My Date with Satan: Stories

MTV-generation readers will see some of their favorite targets--fallen celebrities, chat room junkies, privileged teens--lampooned in this energetic debut collection. Richter's 13 tales rambunctiously combine irony and sex, black humor and piercing glibness. ""The Beauty Treatment,"" the collection's strongest story, delivers a convincing look into the minds of overindulged kids, though its cavalier treatment of teenage violence loses some humor in the wake of recent school shootings. Another charismatic first-person voice drives ""The Island of Boyfriends,"" in which a suburban teenager finds herself shipwrecked among primitive hunks. ""Goal 666"" offers a witty portrait of a group of would-be heavy metal rockers, who despite their satanic trappings demonstrate a simple desire to croon sentimental love songs and bliss out. Other pieces aren't as spry; the title story concerns two chat room rough-sex partners who attempt some real-life interaction. The revelation that people talk tougher in cyberspace than in person holds little surprise. Similarly, ""A Groupie, a Rock Star"" covers some familiar territory exploring the life of a washed-up teen idol and his stalker/lover. The stories yield many compelling lines--though at times these hooks delight more in isolation than in developing character. Richter's voice holds promise and wit, and this book is likely to attract an appreciative audience among the younger generation of hipsters looking for a fresh spin on cynical sensibilities. (July) FYI: ""The Beauty Treatment"" won a Pushcart Prize in 1998. Other stories in this book are forthcoming in GQ, Granta and Seventeen.