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I've tried and tried to write a plot summary that does justice to Out of the Easy (available February 12, 2013), a new historical YA novel by Ruta Sepetys, but it's just not happening.  The jacket copy says it well enough:

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 to get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in a police investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street.

Should she avoid Jesse, the mysterious motorcycle boy? Can she trust Patrick, her best friend at the bookstore? Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in a quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.

What the blurb doesn't quite capture is the richness that just oozes out of this very compelling novel.  From its colorful setting to its memorable characters to its heartbreaking plot twists, it's impossible not to feel this one.  Deeply.  I empathized with Josie from the very first page of her story to the last, which made her plight both personal and affecting.  The tale is a gritty one, to be sure, but it's also engaging, engrossing and inspiring.  Bottom line:  I loved it.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  Can you?)

Grade:  B+

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), sexual content, and violence

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of Out of the Easy from the generous folks at Penguin.  Thank you!

Rachel Girard

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

(Note:  Although this review will not contain spoilers for Scarlet, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from its predecessor, Cinder.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)

Scarlet Benoit has always loved her grandmother's farm near Toulouse, France.  From the earliest years of her life, it's been the 18-year-old's home, her sanctuary, her paradise.  The quiet, country life suits Scarlet, just as it does her grandma.  Which makes the elderly woman's disappearance even stranger—Michelle Benoit never would have left her farm, or her granddaughter, voluntarily.  The police may not agree, but Scarlet knows this to be true.  Something sinister has happened to her guardian.  And Scarlet intends to find out what.  She won't rest until her grandmother, the only real parent she's ever had, is back at the farm, safe and sound.

When Scarlet meets Wolf, a mysterious street fighter, she's intrigued—and not just because she thinks he might know about her grandmother's disappearance.  Something about the dangerous stranger makes her heart beat a little faster.  She doesn't want to, but trusting Wolf may be her only chance to rescue her beloved guardian from the clutches of a bloodthirsty gang.  Can Scarlet make it in time to save her?  And what do these people want with gentle Michelle Benoit?  Wolf says the old woman is keeping secrets, but that can't be.  Can it?  

Meanwhile, miles and miles away, Linh Cinder—the world's would-be savior—has been imprisoned by the ruthless Lunar queen.  To stop the evil woman from brainwashing the entire populace into submission, Cinder must find a way to fight.  With the help of charming "Captain" Carswell Thorne, a 20-year-old airman on the run, she'll give it her best shot.  But will that be enough to save Earth from a power-hungry queen with limitless power?  Will it be enough to rescue the man she loves from the woman who would make him her slave?  

As the fates of Scarlet and Cinder intertwine, the tug-of-war between the Lunars and Earth's population continues—with control of the planet as the ultimate prize.  Cinder holds the key to victory, if only she can figure out how to use it.  In the meantime, there's a grandmother to locate, a prince to rescue, and a deadly plague to stop.  It's a race against time, which is quickly running out ...

You may remember back in December when I gushed about Cinder, the first book in the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer.  Well, guess what?  Scarlet (available February 5, 2013), the second novel, is just as good.  How often does that happen?  Not often at all.  It starts with a new character, sure, but that doesn't matter as Scarlet's plight soon becomes just as compelling as Cinder's.  Plus, the viewpoint alternates between Scarlet and Cinder, guaranteeing the reader will never get bored with either story line.  With intriguing characters, plenty of action, and some fun plot twists, Scarlet keeps up the intensity that makes the Lunar Chronicles such a delightful series.  The only downside?  I have to wait another year to read more.  Boo.    

(Readalikes:  Cinder by Marissa Meyer)

Grade:  A

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG for mild language, violence and scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of Scarlet from the generous folks at Feiwel and Friends (an imprint of Macmillan).  Thank you! 

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Caren Gray never intended to return to the Louisiana plantation where she grew up.  Serving in the "big house" was her mother's ambition—never hers.  But, here she is anyway, walking the land where slaves once toiled.  If she'd been born 150 years earlier, Caren would have been working alongside those dark-skinned workers—her ancestors—cutting cane, polishing the master's silver, and raising a family in the tiny slave cottages that still stand on Belle Vie's vast grounds.  Instead, she makes good money managing the plantation, inviting everyone from schoolchildren to senior citizens to visit and learn from its history.  Maybe it's not the career she imagined for herself, but it works for the 37-year-old single mother.

Then, comes a terrible discovery:  the body of a young migrant worker is found on the grounds of Belle Vie. Murder.  Caren doesn't recognize the dead woman, but the vicious killing rocks her to her core.  She's always felt safe at Belle Vie (the plantation's ghosts notwithstanding), but now she worries—are she and her 9-year-old daughter safe living in such an isolated spot?

As the police struggle to find the murderer, Caren finds herself and many of the people she works with at the center of the investigation.  Caren knows she didn't commit the crime, but who did?  Was it someone who knew the woman well, a fellow laborer, perhaps?  Or a local, upset with the migrant workers for "stealing" jobs that could belong to him?  And then there's Groveland—plenty of people are angry with the corporation's aggressive land-grabbing tactics.  Could a fanatic protester have gone too far?  Or is the killer something less down-to-Earth?  Because, as no one but Caren knows, this isn't the first murder to have happened on the grounds of Belle Vie.  Maybe the slaves are finally getting their revenge ...

Although I didn't care much for Attica Locke's debut novel, Black Water Rising, I loved her sophomore attempt.  The Cutting Season offers just about everything I look for in a literary thriller—a twisty plot, complex characters, a vivid setting, skilled writing, etc.  Atmospheric and haunting, the story kept me mesmerized from beginning to end.  I don't give out A's very often, but this one definitely deserves—and receives—high marks from me.    

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a teensy bit of Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman)

Grade:  A-

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  R for strong language (a dozen or so F-bombs, plus milder invectives), violence and mild sexual innuendo/content

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of The Cutting Season from the generous folks at Harper Collins.  Thank you!