Rating: 
Summary: Full of twist and turns that will leave you shocked for sure
Review: This book is about Jed Berg, a junior in high school, that has everything going for him. That is, until a punk chick Geretrude tells him an astounding secret that will change his life forever. In this romance/suspenseful book, Jed goes through a test of bravery, trust, secrets, and love that will teach him what life is really about.
One thing I liked about this book was that it really showed how much reality is really in everyone's life. It shows that no matter how great everything is going for you, it can be just as easily destroyed in the amount of time it took to build it up. A couple of things that I didn't like about this book was that it was hard to get into in the beginning. It just kept on going on and on about things that didn't matter in the plot. I also didn't like the ending of the book because it made no closer to the problem in the book.
This book is similar to no other book I've ever read.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes action, suspense, and somewhat romantic books. This book can be for a boy or girl.
Rating: 
Summary: Richie's Picks: CLAWS
Review: "When life looks like Easy Street, there is danger at your door."
--Grateful Dead "Life will sooner or later show its claws."
--Anton Chekhov Jed Berg is feeling pretty good about life: "Say you're finally sixteen and things are coming together. In the space of six months you got your driver's license, grew sideburns, landed a major girlfriend, made number one singles in varsity tennis. Like pieces of a puzzle--a bird, a cloud, blue sky, yellow sun--things are falling into place." Jed even feels good about his parents, who have successful careers and who--unlike many other kids he knows--are actually together. "In fact, your friends admire both your parents. They don't mind hanging out at your house because your father (an architect) jokes with them, which means he takes them seriously, and your mother (an attorney) bakes them ginger cookies and chocolate bars. Even [your girlfriend] Cassie says, 'You've got the coolest parents.' " But then there arrives the mysterious note for Jed requesting a meeting at a restaurant--a busy teen hangout: "She stared at me. Bright-pink hair above heavy black eye shadow plus enough metal in her nose to make airport detectors beep at fifty yards. Dark, gothy clothes." This young stranger's message for Jed: "Your father is sleeping with my mother." "All your children are poor unfortunate victims of lies you believe A plague upon your ignorance that keeps the young from the truth they deserve..."
--Frank Zappa CLAWS is a harrowing tale of what can happen to children because of their parents' behavior. What occurs as a result of this revelation is a story of two families caught in a downward spiral with the kids in the middle. My fascination with what will happen next to Jed and the pink-haired punk chick kept me white-knuckled and up late until the story reached its conclusion. Set near Duluth, Minnesota, the book's cover photo of a canoe cutting through a time-lapse blur of trees, water, and sky provides a perfect complement to the out-of-control events that lie within. " 'Well, back to work,' my father said to me. His voice sounded odd, but maybe it was my ears shutting down. Like the rest of me. I pretended to yawn.
" 'Maybe I will take a little paddle in the canoe,' I said. 'I'm getting the drift of things here.'
" 'Sure, Jeddy, fine,' he said quickly. 'Go ahead. And take your time, son.'
"Son. God I hated this day.
"I headed down to the canoe. He didn't even remind me to wear a life jacket." CLAWS rips apart Jed Berg's notion of his perfect life. And CLAWS sure as heck grabbed me. Richie Partington
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT!
Review: I have to say, when i started reading this book, i wasn't convinced that it would be good. However, after a few pages i was hooked! Beginning simply as a story about a seemingly perfect father having an affair, it turns into so much more, as the story evolves into a romance between the son and the "other woman's" daughter. I would love to say more, however, it's soooo much better if the ending is a surprise! Lets just say this, you'll laugh, you'll cry, and then you'll cry some more! All in all, this is an excellent book, and i would definitely suggest it!
Rating:
Summary: Grabs Your Attention
Review: I really connected with the character Jed Berg and followed his story with interest. I liked his honest and fun narration. At first this book felt like a mystery, then after the discovery and revelations take place, everyone has to deal with the consequences. I was completely drawn in. It felt real. I didn't like the end of the book as much as the beginning and middle. During the Ded Beets Chapter I kept yelling at him to smarten up (which I suppose is a good thing, since I got so involved). I highly recommend this book, especially to teenage guys (finally a book that most guys will like, most YA books I read are tailored more to girls).
