Simon has ADHD, he lives on a New Town in Northumberland, it's the summer of 1976, and it's hot, big cracks are starting to appear in the ground. A gang called The Seaburn Batlads capture Simon and his best friend Squeaky when they are out stealing plums. They tell the boys that ghosts from under the slag heap are going to come up through the cracks. Terrified, the boys form their own gang called The Conker Boys in an attempt to defend their camp in the gorse bushes. After a second run in with The Seaburn Batlads, Simon, Squeaky and Rubba Knees adventure into the drainage tunnels under the New Town in a quest to win a fishing competition. If they succeed, they hope to use the prize money to buy a skateboard. The new town was built on a coal mine, and the dark secrets of the pit are lurking. Will Simon learn to be responsible and help is mother with the rheumatism that has put her in a wheelchair? Will squeaky work out if he really has a dad? Will Rubba end up in kid prison for messing with his dad's army equipment? New Town Ghosts is an adventure book that explores boyhood friendship, loss, coming of age, family, disability and the love we learn when we are young. This book is suitable for both children and adults, it explores spirituality, family, nature, the environment and the wild open fields and forests that were part of growing up before the digital world trapped us in front of screens.
