Sounds weird, right? I have to admit that these things don't usually go together, but they did the past couple of weeks. I read two really great books each dealing with one of these subjects. I thought I would recommend them to you.
The first book I read was Out of the Easy by Ruby Sepetys. I was turned on to this book because the author spoke at the Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge. Also, any books that have New Orleans as the setting pretty much grab my attention.
Out of the Easy is a young adult novel about Josie Moraine and is set in 1950s New Orleans. Josie first comes to the “Big Easy” at age seven with her mother, a brothel prostitute. Ten years later, (when the bulk of the story takes place) she has become known to most everyone in town as “the daughter of a brothel prostitute.” This title is not something that Josie wants, having big dreams of getting "out of the easy" to a prestigious college on the east coast.
Josie's road to getting out of New Orleans is definitely not easy. Juggling two jobs, as well as, dealing with her mother's connection to a tourist killed in the French Quarter, Josie's is faced with obstacles not typical of a seventeen year old. It's Josie's strength, courage, and determination that have you rooting for her from the very beginning.
This book has more twists than a ride at an amusement park and lots of “Oh no” moments. It is the way that Josie deals with all of these moments that truly makes this novel worth reading. Josie does everything in her power to become something other than “the brothel prostitutes’ daughter” and refuses to be defined by her circumstances.
Josie’s determination grabbed me and I was surprised by how much I wanted Josie to succeed. I wanted for her what she wanted for herself, and I was behind her one hundred percent throughout the whole book. I won't reveal whether Josie was able to get “out of the easy.” You will have to read for yourself, but I will say the ending was not what I had envisioned.
This story is drizzled with many interesting characters from a mute maid to a kleptomaniac prostitute. The brothel itself even becomes a somewhat supporting character. While reading this book, I became interested in the history of New Orleans during that time, especially the brothel setting. Upon reading the acknowledgments at the end of the novel, I learned that the brothel and it's madam in Out of the Easy was based on a real brothel and madam who lived during 1950s New Orleans. In both the book and New Orleans, the brothel was on Conti street, and Willie, the madam in the book, was based on Norma Wallace, who is known as “The Last Madam.” I am currently reading a book about Norma Wallace called The Last Madam: A Life in the New Orleans Underworld by Christine Wiltz. I will probably write a review of that book once I have finished it.
For more information about Out of the Easy, you can visit the website for the book at www.outoftheeasy.com.
For more information on the house on Conti Street and Norma Wallace, you can visit www.1026contistreet.com.
Out of the Easy is a young adult novel about Josie Moraine and is set in 1950s New Orleans. Josie first comes to the “Big Easy” at age seven with her mother, a brothel prostitute. Ten years later, (when the bulk of the story takes place) she has become known to most everyone in town as “the daughter of a brothel prostitute.” This title is not something that Josie wants, having big dreams of getting "out of the easy" to a prestigious college on the east coast.
Josie's road to getting out of New Orleans is definitely not easy. Juggling two jobs, as well as, dealing with her mother's connection to a tourist killed in the French Quarter, Josie's is faced with obstacles not typical of a seventeen year old. It's Josie's strength, courage, and determination that have you rooting for her from the very beginning.
This book has more twists than a ride at an amusement park and lots of “Oh no” moments. It is the way that Josie deals with all of these moments that truly makes this novel worth reading. Josie does everything in her power to become something other than “the brothel prostitutes’ daughter” and refuses to be defined by her circumstances.
Josie’s determination grabbed me and I was surprised by how much I wanted Josie to succeed. I wanted for her what she wanted for herself, and I was behind her one hundred percent throughout the whole book. I won't reveal whether Josie was able to get “out of the easy.” You will have to read for yourself, but I will say the ending was not what I had envisioned.
This story is drizzled with many interesting characters from a mute maid to a kleptomaniac prostitute. The brothel itself even becomes a somewhat supporting character. While reading this book, I became interested in the history of New Orleans during that time, especially the brothel setting. Upon reading the acknowledgments at the end of the novel, I learned that the brothel and it's madam in Out of the Easy was based on a real brothel and madam who lived during 1950s New Orleans. In both the book and New Orleans, the brothel was on Conti street, and Willie, the madam in the book, was based on Norma Wallace, who is known as “The Last Madam.” I am currently reading a book about Norma Wallace called The Last Madam: A Life in the New Orleans Underworld by Christine Wiltz. I will probably write a review of that book once I have finished it.
For more information about Out of the Easy, you can visit the website for the book at www.outoftheeasy.com.
For more information on the house on Conti Street and Norma Wallace, you can visit www.1026contistreet.com.
