Out of The Easy Review

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Title: Out of the Easy

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Series: None

Publisher: Philomel Books

Publication Date: February 12, 2013

Genre: Historical Fiction; Coming of Age; Romance; Young Adult

Pages: 364

Format: Hardback

goodreads

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.

After reading Between Shades of Gray, I was hooked on Sepetys’ effortless recreation of historical settings and intriguing, untold story lines. She taught me about a part of Russian history that is rarely talked about, and, with her most recent novel, I have learned about the surreptitious happenings of the New Orleans underground.

After her mother abandoned her, Josie Moraine was raised by Willie Woodley, the harshest Madam of the French Quarter. Refusing to be sucked into the Big Easy and all that it has to offer, Josie has plans to escape the French Quarter and begin a life of her own, which includes further education. When a murder shakes up the Quarter and Josie, she must battle with her conscience and her dreams of a better future. Mesmerizing New Orleans soon turns into a battlefield as Josie Moraine defeats unforeseen encounters and defies all expectations.

Set in the sketchy recesses of New Orleans, away from the public eye, Out of the Easy is a creative, never-been-heard-before story of a girl who wishes to flee from the life she was born into. Sepetys takes the liberty of telling this story from the point of view of a character that no one has thought of before. I loved the way Sepetys created such a mystic and hypnotic New Orleans for her setting.

While this book captures its readers through its unique historical value, I quickly lost interest towards the last quarter of the book. The plot fizzled out, and, instead of making me turn the pages with curiosity, I was page-flipping with the sole purpose of finishing. The romance, which I don’t think was brought to its full potential, was underdeveloped. If it played more of a role in the plot, it would’ve added an element of suspense that this book was considerably lacking. I felt as if I was thrust into a high-speed story, and in the end, it fell short of the expectations I had set for it. Out of the Easy lacked a strong ending to match its powerful beginning.

The worth of Sepetys’ world building is priceless; I just wish that the plot line was as good as the setting itself. Sepetys’ previous novel Between Shades of Gray was more personal, and you could tell that the author was writing a story that she wanted to tell. Out of the Easy, while not absolutely horrible, was just…unremarkable. Creative, sure, but unfortunately unremarkable. 

The Ask and The Answer Review

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

Title: The Ask and the Answer

Author: Patrick Ness

Series: Chaos Walking #2

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Date: September 8, 2009

Genre: Science Fiction; Futuristic; Dystopia; Fiction; Young Adult

Pages: 528

Format: Hardback

goodreads

Reaching the end of their tense and desperate flight in The Knife of Never Letting Go, Todd and Viola did not find healing and hope in Haven. They found instead their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss, waiting to welcome them to New Prentisstown. There they are forced into separate lives: Todd to prison, and Viola to a house of healing where her wounds are treated. Soon Viola is swept into the ruthless activities of the Answer, aimed at overthrowing the tyrannical government. Todd, meanwhile, faces impossible choices when forced to join the mayor’s oppressive new regime. In alternating narratives — Todd’s gritty and volatile; Viola’s calmer but equally stubborn — the two struggle to reconcile their own dubious actions with their deepest beliefs. Torn by confusion and compromise, suspicion and betrayal, can their trust in each other possibly survive?

Tom and Viola have been separated. On two different sides of the Mayor’s regime, they have no way of communicating with another or even knowing if the other is alive. As the Mayor patiently attempts to convince Tom to join him in building his empire, Viola is struggling to resist the powerful persuasion of The Answer, a rebel group that hopes to defeat Mayor Prentiss and his oppressive influence. While Tom and Viola both fight for the same ideals as the Answer, they cannot help but question the future that the Answer plans for Haven and its citizens. With the appearance of new enemies and a turbulent plot line, The Ask and the Answer will question everything that Viola and Tom have been fighting for. In a world where nothing is secret and morality and principles are a joke, Viola and Tom must single-handedly fight to save their world and destroy anyone that threatens its future.

Ness does many thing very well, but one thing that he definitely needs to work on are his conclusions. After I finish a book, I would like to move on with my life without breaking down and crying every five seconds because I have to wait a whole day to get its sequel, thank you. All I need is a little closure in life. Is that too much to ask? These endings are worse than the Hunger Games series. And that’s saying something.

I love the dynamic connection between Tom and Viola. I appreciate how honest their friendship is, and how much they care for one another. They provide a profound contrast against the horrible world that Ness has built around them. Despite all odds, their characters are strong and defiant.

This installment paves a very welcoming road to the third and final book of the Chaos Walking series. With a staggering number of wars to win and problems to solve that even the most capable of protagonists probably couldn’t even take on, I am excited to see how Ness ends his series. I am also hoping that this series actually does end, and I am not left with some mind-imploding cliff hanger. Fingers crossed! 

Monsters of Men

The Knife of Never Letting Go Review

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go

Author: Patrick Ness

Series: Chaos Walking #1

Publisher: Walker

Publication Date: May 5, 2008

Genre: Science Fiction; Futuristic; Dystopia; Fiction; Young Adult

Pages: 479

Format: Hardcover

goodreads

Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought? 

I used to wonder what it would be like to read minds. After reading this book, I’ve decided it wouldn’t be so great.

Todd is the last of the boys. He can read minds, just like everyone else in Prentisstown. Men, dogs, cows, everything. He has no say in what he hears, and he has no say in what other people hear. There are neither secrets nor privacy. Some men break under the constant pressure of the Noise, and some hide underneath alcohol and its effects. Some embrace the Noise, while others hone it like a weapon that needs to be finely sharpened. The Mayor is one of the people that believe the Noise is a gift that is yet to be used to its full potential. He believes the Noise enables the mind to be a vehicle of power and control. When Todd escapes the oppressive Mayor and his town, he runs into a girl and is shocked to discover he hears nothing. The girl has no Noise. The shocking discovery is the start of many more findings that will not only change Prentisstown, but Todd’s entire world as he knows it.

After reading his novel, A Monster Calls (review here), Patrick Ness became one of my idols. I absolutely adored his book, and I immediately wanted to read every book that he had ever written. When I learned about the existence of this series, it soon became number one on my to-read list.

This book is not only a narrative of this unusual story. It is the embodiment of the voice of a boy who struggles to understand not only his own thoughts but everyone else’s thoughts as well. While the Noise is a seriously awful thing, whenever I read about it, I can’t help but think about How the Grinch Stole Christmas. How does it go?

“And then! Oh, the noise! Oh the Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise! That’s one thing he hated! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!”

Although I think the Grinch was talking about a different kind of Noise, and the Whos are infinitely happier than the citizens of Prentisstown, I still think that the message is the same. Noise = Bad.  

Ness creates a captivating story by using both the words themselves and how the words look on the page to tell his story. He uses different fonts, carefully placed punctuation, and even the white space on a page to create both art and a story. It is intriguing and mysterious and very hard to look away from.

Fair warning: You have to be a very strong person to resist the sequel. If you pick up the first book, in all likelihood, you’ll end up with reading the whole series, one after another.

Patrick Ness, once again, deserves five stars for his ingenuity, creativity, and expert skill at language. Reading more of his work is at the top of my list. 

The Ask and the Answer