Got wings?

This young adult novel by Sacramento resident Norma Howe has a lot to recommend: a cute teenage boy with a secret (he’s a guardian angel) and a past (he failed to protect his last human assignment), not to mention a mystery (who is he supposed to be a guardian angel for?) and a mission to get it right this time. Angel in Vegas benefits from a slightly snarky tone and obsession with relationships (and if you were ever a teenager, you know it’s true—most of your time is spent obsessing over what someone thinks of you). Even better, the setting provides all the glitz and Elvis impersonators we can handle. The only trouble is the premise—that Noah failed as guardian angel to a rather famous person we all know about—is too fascinating to be part of the setup. It was distracting to imagine the novel that might have been, also about fate and destiny.