There was a lot of twitter last spring about Ruta Sepetys‘ debut novel, Between Shades of Gray. It also got some buzz for being commonly confused with a certain erotic series that skyrocketed to popularity around the same time. But they’re definitely not the same. Based on research into her own family’s past, Between Shades of Grey is the harrowing story of life in Stalin’s work camps.
So how does an author follow that? By leaving Siberia and heading to New Orleans, that’s how.
Sepetys’ new novel, Out of the Easy, follows Josie, a seventeen-year-old bookworm with hopes of heading to Smith College in the fall. But nothing is simple for the daughter of a prostitute in the 1950s, and when Josie is pulled into the intrigue of a local murder case, it seems like her dreams of escaping the Big Easy may never come true.
I read both Between Shades of Grey and Out of the Easy as advanced reader’s copies, and I can honestly say that they’re both memorable, striking novels that will stay in your head for a while. But, on the whole, I enjoyed Easy a lot more. The plot and several subplots are pretty basic, as it turns out, but that’s okay, because Sepetys has given us an excellent protagonist to drive the story forward. Josie is strong, plucky, resourceful, and extremely likable. I loved that she wasn’t afraid to use her considerable cunning to her advantage. She’s scrappy. I’m a big fan of scrappy heroines.
No, Ruta Sepetys definitely doesn’t shy away from difficult characters and situations. That’s why her stories are so engaging. Out of the Easy is the perfect pick for a lively book club discussion, or just some entertaining, dramatic solo reading. Check it out on our YA shelf!
Read on, readers!
Miss Megan
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys; Philomel (Penguin); 17.99; Ages 14+
P.S. One of the main plot points of the novel follows Josie’s efforts to go to college out East. In keeping with that theme, Penguin is offering an Out of the Easy scholarship contest! Access full rules and a submission form here.
High school student Nora Grey’s world is turned upside down when she meets a mysterious new student named Patch. It’s obvious from the start that there’s something different about Patch, and Nora can’t even begin to imagine what it is. At first, Patch’s quick witty come-ons and open flirtation leads Nora to believe that he’s just trying to get a rise out of her. With the help of her best friend Vee, Nora is determined to find out Patch’s secrets and expose him for whatever he is. But as each of Patch’s secrets comes to light, Nora plunges further into a darker side of Patch’s life, one where her very life hangs in the balance.
Isabel–known to her family and friends as “Belly”–has spent every summer she can remember at a beach house with her family’s closest friends. She has spent each of those summers being the tag-along little sister to her brother and his friends, Conrad and Jeremiah. But Belly is determined that this summer will be different. She has watched her friends grow from boys to young men, and now it’s her turn–she’s finally come into her own, finally turned pretty. Suddenly the boys are looking at her differently, treating her differently. She realizes that long-hidden feelings may now have a chance to rise to the surface. But what Belly doesn’t expect is how those feelings affect her and those around her.
