Sunday, March 15, 2015

Out of the Easy

Out of the Easy
by Ruta Sepetys

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Historical Fiction

Synopsis:  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 to get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in a police investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street.

Jose is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld.  New Orleans lures her in a quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.
from the book jacket

Review:  I very much enjoyed Ruta Septeys' first book, Between Shades of Gray, so when I saw that she had another book I eagerly picked it up.  I was surprised to find that Between Shades of Gray was a young adult book because it was written in such a mature way.  This book on the other had is clearly a young adult book.  The maturity of the writing has become much more simplistic and I feel that I am reading a book that is much too young for me.  While some of the characters are decently developed, a few of the main characters are one dimensional.  Willie is one of those characters.  She seems kind at times but then at the drop of a hat she is yelling and is incredibly brusque.  I had a hard time keeping characters straight as they did not have common names and minor characters would be introduced very briefly and then many pages later be brought up again and readers were expected to keep them all straight.  Plus some of the minor characters were quite quirky and sometimes a little cliche.  I felt no emotional connection with any of the characters and I really didn't care what happened to them.  I hope that in Septeys' next book she can recapture the depth and emotional feeling of her first book.

Rating: 3 stars

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