Claws (review)

On the run from his abusive mother, Cody has learned to fend for himself; at fourteen, the veteran of months in hiding, he is already a tough customer. After taking a job on the Sam Houston Tiger Ranch, Cody must marshal all of his courage, as the big cats will maim and even kill their handlers unless they follow safety rules meticulously, and the only way to command respect is to swat aggressive tigers on the nose. Under the tutelage of ranch owner Sunny, Cody ultimately finds he has a talent for handling tigers, even the enormous and unpredictable Brutus (volatile because of abuse by his previous owner), and finds in Sunny a sympathetic ally. When the police come around questioning the ranch hands about Sunny's missing brother, Wayland, Cody finds himself embroiled in a mystery, determined to find out what really happened to Wayland. Meanwhile, Cody's mother has finally tracked him as far as Texas and has been making inquiries of her own. Animal fans will enjoy the attention to detail in this respectful and sympathetic treatment of the majestic big cats (an author's note explains Greenburg's experience at a similar ranch). The writing is largely flat, though, and the human story is often heavy handed, as in periodic flashbacks to Cody's abuse by his mother and the B-movie mystery plot. Readers will nonetheless enjoy the animal story, and they will be intrigued to see that some of the same techniques—never turning one's back or showing fear—that work to wrangle tigers also work with abusive mothers and scheming ranch hands. When it comes time to face human predators down, Cody is ready.