Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.With characters as captivating as those in her internationally bestselling novel Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys skillfully creates a rich story of secrets, lies, and the haunting reminder that decisions can shape our destiny. (From Goodreads)
I picked up this book because - hello - 1950's New Orleans. It wasn't quite what I was expecting though. I think I was imagining something along the lines of The Diviners for some reason. I was at least hoping for a little voodoo, and I was definitely picturing something much more lively. Even though it wasn't anything like I expected, it was still wonderful. Out of the Easy is heartbreaking, shocking, inspiring and sweet all at once. Josie is the kind of character you want to help and be friends with.
I was kind of shocked by the candid and raw portrayal of a brothel in a YA novel. I mean, I was shocked in a good way. I loved the honesty. I loved the way Ruta Sepetys took the seedy side of New Orleans and still told a beautiful story. There's so much love and support that ooze from the characters, even though their situations aren't ideal.
This is a character driven novel - and all of the characters are so fascinating. There's the madam with a heart of gold - or actually there's an entire house of prostitutes with hearts of gold (or mostly of gold...). Even though Josie's mother is pretty much a terrible human being who forces Josie to grow up way too fast, she has an incredible support system. And the madam is a great substitute mother to her. She works at a bookstore for an ailing author and his son. They are also a sort of family to her. It's so beautiful to see the way we form families outside of our own - or in Josie's case how she doesn't have a family bonded by blood, but she has this huge extended family that she belongs to because of circumstance. Also, Jesse, the boy who I kept picturing as Shia LeBeouf in Indiana Jones, was pretty dreamy. A greaser with a heart of gold. Every single character in this book has an edge and a lot of secrets, most even have something to be ashamed of - but deep down they're complex and beautiful people.
Really, it's about making the best of your circumstances. Josie isn't given the easiest hand, but she manages to make something out of her situation. I relate to her need to get out of town, to go do something, to be someone. And she really struggles to get to a point where she can claim her own life - which ironically only comes when she lets other people help her.
I really enjoyed spending time with these characters. And can more people write about New Orleans? And the 50's? Please? I want more from this time period. I feel like it's a decade that gets overlooked and there's a lot of fascinating stuff happening around this time. But one of the really great things about this book is that even though it's tethered to a time and a place, it still feels timeless.
