Calendar Girl: Best Historical Fiction

I missed the first Monday again, but I had a wonderful interview that was featured instead. Melanie always told me I could do it anytime in the month, so a few days late is better than halfway through the month that I did last time. PROGRESS, PEEPS, PROGRESS. I’m super excited to share with you my pick this month as well!

Calendar Girls is hosted by bloggers, Flavia the Bibliophile and Melanie Noell Bernard – both have amazing blogs full of fun, bookish posts. Calendar Girls is a brand new monthly blog event inspired by Neil Sedaka’s 1961 song Calendar Girl. Just like in the song, we decided to use a specific them for each month and choose a book based on these themes! The event is meant to incite discussions with other bloggers about books we’ve read and loved, is meant to help bloggers meet other bloggers, and also for bloggers and readers to find out about blogs which they normally may not have come across! Want to know more? Click on the links above! And it’s not too late to jump on the Calendar Girl train (and it’s not just for girls)! Join now!

Best Historical Fiction

I actually really enjoy historical fiction, but YA hasn’t had a lot going on in the past few years in terms of this genre. It’s mostly fantasy and contemporary, and poor HF has kind of been left out. Some of my favorite usually involves a hint of the supernatural (i.e. Simone St. James and Cat Winters), but I figured for this post, I would feature a book that it straight HF. And my choice is…

Out of the Easy by Ruta Septeys

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 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.

Sepetys is known for her great works, Between Shades of Gray or Salt to the Sea, but this book, for whatever reason, always gets left out. And I have no clue why. It features so many amazing things in this book, and if you’re going to read one straight HF book, this is totally the book you should read.

Here’s a few reasons why:

• the setting is beautiful, haunting, and oh, so fascinating
• amazing, fierce, independent protagonist who kicks some major butt and fights for her own dreams
• fantastic writing
• an adorable little ship
• intriguing and interesting characters

Josie’s story totally reminds me of Tiana’s story, and I get the same vibes from it every time I read it. So, I mean, that’s always such a giant plus. IT IS JUST AMAZING, and I’ve been searching for this book for forever now (every time I find it, there is literally something wrong with it XD). Definitely be expecting a full review sometime in my future because the moment I get my hands on it, I’ll be doing a reread.

What is your favorite historical fiction novel? Do you like straight HF or with a hint of paranormal? Let’s discuss in the comments below!