Angels on Sunset Boulevard, by Melissa de la Cruz
de la Cruz, Melissa (2007). Angels on Sunset Boulevard. NY: Simon and Schuster. 240 pages.
This is the first book in what I hope is a new series (or at least a trilogy) by "Ashleys" and "Au Pairs" author de la Cruz. Decidedly unlike the "Ashleys" and "Au Pairs" and deeper than de la Cruz's other fantasy/horror series "Blue Bloods," Angels blends mystery and elements of dystopian fantasy in a Scott Westerfeld-type way.
Narrated in the third person with limited omniscience, the novel follows Taj, the ex-girlfriend of an Internet music sensation turned legitimate rock star. When the rock star, known as Johnny Silver, disappears, a boy on the fringe of Taj's scene tries to make sense of the web of intrigue surrounding Taj, Johnny, and embedded in a popular social networking site known as TAP.
This book has it all: rock and roll cool (that, for once, is not overdone), social networking conspiracy, a slowly revealed mystery, and even a little twist at the open ending. Fans of de la Cruz will find the same easy to read but fast paced prose here as in her other novels, but may be surprised at how suspenseful and downright mysterious the narrative is. Unlike the "Blue Bloods" books, which, I think, pretty much lay everything mysterious out in front of you and which seem to take pains to resolve most of the suspense within a single novel, Angels slowly raises a number of questions and doesn't leave any of them answered. Again, unlike "Blue Bloods," and other series of its ilk, Angels doesn't manufacture a cliff-hanging hook in the last chapter to keep readers waiting for the sequel. Instead, the first book in the series (I hope!) answers a question readers may not have even posed and then complicates the other mysterious elements in the plot.
According to de la Cruz's website (link here), the author plans on releasing a second book, in the fall of this year (2008). I hope I'm not the only one sweating this one out.