Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Goodreads Blurb

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.

So, just starting with this, I''m not quite sure why I loved this so much. When I think about it, the plot was everywhere and the romance was iffy...but, there's just something about Out of the Easy that just draws you in. Maybe it's how real the story is? How there are absolutely no happy endings, how once things look brighter, something, someone, just rips that hope away? Maybe how nothing is perfect, how Septys captures this perfectly imperfect world in her writing? Maybe, possibly, probably.

Just like Just One Day, there's no way I can use my usual reviewing...format(?) because like I said, I'm not quite sure what made me absolutely adore this book.While the plot was really all over the place, a few questions left unanswered, I think that it really does portray how the world is. You know that quote up at the top? "Books say she did this because. Life says she did this"? I think this book was more realistic than most others and just left those questions unanswered because they didn't need to be answered, I think. Or am I just overthinking?

So as there are in the real world, there are some...harsh characters. Willie seemed to me like a mother for Josie, sometimes cruel, but always there and always supportive. However, Josie's real mom? Talk about a character you're supposed to hate! And the other characters, the secondary characters...I loved how they were written. No matter how small a part they played, they each had their own story, their own reasons, and  some of them reminded me of people I actually knew, in a nicer way, of course...sort of.

I'm not quite sure how much this got me thinking how lucky I am not to have a life like this. I mean, this could actually be, for all I know, completely real! Everything touched me in some way and as a person who hasn't read Between Shades of Gray (never mind that it's on the Lone Star List, for all you Texans), I definitely have plans to soon! And hey, I can now brag that I've read Ruta Septys next book!

Stunning and captivating, Out of the Easy was an amazing read that entraps you with an engaging tale about a girl who's trying to find herself and her future in a bleak present. It'll make you cry, laugh, scream, all within minutes. This is not a novel you want to miss!

Pages: 348
Series: Stand alone
Genre: Historical/Romance
Publisher: Philomel Books
Release Date: Feb 13, 2013
Rating: 5 stars