The book that has me so desperately excited is Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. Let me say just a few words about the cover art before I really begin. I don't understand book publishers and the marketing decisions they make at times, but the image on the left is the original artwork while the image on the right is how the book was delivered to me from Amazon. To be honest, I felt a bit apprehensive and embarrassed about taking the book out in public with me. To me, it looks a bit like a cheap, romantic beach read. (Which have their time and place. I have been known to enjoy a "quick summer read" with the best of them.) This book is technically YA/Teen, but the story is so good that maybe the publishers are marketing to a whole new demographic with the new cover.
Out of the Easy is set in New Orleans and begins just as the city is celebrating the new year in 1950. Josie, almost 18, narrates her life in the French Quarter where her mother is a prostitute in a whore house. What Josie lacks in pedigree and motherly love and guidance is made up for with her intelligence and unwavering determination to be the complete opposite of her mother. She works in a small book shop with her best friend Patrick. Jo has rented a room above the shop from Patrick and his father since her early teens to avoid living in the whore house. Jo also works for Willie, the madame of the whore house, cleaning the girls' rooms every morning and being a sort of assistant to Willie. Jo's biggest dream is to get as far away from New Orleans as possible and to attend a college where no one will remember that her mother once attended a parent night in nothing but a fur coat because the teacher was handsome!
On New Year's Eve a well-to-do gentleman, Forrest L Hearne, Jr., comes into the shop to purchase some books. Jo is captivated by him, fantasizing that her father could be someone like Mr. Hearne. When he turns up dead the next day from an appaent heart attack, she is shocked. Even more so when she finds Mr. Hearne's expensive, engraved watch under a bed in the whore house. Jo gets caught up in keeping the secret of the watch even though she doesn't know who she's protecting. Soon she's protecting herself when the death is re-ruled a homicide because she's withholding information from the police investigation. As the story progresses it seems as if Jo is destined to a life in the French Quarter and everything that entails.
Honestly, there's so much more to the plot than just the few sentences I shared, but to share more would only confuse you and make the story that much less enjoyable when you read it. There are many other plot lines and colorful characters. Each one is fascinating and fully developed. Sepetys' writing is beautiful. She uses detail and description to move the story forward and enhance the character development rather than to impress the reader. From the moment I began reading, I loved her voice and have not put the book down these past two days. I'm seriously sad that the mystery was solved and that I had to say goodbye to Jo and the characters who loved and supported her.
Now I must say this. Read this book. I don't care if you are young, old, male, female, or think you aren't a fan of young adult fiction. Read this book! Half way through the book I double checked to see that this book was actually published for teens (it was.) It doesn't have the usual angsty, "I don't know who I am" or rising up against authority themes. Jo does struggle with her identity, but that's to be expected with a mother for a prostitute! I would recommend this story to anyone who loves a beautifully written and intelligent story. There's mystery, danger, humor, some commentary on society's social statuses, and just enough romance. The beauty of Sepetys' book is that never once did I feel as if she was writing to fulfill someone's expectation of what would make a good story. Instead, the story felt like how life really unfolds. Life is sometimes unexpected, frightening, unfair, and disappointing. But at the same time, we find strength in ourselves and those who love and support us along the way. Even in the midst of horrible events and circumstances something new and exciting can happen too.
Seriously, just read this book! This is Sepetys' second book. I actually own her first book, but it's in my office at school and I'm currently enjoying spring break. You can bet that I'll be reading her first book, Between Shades of Gray, also historical fiction, as soon as I get back to work!
