Mommy's Angel

Angel is a 15-year-old growing up in Brooklyn with a mother who's hooked on heroin, while Marvin, Mom's boyfriend, supplies the dope and sexually abuses Angel. After Angel's brother Curtis is killed in a drive-by, Angel gets a job at a strip club in order to feed her sister and baby brother and keep the family afloat. When the strip club is raided, Angel must decide whether to prostitute herself to make ends meet. Miasha keeps things moving at a fast clip, but the basic empathy and understanding that pervade are the story's real appeal. Miasha (Secret Society ; Diary of a Mistress ) never loses sight of the basic humanity of all the lost souls that surround Angel. (June)