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djohan's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
stuckinafictionaluniverse's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
Färgen på drömmar (which translates to The color of dreams, isn’t that a gorgeous title?) is more known as Out of the easy in English. I read the book in Swedish but decided to review it in English, as I always do.
_____________________________
You have no idea how glad I am that I decided to try a book by Ruta Sepetys. If her debut novel turns out to be of the same quality, she’ll become one of my favorite authors.
After picking up [b:What I Saw and How I Lied|4052117|What I Saw and How I Lied|Judy Blundell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406786537s/4052117.jpg|4099124] last year, my love for historical fiction has grown immensely in a short period of time, and I have managed to find more than a few unexpected gems.
All the books have a sophisticated, charming feel to them. The authors show the glamorous side of a hypnotizing setting, and then dig into the ugly, bitter truth hiding behind that beautifully painted facade. The dirty secrets, the judgmental thoughts, the tricks and games.
Ruta Sepetys takes on a slightly different approach with Out of the easy, and manages to create a story full of emotion and subtle beauty.
Our main character Josie doesn’t belong with the upper class. Her days aren’t full of parties and drinks.
With an absent and careless prostitute as a mother, Josie was forced to become independent at a young age. Her two jobs include one as a house maid at the brothel where her mom works, and the other is at a book shop, where she also resides.
She’s living a somewhat bittersweet life in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
Josie wishes to go to college in a city far away, but those are foolish dreams for a girl of her position.
This is a story about loving people who are not deserving of it, about growing up and trying to break free of your roots.
The setting is impeccable. It’s the less glamorous side of the 50’s, but charming in its own way nonetheless.
Coming from someone who has never experienced the place, other than seeing it on the third season of American horror story, it felt like I truly were there.
Few adjectives come to mind when I think of New Orleans, and the French Quarter in particular. It’s a little trashy yet compelling, very wild and almost dreamlike.
Being a history lover, and having a slight obsession with the 40's and 50's, I fell in love with this book. Ruta Sepetys paints a believable and fascinating portrait of the time era.
This is what I want a good historical novel to do: make me feel nostalgia for a place and time I've never been to.
One thing I really liked about this was that it felt like a complete story. We see Josie grow from a girl to a woman.
I have a hard time pinpointing her character. She’s not likable, nor the opposite. She just is, and sometimes that’s fine. Characters with vibrant personalities are great to read about, but I find myself being able to relate more to the people who are seemingly mundane at first glance, and multilayered when you get to know them.
Josie is quiet and intelligent. Not someone you would notice in a crowd, and yet there’s something so special about her. You think that this person knows more than they’re letting on, and is one people shouldn’t forget, but sadly they always do.
Her character will surely not slip from my memory, because she is such a genuine one.
The secondary characters are all imperfect and quite harsh, and I couldn't help but love every single one of them. Even the main character's mother made me wonder why I cared about a woman who acted so cold and horrible towards her own child.
Although Josie is the protagonist, this isn’t just her story. It’s part of Willie’s, Jesse’s, Cokie’s and her mother’s, too.
I would’ve liked to see more of these characters, and certainly wouldn't say no to an entire book about either of them. Yes, Marchetta has spoiled me by writing [b:The Piper's Son|7417780|The Piper's Son|Melina Marchetta|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394240860s/7417780.jpg|9362085].
Final verdict:
A very well-written novel with plenty of depth and thought-provoking themes. I have no idea why these books aren’t more widely read. Highly recommended for lovers of historical fiction.
Färgen på drömmar (which translates to The color of dreams, isn’t that a gorgeous title?) is more known as Out of the easy in English. I read the book in Swedish but decided to review it in English, as I always do.
_____________________________
You have no idea how glad I am that I decided to try a book by Ruta Sepetys. If her debut novel turns out to be of the same quality, she’ll become one of my favorite authors.
After picking up [b:What I Saw and How I Lied|4052117|What I Saw and How I Lied|Judy Blundell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406786537s/4052117.jpg|4099124] last year, my love for historical fiction has grown immensely in a short period of time, and I have managed to find more than a few unexpected gems.
All the books have a sophisticated, charming feel to them. The authors show the glamorous side of a hypnotizing setting, and then dig into the ugly, bitter truth hiding behind that beautifully painted facade. The dirty secrets, the judgmental thoughts, the tricks and games.
Ruta Sepetys takes on a slightly different approach with Out of the easy, and manages to create a story full of emotion and subtle beauty.
Our main character Josie doesn’t belong with the upper class. Her days aren’t full of parties and drinks.
With an absent and careless prostitute as a mother, Josie was forced to become independent at a young age. Her two jobs include one as a house maid at the brothel where her mom works, and the other is at a book shop, where she also resides.
She’s living a somewhat bittersweet life in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
Josie wishes to go to college in a city far away, but those are foolish dreams for a girl of her position.
This is a story about loving people who are not deserving of it, about growing up and trying to break free of your roots.
The setting is impeccable. It’s the less glamorous side of the 50’s, but charming in its own way nonetheless.
Coming from someone who has never experienced the place, other than seeing it on the third season of American horror story, it felt like I truly were there.
Few adjectives come to mind when I think of New Orleans, and the French Quarter in particular. It’s a little trashy yet compelling, very wild and almost dreamlike.
Being a history lover, and having a slight obsession with the 40's and 50's, I fell in love with this book. Ruta Sepetys paints a believable and fascinating portrait of the time era.
This is what I want a good historical novel to do: make me feel nostalgia for a place and time I've never been to.
One thing I really liked about this was that it felt like a complete story. We see Josie grow from a girl to a woman.
