Whispers in the Graveyard by the Scottish author Theresa Breslin won the Carnegie Medal in 1994.

In this book the author writes about a multiple of serious problems that Solomon, the main character has to deal with. He is having trouble at school, and at home. His mother has just recently left the family home after having given Solomon a choice of staying with his father or leaving with her. He stays with his father mainly because with his mother leaving there will be nobody to look after his father when he goes on his frequent alcoholic binges. But it means that Solomon doesn’t even have clean clothes to wear, so he’s smelly and unpopular at school. His teacher Mr Frame particularly dislikes him and chooses to ridicule him in the classroom, he’s just a bully. Peter, his best friend tries to protect Solomon from Frame, and lets Solly copy his homework, but he spends less and less time at school, choosing to hide away in an old graveyard.

He has found a sort of hidey-hole that he can gain access to by climbing up a rowan tree, used in the past for keeping witches away of course. When Solomon sees strangers looking around the graveyard he realises that his peaceful haven is under threat. With work going on in the graveyard it looks like something evil has been released.

It seems that this is one of those love it or hate it books. It’s really well written, but if you don’t like a bit of spookiness, or the real problems that some youngsters have in their lives such as bullying, family break up, alcoholic parents AND dyslexia then you might want to give this one a miss. However it’s a sad fact that a lot of young people have to cope with terrible problems that would fell many an adult. So although this isn’t exactly a jolly read, I think it might have helped some readers along the way. I enjoyed it, it has some light-hearted moments.