Summary by Goodreads:
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.
“Decisions, they shape our destiny.”
My Thoughts:
Josie, the female protagonist and whose story we follow, reminded me a lot of myself. Aside from the fact that her mother is a prostitute and the woman Josie most looks up to is the boss of a prostitution house—she was a very relatable character. Ha! She’s a young girl simply moseying about her life. She’s a Cinderella cleaning up after everybody just yearning for her own chance to go to the ball. She’s unhappy where she is, and we get to see her finally take the steps to leave the life she hates behind and venture into a life she could call her own.
Josie’s personality was very relatable to most teenage girls. She was independent, sarcastic, always seeking more for herself, and passionate. Her passion is what stuck with me. She was passionate in wanting to get away from her life, she was passionate and borderline obsessive over the man she met in the bookstore wishing it was her father, she was passionate about her goals and her work and her books. She reminded me of myself when I see a cute guy at Starbucks and then continue to think about him for several more months. She reminded me of myself when I had a passion to start this book blog and wouldn’t let the obstacles in my way stop me from that—granted, her obstacles were much larger than mine, like manic mobsters and predatory bankers, but her spitfire personality and motivation fueled her passion.
Out of the Easy was told by Josie in first person POV. It really worked being able to see what was going on in Josie’s head and it was interesting to see such a dark world from a young girl’s POV. We get to see how she copes with such evils around her, how the depths of New Orleans shape her thoughts, and just what it is that drives her to be the motivated, brave girl that she is. Seeing inside of her head allows ourselves to be inspired and starts a fire beneath us to follow in her brave footsteps. No matter our backgrounds or current situation, we can be like Josie and chase our dreams.
I sped through the first portion of the book. It was an easy, fun read. I got happily trapped in Josie’s relatable personality and the dangers of New Orleans in the 1940s-1950s and couldn’t stop turning the page to see just what would happen next. But as the story continued, there came to be too many unimportant characters to keep track of and a slightly anti-climactic close to it all that left me wanting another book.
However, the message it left me with was to be strong. You don’t need anybody to take care of you when chasing your dreams. Be like Josie. Be strong, be brave, be independent, and most of all, be motivated. Find what it is you want and make sure nothing can stop you or get in your way—not even the most treacherous of obstacles. Life is worth living and a bad experience doesn’t mean you have a bad life.
“They got everything that money can buy, their bank accounts are fat, but they ain’t happy. They ain’t ever gone be happy. You know why? They soul broke. And money can’t fix that…”
I recommend this book too…
…any young woman, to any teenager, and to anybody trapped in a life they think they don’t want for themselves. Take the story of Josie and let it inspire you to jump out of your rut. If you want a fun yet motivating read, then I couldn’t recommend Out of the Easy enough. This would be a great gift to your daughter or for your teenage friend’s birthday.
Comfort Guide:
Very few curse words. No uses of the “F” word. Mentions of prostitution but no details. Story takes place in a prostitution house, but there is nothing graphic or explicit while reading. One scene near the end where a man sexually touches a woman very, very briefly with little details.
Info:
Author – Ruta Sepetys
Published – 2013
Page Count – 346