Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys - PUBLIC ONLY

Sepetys, Ruta  Out of the Easy, 346 pgs.  Philomel Books, 2013.  $17.99  Content: Language: R (25 swears), but very crass language); Mature Content: PG-13;  Violence: PG-13.   

Josie is the daughter of a prostitute and from an early age she is taken in by the women at the brothel that her mother works.  Although Josie’s mother isn’t kind to her, the madam cares from Josie and a bookseller allows Josie to sleep at his store in a storage room.  Josie’s mother is in love with a mobster and when a man is killed Josie is determined to figure out if her mother was involved.   

This book is well written and the main character is spunky and likable.  I was compelled to find out what happened throughout the book, and as an adult I thought the book was good.  Just because the main character is a teenager doesn’t mean that this book is appropriate for teens.  The sexual content and crude language is completely inappropriate for young readers.  Although there isn’t on page sex, there is a lot of sexual content.  There is also a man who has mental illness and cuts himself pretty bad with scissors-it is very bloody and shocking.  

 HS-PUBLIC.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.