Book Review: Dirty Little Angels

Dirty Little Angels from author Chris Tusa presents a very dark side to being a teenager: Hailey Trosclair, growing up in New Orleans, is forced to deal with some heavy issues at her age. Her mother's miscarriage has erected a wall between her and the rest of the family; her father can't seem to find a job, or, to put it bluntly, isn't really trying to; she discovered her father's infidelity with a waitress; and her brother Cyrus takes to running with a local hood. At least she has her best friend Meridian to talk to. At least, until Meridian finds out that her boyfriend shows a decided interest in Hailey whenever she's not around.

I found the book to be rather bland. All the characters spoke with the same uninterested monotone, and I never found myself connecting with them or finding much of anything to like. Having Hailey narrate the entire book probably added to my feelings because she never showed much emotion and that transmitted to the other characters. Then again, a few times it appeared she suffered from some emotional problem that was never addressed or explained.

Tusa's descriptions of settings and locations were very detailed and presented the way a teenager would. I love his description of Moses' car: "a ratty green Omni with bald whitewalls and a broken taillight. It had yellow racing stripe, silver hubcaps, and diamond studded mudflaps." Those brief moments were my favorite parts of the book.

About the last 30 pages of the book, the story kicked into high gear with Hailey throwing everything away for an act of revenge -- something that, to me, didn't fit with the character I'd just gotten to know. I'm not sure why she went to such extremes. And worse yet, I wanted to know more. The story finally nabbed my attention but was over in a flash. I seemed as though Tusa tired of his characters and wanted to end the book.

I don't think I've ever finished a book feeling so unsatisfied.