Rating:
Summary: Jed Berg Faces the Darkness
Review: Jed Berg is the object of every high schooler's envy, handsome, smart, has a gorgeous girlfriend, a senior, has professional parents, security, a path to success. But one day he realizes his family is not so rosy as they seem when he receives communications from an outsider, a disgruntled girl from another town and high school, who is enraged that Jed's father is having an affair with the girl's mother. The girl demands that Jed confront his father and put a stop to the affair. This revelation forces Jed to look beyond a superficial definition of the good life and see his parents, especially his father, with a critical eye. A page-turner, Claws shows a boy who, fighting for his sanity in the face of his father's scandal, loses his innocence and must replace his Pleasantville existence with a more mature and sturdy worldview.
Rating:
Summary: what happened to the end?
Review: Jed's got a great girlfriend, good grades, and a star rike in the tennis team. He figures his life is pretty well perfect until he gets a note telling him to meet at a nearby cafe. He shows, and this pink-haired punk girl sits down and tells him that his father is having an affair with her mother. Angst, angst, stuff falls apart, and in the end it all comes down to a kayak, a sudden storm, and a rescue by helicopter. I was okay with this one (good, solid read even if I liked Zipped by Laura and Tom Mcneal MUCH more as a variant on the whole parent-having-an-affair thing) up until the last chapter, which came completely out of left field. The ending didn't fit with the rest of the tone and story, and left me feeling vaguely cheated as a reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Warning - Tearjearker
Review: Jed's life couldn't be more perfect; he has a cool car, a hot girlfriend, and a small circle of friends. At the end of junior year he finds himself being stalked and harassed by a pissed-off goth girl who is convinced that Jed's father is having an affair with her mother. Jed is a nonbeliever until Laura produces photo evidence. Some investigation on Jed's part reveals that Laura isn't all she seems either. As the two teens begin to meet regularly to discuss what to do about their wayward parents and the impending breakup of their families, they bond, and come to care for one another. To add to their problems, Laura's troubled thirteen year old sister runs away, and Laura and Jed go after her. Tragedy strikes. This is a heartbreaking book that reminded me of Garret Keizer's God of Beer (Harper, 2002). Weaver pulls the same tricks as Keizer and adult tearjerker writer Nicholas Sparks: everything's fine, everything's fine, everything's fine, WHAM! someone you care about is unexpectedly dead. An allusion to the popular Sims game helps to drive home the hard-learned lesson that no matter how you plan, and in spite of all the things you can do right, life is unpredictable and unfair, but things work they way they do for a reason. Recommended for most collections.
Rating:
Summary: A very good book.....
Review: Jed's life is perfect. There are no problems. No worries. But now, that is about to change. One event changes his life, forever...
I really enjoyed reading this book. It's gritty, harsh, and real. It's spiritual.
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes You Get Thrown a Curveball
Review: Not many teenagers have everything in their lives perfect. But Jed Berg does! Every aspect of his life seems to be good. This book shows you how one person's actions can almost totally ruin a person's life. Jed has never had a real problem to face in his life except when there is a note left on his Dad's Camaro while he is in school. The note basically says, "meet me at the diner, We NEED to talk. It's important." He goes not knowing who is going to be there, when he shows up, there is a girl that he has never seen before. She tells him something that will change his life forever. After this Jed hits rock bottom And there is nothing really anybody can do to help him. Jed Berg is really having a tough time here but sometimes in life you get thrown a curveball and you just have to learn how to deal with rotten situations. I really enjoyed this book and it is good for both girls and boys in junior or high school. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a good, realistic, fiction book.
Rating:
Summary: The CLAWS of ife.
Review: Set in present time in Minnesota, "Claws" is a story of a teenager boy, Jed Berg, and his struggle with his family. When a note from a strange girl suddenly apperas on his car his life will be forever changed.
This book kept me really kept me reading on. I always wanted to keep going. This is very unusual for me. Normally, I get readers block and just stop reading all together. I was really focused and into this book. I enjoyed the tension Jed had with his father. The struggle Jed had with confronting his dad was exciting, and you always wanted to see what was going to happen. The situation with Jed and "Gertrude" was very interesting. It kept me guessing all the way through. It seems like it switches from anger to happiness each sentence. I like where the book takes place also. It is different from where I am, so I found it more interesting. It's in the northern forest and a lot of the story has to do with kayaking and camping. I can't imagine this story if it was set somewhere else. This book is very good, and will keep you reading all the way to the end. I really enjoyed it, and will recommend it to anyone. I do not read all the time and I usually don't enjoy it, but I really liked reading this book. It is very exciting, and will leave you shocked.
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