Angels on Sunset Boulevard

Like many of Melissa de la Cruz's books, Angels on Sunset Boulevard revolves around today's pop-culture. TAP is obviously inspired by MySpace and Johnny Silver is a fascinating character, despite many rock star stereotypes.

In many places, I was actually surprised by the twists and turns that the book took. It is, in my opinion, not quite as good as Blue Bloods but far better than the Au Pairs.

I'm going to have to echo Ramona Quimby here: "I can't believe I read the whoooole thing."

The synopsis sounded interesting: Teens are disappearing, and it has something to do with the massive social website called The Angels' Practice, or TAP. When a hot new music star vanishes from the stage of his biggest gig yet, everything starts to go downhill.

Sounds like it might be fun, right? The trouble is, the book never made me care about the characters--and I'm not really sure that they cared about each other, either. (Seriously, if my sister was missing, I would not be going over to a girl's house for dinner, no matter how hot she is.) The book read like a meringue, light and fluffy with absolutely no substance. Everything was told, not show more shown, unless the irritating lists of brand names were supposed to indicate the minute variations of who's richer than whom.

The book is copyright 2007 and already the constant brand-name-dropping is dated. It's also somewhat unfortunate that the TAP pages are all modeled on MySpace pages, when shortly thereafter the entire universe seemed to migrate to Facebook. People really seem to enjoy de la Cruz's Blue Bloods books, and I can only hope that those are better written and better plotted than this one. I doubt I'll be checking them out any time soon, though. show less

First off is it just me or does that look like Shannon Doherty on the cover? Anyway, I really enjoyed this book and boy will the ending shock you and have you hooked for the next book. I just saw on Twitter that Melissa de la Cruz is still working on Angels Lie and from Amazon it looks like it won’t be out until October. Another book to wait for!

I picked this book up because 1) I really enjoyed the Blue Blood books and am anxiously waiting for The Van Alen Legacy and 2) it totally sounded like something that could take place these days with Facebook, MySpace, etc. It’s kind of a scary thought of people using these social applications to prey on kids. I know there is some of this already but I was curious to see where this book was show more going to take that idea. I really liked both Taj and Nick and thought that they had great chemistry together. You get a glimpse into both their lives and realize that while you can have a lot of money it sometimes does not make up for the lack of a loving home life. I cannot say much more about the story without revealing the twist so let me just say this book will definitely leave you wanting more. I am actually a little surprise I have not heard more talk about this book. show less

Johnny Silver is the world's soon-to-be biggest rock star, but on the eve of his debut concert in los angeles, he mysteriously disappears, causing global pandemonium. His friend Taj tries to discover thetruth about his disappearance, which leads her to TAP.com and its shadowy founder, Sutton Werner, who throws the wildest parties in Bel-Air. Tap started out innocently enough, as a website that dishes the dirt on the kids of Sunset Boulevard and beyond. But it has become something more. Membership is a privilege with responsibilities and consequences. At Sutton's parties, anything goes, especially in the legendary backroom rituals nicknamed The Angels Practice. Rumors abound of a special drink handed out at the parties that tap into show more otherwordly sensations. One night Taj meets Nick, a westside preppie who doesn't buy into the Tap mayhem, especially since his kid sister never came home from attending one of its blow-out bashes. Slowly the two of them are drawn to TAP and to each other. But Taj might know more that she's letting on.... Are you ready for the darker side of Tinsletown's brightest lights? show less

Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com

TAP, The Angels of Practice, is all everyone can talk about. This website/drink/drug is intoxicating and no one can get enough of it. No one can explain what TAP really is, since it is all around them and they are so dependent on it. The company that owns it holds the most exclusive parties, grants everyone's material wishes, provides all the gossip and promotes the biggest rock star that everyone loves, Johnny Silver.

But then strange things begin to happen. Kids all over Sunset Boulevard are beginning to disappear, including Johnny Silver. No one knows why this is happening, and others are too busy with TAP to worry about what is going on. Everyone except for Nick and show more Taj, who are the only ones that don't buy into the whole TAP industry.

Before they know it, Taj and Nick find themselves together, trying to solve the mystery of what is happening and even developing a strong relationship with each other. Unfortunately, it may be too late for them to actually do anything about it.

Told through Nick and Taj's points of view, Melissa de la Cruz takes us into a world that is far from THE AU PAIRS. ANGELS ON SUNSET BOULEVARD captures the reader from the very first page with its unusual uniqueness. Each character brings a certain atmosphere that captivates the audience into wanting more. The reader becomes so involved in the story that they will soon become disappointed when the book has to end.

Now the only thing left to do is wait for the next novel, which may be a long wait (well, for me that is). show less

I just finished Melissa de la Cruz's new book called Angels on Sunset Boulevard. First of all, you can totally tell that this is going to be the first of a series of books. It totally leaves it open at the end.The story starts out with the disappearance of a HUGELY famous rock star right at the beginning of his largest concert ever. His girlfriend is in the audience and witnesses the event and is shocked and is worried about him. Johnny Silver met Taj on TAP.com (eerily similar to Myspace.com), a social community for teens. Johnny and Taj first because friends and then fell in love. After posting some of his music on his profile, Johnny's popularity sky rocketed. It was nothing but girls, parties, and music after that. Taj didn't like show more what was happening to Johnny and didn't even know if they were still technically going out, but she still didn't want anything bad to happen to him.Nick is a rich teenager with all the comforts that kind of life can afford him. He lives in a huge mansion, drives a cool car, and does basically whatever he wants because his parents are uninvolved because of their own busy lives. He does have a step-sister that he loves very much named Fish and when she disappears after a party sponsored by TAP.com, he begins to investigate the website.Nick and Taj meet at a TAP.com party. He realized that Taj has more information about the organization than he does and as he enjoys her company, asks her for her help. TAP.com throws the best parties around. There is a drink called TAP that everyone drinks at the parties that provides an overwhelming sense of peace and fuzziness. Like a drug, but totally organic. No one seems to know what makes up the drink though, so technically no one knows what it does to the person who is drinking it. There is also a special back room at each party that requires a password to enter. Behind those doors is where the rituals take place where someone gets "tapped." Nick and Taj become close during their time together, but Nick learns of some disturbing information about Taj that leads him to worry for her safety. This story is definately one for older, more mature, readers; at least high school. There are several instances of sex and the use of the "f" word more than once. Even though the content is for older readers, this book can easily be read in one sitting. The large print and amount of white space on each page makes it a super fast read. show less

Johnny and Taj initially met online at Tap.Com, a social networking site. Johnny, who DJs on a college radio station during the summer, contacted Taj and asked to be his friend. She accepted, listened to his show, liked what she heard, called to make a request and they've been together ever since. With Taj's help, Johnny has become an enormously famous rock musician and the two are soon hanging out in the elite club scene - particularly parties planned by TAP. Soon, they're part of the backroom scene; a space at any party that is an invitation-password only area. When Johnny disappears in a cloud of smoke at a concert, Taj sets out to discover whether the TAP scene is out of control. Taj meets Nick, whose younger sister has also show more disappeared from a TAP party, and the two begin to investigate. Chapters are written in alternating voices featuring Taj and Nick. The premise is an interesting one covering the contemporary club scene and the need to fit in. A quick read. show less