Weekly Reads: Out of the Easy

Out of The Easy is the last book I read as a Printz potential title. It is set in New Orleans in the 1950s, and while I don't normally like historical fiction, I found this easier to follow than most historical fiction. Seventeen year old Josie is the daughter of a prostitute in a brothel that Josie maintains for the madam who acts more as Josie's mother than her actual mother ever has. Josie has dreams of leaving the Big Easy for higher education, but it seems that everything and almost everyone is out to keep her around. When a murder is committed, Josie is compelled to look in to the mystery further. This was a fairly fast read with a full host of compelling characters.

My rating: 4 stars

Goodreads Summary:

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.

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.