SOLVED. YA, thriller / board games, rural setting [s]

[Delonthebeach]

Hi - well, here goes. It's a YA book, and I read it back around the year 2005, I think. It would have been published late nineties. Aimed at young adults. About a shy, fairly insular male character who strikes a friendship with another boy and he befriends his family, who are very poor. He has an older sister who runs a Dungeons & Dragons-type homebrew game that they both play, and the protagonist is invited to join in. The family run a local village shop.

The premise is that other nearby shops and businesses to the village are being terrorised by a local motorcycle gang, and it's up to the protagonist/friend/family to put a stop to it.

There's a few flashes of the book I remember - the older sister's in-game character is referred to as Jezebel; they first meet in a McDonalds. The twist of the book is that the friend's older brother turns out to be a member of the gang. The protagonist is surprised that the friend looks after the baby in the family instead of the parents, and washes his hair in the bath with soap and a watering can (due to poverty).

I remember this book being absolutely brilliant and sparking my interest in board games. Would be very grateful if anyone knows what on earth I'm talking about!

[Andria]

A Map of Nowhere

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Delonthebeach, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

Andria, are you 100% certain? If Delonthebeach never comes back, we can shelve this as Solved if you are.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

I was able to confirm the name Jezebel, the watering can, a meeting at McDonald's, and a biker gang.

No response from the OP. Moving to Solved.