Out of the Easy

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Josie Moraine is seventeen years old and lives on her own above the bookstore where she works. Her second job is cleaning a French Quarter brothel where her mother works. Her mother is a self absorbed thieving prostitute that doesn't even want to admit that she has a daughter.

Josie is determined to leave life in the Big Easy and her mother's reputation behind and attend the prestigious Smith College in Northhampton. She is saving every penny she can to achieve her goal and just when she feels like she might have a shot at it, her mother gets her entangled in the death of wealthy businessmen and leaves her with a mob debt that Josie might end up paying for with her life.

This was a captivating read with well developed characters, especially Josie who, despite being abandoned by both her mother and her father, was able to create a unique family of her own that included the madam of her mother's brothel, a local taxi driver and the owner of the bookstore where she works.