Character Analysis
No, Christopher never actually shows up in the book. And while this ordinarily earns a character minor-character status, since Chris's disappearance is pretty much the catalyst for the entire story, we figured we'd give him all-star billing. After all, if he'd never bounced, Torey never would've felt the need to find his body, and we wouldn't be here talking about this book.
We have a whole lot to say about Chris as a symbol, so you'll definitely want to check out the "Symbolism" section, but before you hop on over there, we want to take a moment to emphasize Chris's outcast status. He is one painfully needy, awkward, annoying, and socially inept dude, who not only doesn't know how to talk to his peers, but is also dominated at home by his mom.
In order to survive his hard life, Chris pretends that he is happy, that people like him, and that he has a girlfriend, but in truth, everyone basically just thinks he's an annoying loser. In other words, though everyone else tries to refuse his humanity, Chris clings fiercely to it, desperately trying to avoid the harsh reality that no one—and we do mean no one—treats him well.
Eventually, Chris runs away in search of another shot at life, though of course we don't know that for much of the story, which enhances our appreciation for just how terrible it must have been to be Chris Creed in Steepleton. Though we ultimately realize he hasn't actually died, it is crystal clear that after being treated so poorly for so long, he very well could have.