"...that's the game: fighting against the screaming need to run. But you don't. You breathe through it, and you put one foot in front of the other and you keep going. You don't even know why." Pg 34.
Caz and Lucy thinks it's pretty cool to do the Creepy Thing. After all, it's just a game. No one gets hurt, right? But Caz plays one game too many and gets more than she bargains for. MUCH more.
Caz believes she's been cursed. Her life is now chained to the hag who lives at 13 Briar Street and she's being stalked by a terrifying shadow-person. What does it want? And how can Caz get her life back?
Maybe the answers are to be found in the seedy Black Dog pub, or the hair-raising church, or down at the tattoo parlour. One thing is for certain - Caz wont be doing the Creepy Thing again.
Anyone who knows me has probably heard me mention Graham Joyce once or twice, and while I have not read all of his books so far, I can safely say that anything he writes is a wonder to behold.
In this, one of Graham's few Young Adult titles, the story begins with two girls - Caz and Lucy - both of whom are restless in their small England town. To stave away the boredom they do the 'Creepy', essentially sneaking into other peoples homes in the middle of the night when all is silent and sleeping. Not to steal, just to take it in turns to stare at the sleeping residents face for fifteen seconds. The reason? Fifteen seconds can last a long time and the adrenaline that courses through Caz and Lucy during those times is as addictive as any drug. What's more, they know they should stop, but find it beyond their ability to do so.
That is until during one 'Creepy' their subject wakes up and slaps a silver bracelet on Cazs' wrist. Then things get really interesting...
I love Graham Joyce's works. I love the way he writes, the way he pulls you in when you least expect it, and especially the goose-bumps gained as a result. Granted, I do not think his Young Adult novels are as gripping as his Adults ones are - this is still a thrilling and exciting ride. Do you dare take it?
Published by Faber and Faber - July 2006
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