Reading this acclaimed YA novel as an adult, without being told Simon’s age, I would have found it difficult to pinpoint. At times, he seems older; other times younger than his 13 years. This is a book about coming to terms with loss. Simon cannot accept his mother has moved on. The ghosts of the story are many but of the psychological kind. Simon’s hate haunts the book as do the characters. Simon idolises the memory of his father, and moments when his inner demons get the best of him both torment him. Whether the ghosts of the ruined water-mill are real is another matter, but they’re real to Simon. The book’s full of tension and misery. Alas, I found it hard to like Simon and hence care about him because of his early attitude in the book where he doesn’t care what happens to his hamsters, even though he cares far more about a stray cat and her kittens later on. It’s a slight point, but one that may annoy some modern readers. Still, the book is compelling and I can see why it’s award-winning, mostly owing to the writing and the atmosphere the author creates. ( )

[This is a review I wrote in 2008]

**A Dark and Powerful Story - Carnegie Medal Winner**

A dark and deeply disturbing story of a boy overcome by hatred when his mum decides to remarry after his father's death. Even worse, is that she's chosen to marry Joe Morton, the man who embarrassed him at his boarding school Parents' Day, by turning up with his mum, no tie, in his flashy white Range Rover. Simon is torn apart with anger that his mum and little sister, Jane, seem to have forgotten his dad so easily. Having to return home in the school holidays, Simon explores an abandoned mill near his house, but there's something quite weird about the mill, and the way it's been left untouched for so many years. There is another powerful hatred here too, just waiting to be unleashed, and Simon is forced to face his fears.

Powerful and at times violent and deeply disturbing - a story for teens ( )