The second book I chose to read was The Meaning of Matthew: My Son's Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed by Judy Shepard. I probably had previous knowledge that this book existed, but while watching old vlogs of my favorite Youtuber, I was reminded of its existence. For those of you who may not know, in October of 1999, 21 year old Matthew Shepard was the victim of a hate crime in which he was brutally beaten, tied to a fence, and left for dead in Wyoming all because he was gay.
Being in ninth grade when this event took place, I was not able to fully understand the impact Matthew’s death would have on the world. Like most people, I watched the news reports, read the articles, and even had my aunt tape “The Matthew Shepard Story” from TV to VHS, but looking back, I didn't understand how incredibly terrible this situation was. Aaron McKinney, one of Mathew’s attackers, had no regard for Matthew that night; just beat him because he was different.
Mrs. Shepard lays out the events of the attack in her book which she learned during the trial of Aaron McKinney, as well as, gives us a look into Matthew's life from childhood to the time he was killed. Mrs. Shepard does her best to give an unbiased account of Matthew's life and death; however, she is a mother grieving the loss of her oldest child so some bias is to be expected. She makes it very clear that the book was not meant for sympathy or pity, but merely to tell the world about her son and educate people on the truth of what happened that October night. The movies, articles, and news reports I and the world was exposed to had inaccuracies and Mrs. Shepard wanted the world to know the truth of Matthew's life and death.
I really enjoyed this book, despite its heartbreaking content. It was nice to hear about Matthew from someone who loved and cared about him. It made him seem more real to me. Matthew was not a perfect person, but who is? Mrs. Shepard does an amazing job of making sure the reader understands that. She did not just include Matthew's good moments in the book, but also his bad moments. She talked about Matthew ability to make friends easily and how he loved theater, but she also included Matthew's depression, his drinking, and how she and his father tried to deal with it. She doesn't sugarcoat anything, just gives you the facts to the best of her knowledge.
What resonated with me in the novel was the outpouring of love and support Matthew and this family received after the attack. In a world where you turn on the news and something bad is happening, it was nice to see communities and individuals coming together to take a stand against hate crimes. The struggle is not over since hate crimes still happen in our society; however, progress is slowly being made. Laws are being discussed to protect victims of these crimes and to make sure that their attackers are getting the punishment they deserve.
For more information on Matthew Shepard, Judy Shepard, or the Matthew Shepard Foundation, you can visit here.
If you would like to watch the movie that my aunt taped me (The Matthew Shepard Story), it is available to view on YouTube here.
A play called The Laramie Project was written about Matthew after the attack. For more information on this play you can visit here and you can watch the movie about the making of the play on YouTube here.
Being in ninth grade when this event took place, I was not able to fully understand the impact Matthew’s death would have on the world. Like most people, I watched the news reports, read the articles, and even had my aunt tape “The Matthew Shepard Story” from TV to VHS, but looking back, I didn't understand how incredibly terrible this situation was. Aaron McKinney, one of Mathew’s attackers, had no regard for Matthew that night; just beat him because he was different.
Mrs. Shepard lays out the events of the attack in her book which she learned during the trial of Aaron McKinney, as well as, gives us a look into Matthew's life from childhood to the time he was killed. Mrs. Shepard does her best to give an unbiased account of Matthew's life and death; however, she is a mother grieving the loss of her oldest child so some bias is to be expected. She makes it very clear that the book was not meant for sympathy or pity, but merely to tell the world about her son and educate people on the truth of what happened that October night. The movies, articles, and news reports I and the world was exposed to had inaccuracies and Mrs. Shepard wanted the world to know the truth of Matthew's life and death.
I really enjoyed this book, despite its heartbreaking content. It was nice to hear about Matthew from someone who loved and cared about him. It made him seem more real to me. Matthew was not a perfect person, but who is? Mrs. Shepard does an amazing job of making sure the reader understands that. She did not just include Matthew's good moments in the book, but also his bad moments. She talked about Matthew ability to make friends easily and how he loved theater, but she also included Matthew's depression, his drinking, and how she and his father tried to deal with it. She doesn't sugarcoat anything, just gives you the facts to the best of her knowledge.
What resonated with me in the novel was the outpouring of love and support Matthew and this family received after the attack. In a world where you turn on the news and something bad is happening, it was nice to see communities and individuals coming together to take a stand against hate crimes. The struggle is not over since hate crimes still happen in our society; however, progress is slowly being made. Laws are being discussed to protect victims of these crimes and to make sure that their attackers are getting the punishment they deserve.
For more information on Matthew Shepard, Judy Shepard, or the Matthew Shepard Foundation, you can visit here.
If you would like to watch the movie that my aunt taped me (The Matthew Shepard Story), it is available to view on YouTube here.
A play called The Laramie Project was written about Matthew after the attack. For more information on this play you can visit here and you can watch the movie about the making of the play on YouTube here.
I hope you enjoyed these and I hope you check back for more book reviews in the future! Happy Reading!!!!