Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys (2014-03-04)

My favorite part of the book was the characters. Each of their tales were woven into the stories of the other characters without losing the voice of the individual.

I enjoyed reading about a unique space in time brought to life through the characters and their lived experiences.

This is a story about being true to yourself and dreaming big! It is a story about love, loss, and loyalty. Great read!

Loved this. Supposed to be young adult, but I totally thought it was appropriate for me and I'm 67. Good inside look at New Orleans and the characters were well depicted and sympathetic. One of the best books I've read this summer

Although this is definitely a Young Adult novel (and only the second one I've ever read intentionally), I found the subject matter Much-Older-Adult. Prostitution, drugs, the Mafia, and sexual predation were just a few of the things introduced into the storyline that made me wonder exactly what age would Y.A. cover?

The characters were interesting and well-fleshed out, but still just a bit stereotypical. I loved the setting: New Orleans in the 50's. And I think the author did a wonderful job describing the city and its denizens from that period.

Since I'm not a Y.A. (and haven't been for a very long time), I can't say how a 17 year old girl might react to this story. For me, it was a good, quick read.

GREAT BOOK!!!! Everything flowed smoothly. I can't say I connected with the characters, but that's only because my mom isn't a thieving prostitute. You have to learn to like Willie. Sometimes you want to smash Josie on the head, but other times you want to be there to tell her everything's gonna be ok.

I love mysteries and this has the added benefit of complex characters, social issues, wonderful context of New Orleans. Not sure I would have enjoyed it as much if I were the "young adult" which is its target audience.

Ruta Sepetys also wrote Between the Shades of Gray which I really enjoyed and lead me to read Out of The Easy. I like her descriptions and found the characters came alive. This was a page turner and an easy enjoyable read.

I thought the story was a little slow and disconnected at the beginning, but it got a lot more interesting in the latter half of the book until I couldn't put it down at the end. All in all it was a good read.

Ruta Sepetys writes in such a way that her stories grab you and suck you in. You are there. I didn't want to put the book down. Very well done. I also recommend her first book "Beyond Shades of Grey."