Review: OUT OF THE EASY by Ruta Sepetys

Title: OUT OF THE EASY
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Published: February 12th, 2013
Genre: YA, historical, mystery
Publisher: Philomel
POV: 1st person
Pages: 352
Format: Advanced Reader's Copy
Source: Unsolicited from Publisher

It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street.

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.

I highly enjoyed Sepetys's debut novel, BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY, so I was naturally curious and nervous when it came to her sophomore novel. Could Sepetys bring a different time and place to life with as much emotion as her debut? I was skeptical, so I kept putting off reading this story until I finally read Christina's (Confessions of a Book Addict) review and was convinced that I needed to give it a chance. Fortunately, all of my worries about this novel were soothed and erased within first few chapters. Sepetys depicts New Orleans and this story's characters richly and vividly. OUT OF THE EASY is one of those stories where you find yourself eagerly flipping the pages as the mystery unfolds. This book even proves itself to be a touching, memorable story, largely because of the exceptional characters. 

I never thought I would love a book involving murder, brothels, terrible mothers, gangsters, and love triangles, but I was obviously wrong. The characters all prove themselves to be fully developed, and not quite the people you initially expect them to be. While there is a mystery to be solved within the story, I found Josie's growth and interpersonal relationships to be more fascinating. She's growing into herself, trying to decide who she is and where her future will take her. Despite everything that holds her back, she's one tough cookie and I was on Josie's side from the beginning. All in all, this is such a challenging story to review simply because it was incredible. If you love authentic historical novels, wonderful characters, coming of age moments, and a touch of mystery and romance, then you need to read OUT OF THE EASY. You won't regret it. 

Highlights: The characters, the setting, the writing....Sepetys portrays everything vividly and with the right amount of authenticity. She gives readers characters to love¹ and hate ², along with settings that burst to life with each and every word. These characters make this story something special. Even the love triangle is expertly written. Plus, Josie works in a bookstore and she's a total bookworm, which makes her instantly awesome. 

Lowlights: I want more? 

Cover: I like the shades of green that are used, since I don't usually see too many green covers. The symbolism is nice, too. It's a good cover, but it's not the best one I've ever seen.

1 Jesse! Josie! Cokie (what a sweet guy)! Willie! I could go on and on and on...
2 Oh my gosh, Josie's mother. I want to slap her.

Top 10 Books I'd Give A Theme Song To

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

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1.  Delirium + "Open Your Eyes" + "Terrified" + "The Resistance (Muse cover)" = I got a little over-ambitious with three songs, but each work in different ways with the story.  
2.  Anna Dressed in Blood + "The Freddy Kruegar Theme Song" = Okay, so maybe only for when Anna's all scary and killing people. It only works well at those times (you think those scenes were scary? Try reading them to this music). Or maybe I should have just chose "Ghostbusters" ;)
3.  Before I Fall + "It's Not My Time" = Okay, so this is a little too obvious of a choice, but it's been awhile since I read the book, so it's the best I've got. 
4.  Between Shades of Gray + "Kenji" = This one is more of a "feeling" pairing because of the emotions song elicits. Slightly different yet similar situations, and the same heartbreaking emotion.  5.  Where She Went + "Over and Over" = For some reason, I just kept thinking of this song when reading Where She Went. I think "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" might work nicely too. 
6.  Tempest + "Fall For You" = Yet anther song that kept jumping into my mind while reading.... 

7.  Matched + "Window" = I just love the gorgeousness of this music, and think it goes nicely with the lyrical mood of Matched. 
8.  The Lord of the Rings + "Frodo, Don't Wear the Ring" = Okay, this one is a little ridiculous, but amusing. And yes, I was running out of song ideas at this point. 

That's all I've got! It was much harder to give a book a theme song than I originally thought it would be ;)
What book + song pairing would you make?