Morris Gleitzman — Belly Flop

Pan Macmillan Australia Pty, Limited 2001 Paperback, 181pp. Mitch's dad, the town bank manager, has had to pull the plug on numerous businesses thanks to the recession, and this makes Mitch an obvious target for incessant and increasingly violent bullying. He turns to Doug, his guardian angel, for help despite the fact that his family think he is too old to have an imaginary friend. As Mitch attempts to win over the bullies by becoming a champion diver, his family's problems get much worse and it is only when real disaster hits the town that anything can be resolved. (ISBN: 9780330362573). Good.