Prue, Sally. The Devil’s Toenail. Scholastic Press, New York. 2004. ISBN 0-439-4864-3

Category/ level
Coming of Age/Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Characters 
Stevie- the main character who is a young boy in junior high.  He is struggling to fit in at his new school and to be apart of the popular gang doing everything he can to impress them.  His appearance is an obstacle because he has badly burned skin that is unnoticeable.

Claire- Stevie’s younger six year old sister who is a constant annoyance in his life.

Daniel- the most popular kid in school and leader of the gang. Stevie is always trying to impress him.

The Devil’s Toenail- a shell-like fossil that gives Stevie special powers that has a voice of its own. 

Plot
Stevie is a junior high aged boy who is trying to fit in at his new school.  He is constantly seeking the approval of the most popular boy in school, Daniel. Stevie wants to be in the gang Daniel is the leader of and does everything Daniel asks of him until he is asked to set fire to a garbage can.  Stevie has an intense fear of fire because the students at his old school set fire to him and now he has badly scarred skin.  Stevie wants to stand up to Daniel but does not have the inner strength until he finds the Devil’s Toenail (a shell-like fossil that gives Stevie powers).  With this magical object Stevie begins to think strange thoughts and finds himself being overtaken by the powers this object gives him.  Stevie finally has the strength he always wanted and conquers tasks he never thought he could because of the Devil’s Toenail.  Or so he thought…

Touchy Areas
magical powers related to the supernatural and the Devil, suicide.

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                         Max the Mighty- W.R. Philbrick

Evaluation
The writing was inarticulate and confusing at times.  I did not feel connected to the characters or the plot.  The main character is undefined and feeling sympathy for him is a task.  The explanation of the Devil’s Toenail is vague making it difficult to be convinced of its powers.  The book was however suspenseful and full of anger which can be appealing for some readers in the young adult category.  The hidden message of the book was very well hidden and would be missed by younger readers thus failing at impacting reading in any positive way.  The negativity and anger fueled by the Devil’s Toenail in Stevie could possibly create these same feelings in the readers because they would not catch onto the development of Stevie’s character.

Reviewed by Mary Michalski