Beautiful Children by Charles Bock

 

Charles Bock grew up in Las Vegas and he uses that city for his novel's setting.  We meet a variety of characters, each with dreams that can't be achieved due to weaknesses in the character.  Much of the plot focuses around Newell, the twelve-year old son of Lorraine and Lincoln.  Newell goes out one evening with an older friend the parents have never met and doesn't come home.  The parents don't know how to find the guy Newell was with as they only know his first name, Kenny.  

Lorraine used to be a dancer in one of Las Vegas's revues but she gave that up when she married Lincoln.  He works as an event planner in one of the big hotel/casinos.  Their marriage was already strained before Newell's disappearance and that strain stretches to the breaking point after it.  Lorraine tries a variety of things to  fill her time, ending up working for an organization that helps homeless teens.  Lincoln works more and more.

Another set of main characters are Cheri Blossom and Ponyboy.  Cheri is a stripper who came to Vegas to be an actress.  Now, she has huge implants and they even have a hollow in which candles or sparklers can be inserted.  She lets Ponyboy convince her to do things she would never consider without him.  Ponyboy cheats on her constantly, uses her for money and so he doesn't have to work and constantly comes up with schemes to make money.  He knows some things about Newell's disappearance the night of the big concert in the desert for the underground but he's not talking about that.

Throughout, the city is seen as a temptress that takes the dreams of the characters and warps them into unrecognizable shapes, always unobtainable.  The novel focuses on the plight of runaway teenagers and most big cities are full of them, the kids who were throwaways or who fell into drugs or were abused at home.  There are resources in the back of the book where these teenagers can find help.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.