for his entry to the fast approaching Junior Film Festival. Sadly, the gathering of old folk and family is much smaller than Jermaine expected and, with the exception of a tall vulture looking man, nothing happens that he deems suitable for an award-winning entry.

Disappointed, Jermaine seeks solace in his other true love: his Mum's freshly baked meat patties; forgetting that in Jamaican culture the food at the wake is for the dead, and eating before midnight may prevent the spirit passing on to the afterlife! Jermaine's Mum, Granny Maxine and Miss Nell are understandably furious with him and he is quickly ushered from the house, but not before some creepy old man also begins to rant, "You young people don't know anything about your culture! Bad upbringing! .... Lawd have mercy, these English children don't know nothing!" And this is where we meet great-great-uncle Carl.

This fun, easy read follows Jermaine as he tries to right his wrong and help the spirit of Uncle Carl find a way to pass on. However, things are not straight forward and while dealing with the ghost of his great-great- uncle, the local children are also becoming ill with some mysterious bug. Jermaine and his Uncle will need to work together to keep their friends and family safe.

Friendship, family and fun what more can you want for a perfect read? Nothing except perhaps a grumpy ghost and some terrific illustrations by Markia Jenai! A highly recommended read, clearly the start of a series, I look forward to finding out what happens next for Jermaine and his pals.

208 pages / Reviewed by Sam, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 11+

This pacy debut novel - the first in a new series - is a celebration of Caribbean culture and folklore and a riff on the duppy stories of the region.

Jermaine longs to be a horror movie director so, with the help of his friends, he is spending his Easter holidays shooting an entry for a junior film competition. His great great uncle's Dead Yard (a service for the deceased that lasts all night) is a distraction he could do without. He's hustled along to it anyway, though, and told to leave the food until after midnight.

Sneakily wolfing a patty seems a small rebellion in the circumstances. Big mistake! All of a sudden, he’s mixed up in a horror adventure of his own. First, he finds himself tethered to the bad-tempered ghost of Uncle Carl. Then he discovers there’s a sinister man who looks like a vulture looking for a bag of cursed cassava seeds and a mysterious epidemic making the neighbourhood children dangerously sick.

Add to all that the unexpected arrival of an old flame of Carl's and there's all the ingredients for supernatural mayhem. Somehow Jermaine is going to have to work with his uncle to unravel the chaos before it's too late.

This isn't a long book and it’s highly readable - a cheerful mash up of a school holiday adventure romp and a horror movie. Think Goosebumps but with more humour and kids of colour at the heart of the action, or the Dread Wood series for slightly younger readers.

I find that many children who are still developing independent reading habits will ask for recommendations of funny books and scary books; this would be a good bet for both or either.

208 pages / Reviewed by Louisa Farrow, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+