The History of Vegas

The adolescent narrators in this smutty, sad and occasionally violent debut collection are neglected, nearly grown children of the American West. In the title story, a 17-year-old finds himself duped by a "jailbait" hooker and then kidnapped by the very uncle he, his mother and his abused aunt went to Vegas to escape; the cliffhanger ending has the clipped pseudo-profound dialogue of a crime flick. Angel is best when she reveals the disappointment her characters are in for, but can only half see. In "Rounding Third," an unnerving wail interrupts Norma Jean and her boyfriend, Spark, as they attempt to celebrate her 17th birthday in a cheap motel. They discover an abandoned infant in an alley, which Norma Jean takes as a sign that the three of them should "get on the highway and go South." When Spark proves undependable, she makes an ugly bargain with the motel owner for a few more night's lodging. Sexual degradation and loss of innocence are the norm: stories feature light incest, a lesbian hair-grooming scene and wooing by fried chicken. Some of them are oddly tensionless, and though Angel documents the difficulties of family life, particularly sibling responsibility, these stories aren't the ones that readers will turn to for insight. (July)