Author: Graham Joyce
Publisher: Faber
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: July 2006

Do the Creepy Thing is Graham Joyce’s second YA novel after TWOC.

Caz and her best friend Lucy play an interesting game called the Creepy Thing. They break into a home and whoever’s turn it is sneaks up to the sleeping person in their bed. They then put their faces right up to the sleeper and count to 15. When the tension from this act mounts they bolt out of the house so as to not get caught. One night Caz is staring intently in a sleeping woman’s face when the woman abruptly opens her eyes and sits up clamping a silver bracelet on Caz’s wrist. Upon waking the next morning Caz discovers that the bracelet has disappeared and in its place is a strange glowing tattoo. As strange things start to happen in her life Caz has to wonder if the bracelet has brought a curse into her life, or not..

One of Joyce’s biggest strengths is providing veiled hints of the supernatural throughout a story. The intrusion of the Other is always a subtle one and even as the supernatural force starts to play a larger role in her life it never tips the scales too far into the realms of being overtly Fantasy or Horror. First and foremost it is a coming of age story. Caz’s teenage years of tumultuous change were wisely chosen by Joyce. But it’s important to note that Joyce never stoops to “and then she woke up” moments to slyly wink at the reader saying that this didn’t really happen. To his credit when Joyce places a supernatural element into one of his stories it’s meant to be there and there it will stay.

The most refreshing part of Do the Creepy Thing is the exploration of the striking dichotomy between the old woman and Caz. The old woman had always viewed the powers that come with the bracelet as a curse. They became a sort of scape-goat for all the bad things that she believes have happened to her over the years. Joyce fairly summarizes her life by letting us see that any perceived negativity or bad luck in her life wasn’t a direct result of the curse but of her own personality and by her actions. Caz on the other hand begins a search into the meaning of the powers and how they can be used. This search leads to a quiet acceptance of the powers that come with the bracelet. She emerges from this change soaked portion of her life with a greater understanding of her life and even a measure of wisdom.

There are other sub-plots throughout the book that are explored in detail: Caz’s relationship with her boyfriend, her best friend, her mother and her mothers’ new boyfriend (who, in the most horrific portion of the story, is her Math teacher). All of the relationships are eventually explored in detail. Like any real relationship they have their nuances, their quirks and their ups and downs. But they are also filled with loyalty, love and pleasant surprises.

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Topics: Do the Creepy Thing, Faber, Graham Joyce, Young Adult