by Keith Gray
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by Keith Gray
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by Keith Gray
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by Keith Gray
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by Keith Gray
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Product details
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
There is no surer way to gain kudos at school than being a successful creeper. To creep you have to avoid being snared or being called a "nambie" or "greenie", and above all you have to adhere to the creeper's code--never do it without a buddie. Jamie is the hero's buddie and a great creeper. Together they have attempted Derwent Drive- -the "speed creep", which is the toughest one in the village, a continual blur of dashing for cover, evading security lights and, finally, in No.50 five alsatian guard dogs. Only one creeper had previously made the distance--Carl, our hero's, big brother. On their first attempt Jamie got snared. Had he not been caught by Mr Doberman, then our hero would not have met his daughter, Ruth and felt the first stirrings of passion. Life, however, is like a creep--just when you think you've made it, you get snared.
A hugely enjoyable read by a powerful young writer; Gray was only 21 when he wrote this story, which deservedly reached the Guardian Award shortlist. This is an impressive debut, an original and highly compelling story about courage, conviction, friendship and loss that is both exciting and moving. An excellent read for any young teenager.
Review
A young boy discovers self-confidence and endures the loss of his best friend in Gray's uneven debut. As the story opens, the 14-year-old narrator - whom Gray never refers to by name - and his best friend, Jamie, are on a "Creep" - running and sneaking through neighbors' yards under cover of night. But when Jamie gets arrested, the protagonist is labeled a "Nambie" at school, blasted by other creepers for letting his "Buddie" get "Snared." Then a fire destroys Jamie's home, killing him. The narrator's grief and terror are dramatically conveyed; similarly, when Jamie suddenly appears at his friend's house the following evening, claiming to have escaped the fire completely, readers will feel the narrator's unbounded joy. Their only course of action seems clear, a creep to end all creeps. The thrill of victory is marred only by Jamie's absence; he really did die in the fire, of course, and now exists only in the protagonist's tormented imagination. Many readers will find the lead character's departure from reality too clumsy and contrived to accept. Despite the involving characters and setting, Gray doesn't convey the significance of creeping convincingly, thereby rendering the events of the story none too compelling. (Kirkus Reviews)
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