The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

This is another classic from Gaiman - who always amuses, challenges and compels you to read.

The story starts as an ordinary family is murdered by a cold blooded killer - but the baby manages to escape by crawling away and finds his way into the Graveyard of the title. Here he is protected by the mysterious Silas, whilst being adopted by Mr & Mrs Owens - who had themselves died in the 1750s. He is called Nobody Owens (Bod for short) and he is given the freedom of the graveyard so he can can go about the graveyard and see as the dead do.

This is the story of how he grows up, some of the fascinating ghosts and people he meets along the way, the off beat education he receives from the ghosts and how he ultimately defeats the mysterious and secret organisation that wanted him dead in the first place. Wonderfully amusing, frighteningly scary and a great adventure too. The Sleer - a sort of ghostly serpent - that protects the treasures in one mausoleum is a nightmare creature you would never want to meet, it inspires fear and dread in all who enter it's realm (and that includes you as reader too!)

Fantastic ink and wash style illustrations by Dave McKean add to the menace and the enjoyment.

Ghostscape by Joe Layburn

Aisha - a somali girl living in East London is prone to fainting attacks. Each time she collapses she is transported to her area, but in World War II - and she meets Richard who is actually using her old school building as a shelter. Aisha realises that the school she knows is a new building and sets out to investigate what happened to the old one. This leads Aisha to discover the history of her area, to try to save Richard, and also in the process to come to terms with the difficulties she has been having with her mother and her culture.

This short novel is based on the real life case of an East End school bombed in WWII. It is easily accessible and should prove a successful first novel for this debut author. The handling of the gritty background, a bullying theme and a multicultural theme make it an interesting modern ghost story - always popular.