So I held it in my cupped hands and I breathed deep, and as I did I thought about Daniel, and how much I wanted to have his sort of power.

And the fizzing of the devil's toenail went through me --- up my arms, and through me --- until I could feel it deep inside me. Deep, deep inside. And for a while I could feel it; but then I stopped noticing it, but it was there all the same. It was inside me. Its power was mine, and I was a new person. It was part of me.

Stevie is a desperate young man. He has been on the worst side of bullying and is living everyday with the physical, mental and emotional scars. Now he has a chance --- a chance for real power from this ancient formation found on the beach. The devil's toenail has a voice; it talks to him and is giving him exactly what he wants. Stevie is so ready to be part of the gang, to be like its leader, Daniel, and so ready to make everyone know that he, Stevie, is not afraid of anything. The magical powers from this small fossil have assured him that, from now on, he can do anything he wants.

As Stevie wavers in and out of reality voice, readers will be chilled to know how horribly hurt he has been and how easily he is losing his grip on reality. His relationship with his family gets twisted around an evil idea that they are in his way --- most especially his miserable, mean little sister.

Still there's a part of him that is hanging on to the real world, and several heart-stopping incidents bring him harshly into reality --- a reality that allows him to see who he really is and the hard work he will have to do to be truly himself.

Sally Prue has captured Stevie's voice, giving this story a sharp edge of reality. Readers will be both horrified and sympathetic by the events in THE DEVIL'S TOENAIL.