Creepers

This unconventional first novel bravely devotes its early chapters to describing the game - and art - of Creeping (travelling undetected through back gardens for the whole length of a street). Unusually, there's no mention of the narrator's name, but he tells a quirky, thoughtful story. His Creeping buddie, Jamie, is killed in a fire before they can attempt Derwent Drive, the ultimate Creep. When Jamie returns, having escaped the fire but afraid to face his parents' wrath, the Creep is attempted - and succeeds. This confounds the school bullies - Mark and Conno - and the narrator, until he discovers he's been accompanied only by Jamie's ghost. When Jamie is buried, many things are laid to rest; fear, uncertainty, bullying and the solitary state in which the narrator has existed. He's found new friends and can go forward. Creepers would make a superb class reader for Year 9 but, unfortunately, the frequent use of bad language debars it from this role.