Dead Yard: Seeds of Doom - Selected for Bookbuzz Secondary 2026

About this book

Jermain has accidentally broken an unwritten rule at his Great Uncle Carl’s Dead Yard – a funerary tradition to mark the passing of a loved one, also known as a Nine Night. No one is supposed to eat before midnight – but nobody told Jermain! The patties were just so tempting… And now he’s being haunted by a very cantankerous Uncle Carl as a result – something neither of them is very happy about. 

Now Jermain and Carl, with a little help from Jermain’s friends, must figure out how to get Carl to move on. But there is a lot more going on in Jermain’s town than just a grumpy ghost. A creepy stranger has arrived in town asking questions about Uncle Carl, and all the kids are coming down with a strange sickness. Can Jermain and his friends figure how it is all connected and what is causing it? 

At just 200 pages, this is a brilliant, fast-paced and funny supernatural adventure. The back-and-forth banter between Jermain and Uncle Carl is perfectly pitched, while the story incorporates lots of Jamaican culture and beliefs and shows lovely relationships between the younger and older generations. A great read with an exciting conclusion.