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.
I LOVED Out of the Easy. It’s definitely less well-known compared to Sepetys’ other two novels, but it’s such a fantastic book and deserves so much more recognition. I think if I had to choose a favorite Sepetys novel, this would actually be the one I picked.
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Yes! I super agree!! She did such an amazing job with the setting and characters and plot. I definitely think it was so well done, and I so agree with everything you said. 😀
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Finally!! Someone else has read this book! 😂 Her 2 WWII historical fiction novels seem to get all the attention but this one was just as amazing!!! The characters and their relationships were all so amazing and emotional.
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Yessssssssss. I’m like, only me and Shanah have seemed to have read it. XD But yes! I totally agree. 😀 😀 😀
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I adore anything Philippa Gregory writes, but Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald was really good as well. This one sounds really good, though! I’m a sucker for anything New Orleans. 🙂
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Ooooooh, I’ll definitely have to check that one out. I need to really get on Gregory’s books as well. And yes! Super good. 😀 And the New Orleans setting is done wonderfully. 🙂
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Man, I really need to read one of Ruta’s books.
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Yes! And this one is totally a great one to start off with. 😉
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I’m reading Out of the Easy now, so I’m excited to continue it. Josie’s personality is already bursting off the page.
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Oooooooh yesssssss! I can’t wait to see what your final thoughts are. So funny that we ended up talking about it on the same day. Hope you enjoy it!! 😀
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Historical fic can either be a hit or miss for me. But I do love a good story set in a time that actually took place! This one sounds great and my cousin is a big fan of Between Shades of Grey so I should try something out by her! Excellent post Mandy!
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I super agree. I have some that are so intriguing but so boring. But yes! I definitely think you would like this one. 😀 And thanks so much! ❤
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I love historical fiction but I have note read a lot of books set in the 1950s! This book sounds really good! I love haunting settings! Thanks for the great recommendation 😊
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No! 1950s seems to be a time frame that is really lacking. It definitely was super cool. But it was really really good. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
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My favorite historical fiction is Loving Frank. I prefer straight HF over any other mixed in genre, like paranormal, but I love a good book, no matter the genre!
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Ooooh, I’ll definitely have to check that one out. 🙂 And yes! I feel like they have two distinct tones and it really mixes it up. 🙂 But so very true! 😀
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Love this post, Mandy! You just reminded me how much I need to read this book too! I’m reading my first from Ruta in November, and I can’t wait! It sounds like I need to get this on the ole TBR list as well. 🙂
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Yesssssssssssssssssss. You do. It was super good, Krysti. Strong heroine + cute little swoons + excellent setting = one fantastic book. Definitely need to get it on. 😀
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Nice choice and post! I will be looking this one up. Salt to the Sea is on my TBR too.
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Thanks so much! I would definitely recommend! And yes! I’ve heard that one is fantastic as well. 🙂
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I wish we didn’t need sleep so we could read through the night, lol.
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Ahahaha yessssss. It’s taking up too much valuable reading time!
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It sure is! I can’t count how many times I’ve had to put a good book down because of it. Haha!
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I haven’t read one of her books yet but know I should! I had chosen Fall of the Giants by Ken Follet but it was a close one woth From Sand Adn Ash by Amy Harmon 😉
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Yes! I would definitely recommend this one to start off with. 😀 And oooh, I don’t know either of those, but I’m so going to have to check it out. 😀
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THat sounds amazing, I do love books about New Orleans so I might have to check this out. If you like historical fiction with a hint of supernatural set in New Orleans I can recommend a really good book it’s called The Casquette Girls
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Ooooooh, I definitely need to add that to the TBR ASAP because that sounds amazing. Thanks so much for the rec! And yes! I would super recommend this because it does a fantastic job with the setting. 😀
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