Take a moment and imagine what life would be like if it were perfect. Would you be rich? Popular? Have a large family? Well, in the intriguing Claws, Jed has drawn his picture of his perfect life, but then his picture actually becomes a reality.

As a junior, Jed is popular, the top singles player on the tennis team, has a girlfriend, and has two very adoring parents who love each other. Then a punk teenager mysteriously appears and begins making up stories about Jed’s father. Then, pictures start to appear, pictures of Jed’s father with another woman. He can’t believe it. Could it be true? Can his father not be the person Jed thinks he is?

As Jed delves deeper into the mystery, he begins to realize his father is not the only one with a secret life. Someone else has gone to great lengths to hide her true identity.

The more truth he uncovers, the more Jed’s life falls apart. Event after event happens until Jed finds himself in detention, bumped from his position on the tennis team, single and on the verge of expulsion.

This Missouri Gateway Novel Nominee is a suspenseful, action-packed novel full of twists and turns that will keep you reading until the last word. Written in the first person, you see the story through Jed’s eyes, what he’s feeling and the pitfalls of his life. Jed discovers that one’s life can change by the smallest of actions. With an ending you would never expect, this story uncovers the brutality of reality and shows how one teenager deals with it.