Product details:
Publisher: Penguin Books.
Paperback, 346 pages.
Release date: March 7th 2013 2013.
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Ages: 14+
Reviewed by: Arianne.
Out of the Easy is set against the vivid backdrop of 1950s New Orleans. Written by New York Times bestselling author Ruth Sepetys, this novel has something for everyone: love, mystery, murder, blackmail and warmth.
Josie Moraine wants out of The Big Easy - she needs more than New Orleans can offer. Known locally as a brothel prostitute's daughter, she dreams of life at an elite college, far away from here.
But then a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie caught between her ambition and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans is luring Josie deeper in as she searches for the truth, and temptation beckons at every turn.
Josie Moraine is the daughter of
a prostitute. Her mother lives in the gutter and she has no plans to leave it –
but Jo is everything her mother is not, and she knows she can’t let the Big
Easy drag her down.
This is one of the most beautifully
crafted books I’ve ever read. Historical fiction can be famously long-winded
but here the short and snappy vibe of the New
Orleans setting encourages the plot to grow in a very
organic, engaging way. 1950s New
Orleans is a shady world, so far unexplored by young
adult fiction. Sepetys takes the opportunity to play with the era. It is no
less historically accurate but there is more flamboyance, more excitement, more
theatricality, and I really enjoyed that.
Out of the Easy's story is
defined by alternate bursts of daring and restraint. Ruta Sepetys has a
track record of writing emotionally brutal books, of capturing stories that
need to be told, but she brings a balance and depth to this book that I really
wasn't expecting. It’s as the words are a skeletal outline; just a surface
shimmer of what lies underneath. So much is left to the imagination; the reader
never has to work to keep up but filling in the blanks reinforces the fact that
some of the best stories are filled with things left unsaid.
There are a lot of contenders in
the literary world for the title of Worst Mother in History, but I think it’s
safe to assume Josie’s mother trumps them all. It’s not her profession that
defines her. Some of the brothel cast are wonderful – in an environment we
would assume strips all their power and worth from them, they are strong,
strangely empowered and surprisingly self-righteous. Dora in particular stands
out here. Josie’s mother is nothing like these colourful and vibrant
characters. She is spineless, uncaring and vague in that way that makes you
think she probably wasn’t born with the ability for self-respect. As a reader
you want all characters to somehow be redeemed, but with Josie’s mother most
will be hoping to see her sink down further and stay there.
Jo, on the other hand, is
absolutely brilliant. She’s seen the bottom, and she knows she never wants to
see it again. I loved that she kept her wits about her and never denied the
fact that her escape from New Orleans
would be difficult. She’s not an air-headed dreamer. She’s level-headed
- practical. That said, she can still whip out a gun faster than a man
could blink, and she is incredibly, fantastically brave. She has ambitions that
lie beyond the sleazy confines of New
Orleans, even if the city has other plans in mind
for her. The seedy underbelly of the Quarter tries to sink its claws into her
at every turn, and she has no choice but to fight her way out if she's to
survive at all.
In Ruta’s previous book, Between
Shades of Gray, there’s emphasis on tragedy lost in the swarming quagmire of
modern history. Unfortunately, I found it didn’t fully come to life – I was
devastated by the story, but I was more affected by the harrowing
factual events of the narrative than the perspective of the characters
within it. There is no such discrepancy here. The New Orleans of Josie's
experience is both lively and disgusting; it's dirt poor and super rich. All
her memories are wrapped up in a world of women selling themselves to men in
return for pearl necklaces and enough money to fuel their addictions for
another week, but Jo wants more than that from her life. She wants education;
she wants self-worth and the strength to stand on her own two feet. Love
doesn't even cross her radar until she begins to feel it for herself.
I adore Jesse. He's a kind of
James Dean figure in the book, leaning on his battered car and looking all
handsome, but he too has a past he'd rather leave behind. He contrasts so
perfectly with Patrick, Josie's other potential love interest (though it's
certainly not a love triangle by any means - it's rare that all three
characters are seen at the same time). The romance was sweet but of course,
it's never without strife.
Out of the Easy is a
character-driven novel but a well-planned plot surrounds it, though the book is
slow to start. Fans of mysteries will appreciate the complex and criminal
murder plot. If I had to choose between the coming-of-age story and the
crime-solving, I’d take the coming-of-age, but it’s a great addition to the
novel and really makes it stands out from the crowd.
In short: Some books have nice
flow; a good line here and there. Out of the Easy is a waterfall. It is not
immediately perfect; it teeters on the edge of the precipice, and then within
its final chapters, it tumbles into the abyss of pure magnificence. A classic.
Originally posted at: Reading with ABC
I felt the same way about this book. I absolutely LOVED it...one of my favorites of 2013. And you are so right about Jesse…definitely reminded me of James Dean as well. I thought Sepetys did a great job bringing life in New Orleans in the 1950s to life. Fantastic review, Arianne!
ReplyDeleteWonderful review, Arianne! I absolutely loved Between Shades of Gray and I really must get around to reading this one soon. I've heard all good things! :)
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