ANGELS ON SUNSET BOULEVARD

Sex, drugs and rock-’n’-roll, combined with a popular internet cult, dominate this mystery about the dark side of finding fame in Los Angeles. Rick is new to TAP, the website all the kids haunt, but Taj is a founding member. When a new rock star popularized by TAP literally vanishes, Rick and Taj try to find him. Every week TAP sponsors parties, gives participants a drugged drink and holds secret rituals in dark back rooms. Worse, kids disappear, including Rick’s young sister. As Rick and Taj delve deeper into the mysteries of TAP, serious consequences ensue. De la Cruz hits all the buttons sure to entice YA readers. Fame, wealth, music, romance, ultra-hip characters and looming danger abound. She deftly spins it all together in an angels-or-devils story that grows ever darker, but ends with a twist. A Faustian morality tale and a certain hit. (Fiction. YA)