Talons

Elliot Cross is a 13 year old boy who's father owns an owl sanctuary in their backyard. When Elliot's not at school, he's assisting his father in the aviary, cleaning the enclosures, and replacing the food and water. His teachers and peers think of him as bird obsessed, but in fact Elliot does not want to have anything to do with the large, sharp-taloned birds he cares for. Only when Elliot realizes that he has a unique way to communicate with the owls, that he learns to appreciate them. When his secret leaks to a girl at school, called Claire Cambridge, it leads both Elliot and Claire into trouble, and maybe a hint of romance.