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A review by renuked
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
5.0
It's a strange book that makes you say that your favorite character is a brothel owner. A strange book that makes you fall in love with New Orleans and hate it at the same time. A special book that makes you think and wonder and dream.
Everything was fascinating. New Orleans is really a city of sin. Half the men are absolutely sleazy and the other half are so adorable I want to squeeze them. There's gambling, drinking, mobs, and of course, prostitution. But as filthy as everything is, it is handled perfectly in the book. There was never anything uncomfortable. It was all just real. Fact. Things like this happened.
I really loved Josie. She was trying so hard to escape the life her mother had created for her. She was determined and reached for the things she really wanted. It's admirable. And the contrast between her and her mom was unbelievable. If Josie is everything good - her mother is evil. She steals and cheats and lies and is just overall a really terrible person. Some of the things she said and did to her own daughter made my jaw drop. Some humans are just evil people.
The boys - Patrick and Jesse - are pretty awesomely cute. Although I was totally rooting for Jesse the whole time. Flower sellers with motorcycles. Yum. But none of them were my favorite characters. Willie. I loved Willie. While she might have run a brothel, she used her money to benefit her community. She took care of her girls. The best description for her was given in the book: "evil stepmother with a fairy godmother heart." That was Willie.
Basically this book is awesome. There are some really tense spots. Sometimes you want to slap characters across the face. The mob politics get really crazy. And some spots you want to cry. It's an amazing setting, so vibrant. There's basically nothing about this book I don't like.
Everything was fascinating. New Orleans is really a city of sin. Half the men are absolutely sleazy and the other half are so adorable I want to squeeze them. There's gambling, drinking, mobs, and of course, prostitution. But as filthy as everything is, it is handled perfectly in the book. There was never anything uncomfortable. It was all just real. Fact. Things like this happened.
I really loved Josie. She was trying so hard to escape the life her mother had created for her. She was determined and reached for the things she really wanted. It's admirable. And the contrast between her and her mom was unbelievable. If Josie is everything good - her mother is evil. She steals and cheats and lies and is just overall a really terrible person. Some of the things she said and did to her own daughter made my jaw drop. Some humans are just evil people.
The boys - Patrick and Jesse - are pretty awesomely cute. Although I was totally rooting for Jesse the whole time. Flower sellers with motorcycles. Yum. But none of them were my favorite characters. Willie. I loved Willie. While she might have run a brothel, she used her money to benefit her community. She took care of her girls. The best description for her was given in the book: "evil stepmother with a fairy godmother heart." That was Willie.
Basically this book is awesome. There are some really tense spots. Sometimes you want to slap characters across the face. The mob politics get really crazy. And some spots you want to cry. It's an amazing setting, so vibrant. There's basically nothing about this book I don't like.