Joe is flattered when Wayne, who is much older, makes friends with him. Joe's mum isn't happy though, and neither are his best friends. Gwen and James say, quite rightly, that Wayne's gang do everything Wayne tells them to do, and that Joe is just playing 'follow my leader'. When Joe realises that smoking in the garden shed and bullying younger kids isn't all that great, he gets out before the gang becomes involved in real trouble, like shoplifting. He at last confronts Wayne when he is bullying Gwen. Likeable colour illustrations.