I have a hard time pinpointing her character. She’s not likable, nor the opposite. She just is, and sometimes that’s fine. Characters with vibrant personalities are great to read about, but I find myself being able to relate more to the people who are seemingly mundane at first glance, and multilayered when you get to know them.
Josie is quiet and intelligent. Not someone you would notice in a crowd, and yet there’s something so special about her. You think that this person knows more than they’re letting on, and is one people shouldn’t forget, but sadly they always do.
Her character will surely not slip from my memory, because she is such a genuine one.
The secondary characters are all imperfect and quite harsh, and I couldn't help but love every single one of them. Even the main character's mother made me wonder why I cared about a woman who acted so cold and horrible towards her own child.
Although Josie is the protagonist, this isn’t just her story. It’s part of Willie’s, Jesse’s, Cokie’s and her mother’s, too.
I would’ve liked to see more of these characters, and certainly wouldn't say no to an entire book about either of them. Yes, Marchetta has spoiled me by writing [b:The Piper's Son|7417780|The Piper's Son|Melina Marchetta|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394240860s/7417780.jpg|9362085].
Final verdict:
A very well-written novel with plenty of depth and thought-provoking themes. I have no idea why these books aren’t more widely read. Highly recommended for lovers of historical fiction.
gkamens's review against another edition
3.0
Least favorite out of all her books so far, more light hearted than the others, plot and characters felt a bit disjointed at times
alicebme's review against another edition
4.0
LOVED this book. What an interesting set of characters.
jadeelizaerrez's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
You could really tell the author did her research. This novel is dripping with the texture of midcentury New Orleans. The storylines are very compelling and all the different characters dealing with their own situations create a really interesting tapestry. There are a lot of different avenues this book travels down, so if you’re looking for a tight plot and singularly constructed storyline, this might not be for you, but I found it compelling. Protagonist Josie seems a little too perfect to me sometimes, but I liked the book overall very much.
jmaschue's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
3.5
rosatulipan's review
3.0
General Reading: 7.5/10
Personal Reading: 7/10
This is a solid little story. Although I do want to (eventually) get into historical fiction, this genre is not yet my cup of tea. So, all things considered, I've highly enjoyed it and I read it in less than a week.
The characters were interesting and they made up for the lack of a strong plot. It's more of a slice of life historical fiction story.
Personal Reading: 7/10
This is a solid little story. Although I do want to (eventually) get into historical fiction, this genre is not yet my cup of tea. So, all things considered, I've highly enjoyed it and I read it in less than a week.
The characters were interesting and they made up for the lack of a strong plot. It's more of a slice of life historical fiction story.
reeyabeegale's review against another edition
3.0
I loved Salt to the Sea and honestly, I’ve been dying to read Out of the Easy since 2017 but have prioritized other novels. After reading this, I’m left a bit disappointed because I was hoping for so much more—I expected it to tear me apart, bring down heavy emotions but it didn’t.
At the start, it was okay, I loved how the characters were written to fit and embody the 1950s vibe (though I have no proof really cause I wasn’t born then). However, what I originally signed up for — the murder mystery and gut-wrenching emotions weren’t present or at the very least highlighted. The plot grew confusing and repetitive, I felt that there were things left unexplained and not elaborated.
I wish there was more of Josie and Willie. I wanted to read Josie’s struggles, and empathize with her.
I will read more of Ruta Sepetys’ novels because I don’t technically dislike her novels, they just have a habit of giving me incomplete feelings and unresolved issues but all in all, interesting story lines and dialogues.
At the start, it was okay, I loved how the characters were written to fit and embody the 1950s vibe (though I have no proof really cause I wasn’t born then). However, what I originally signed up for — the murder mystery and gut-wrenching emotions weren’t present or at the very least highlighted. The plot grew confusing and repetitive, I felt that there were things left unexplained and not elaborated.
I wish there was more of Josie and Willie. I wanted to read Josie’s struggles, and empathize with her.
I will read more of Ruta Sepetys’ novels because I don’t technically dislike her novels, they just have a habit of giving me incomplete feelings and unresolved issues but all in all, interesting story lines and dialogues.
edshara's review against another edition
4.0
I love when you find a book for cheap and it ends up being a good one. I’ve been interested in Ruta Sepetys for awhile now, thanks to BookTube. I decided to go with this book, because her other books seem like they would be more emotionally taxing than this one. I ended up really enjoying the story.
All the characters were interesting but I especially loved Cokie. I loved how loyal he was to Willy and how supportive he was of Josie. As a main character Josie was likable but frustratingly naive. Their were a few times I had to shake my head and say, “Girl, seriously.” Jesse was a dream and Patrick had an interesting storyline, I just wish he could have trusted Josie more (I also understand why he was reluctant). I really appreciated all the bookish references. I would have loved to see Josie’s Goodreads reading challenge, lol.
This wasn’t as much of a mystery, as I thought it was going to be, but the murder did make the plot move along nicely. I llke Ruta Sepetys’ writing style, it’s heartbreaking yet hopeful. While interested in reading more by her, I’m going to have to wait awhile before I take on her other books.
All the characters were interesting but I especially loved Cokie. I loved how loyal he was to Willy and how supportive he was of Josie. As a main character Josie was likable but frustratingly naive. Their were a few times I had to shake my head and say, “Girl, seriously.” Jesse was a dream and Patrick had an interesting storyline, I just wish he could have trusted Josie more (I also understand why he was reluctant). I really appreciated all the bookish references. I would have loved to see Josie’s Goodreads reading challenge, lol.
This wasn’t as much of a mystery, as I thought it was going to be, but the murder did make the plot move along nicely. I llke Ruta Sepetys’ writing style, it’s heartbreaking yet hopeful. While interested in reading more by her, I’m going to have to wait awhile before I take on her other books.
amandaskye's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0