{YA for Adults Book Club Pick for June 2014} 
 I enjoyed this immensely. I'll be honest, though, I was expecting it to be more of a murder mystery and when it didn't follow any of the usual murder mystery plotting, I was a little disappointed and baffled. There *is* a murder, but the main character doesn't take it upon herself to crack the case. No, it's much more about Josie's life growing up in 1950s New Orleans as the daughter of a prostitute. The book portrays her mother and the other women she works with as real people, real women, with actual personalities. (Even though Josie's mom is the living worst.) Sepetys doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of their life and it's never sensational. I wouldn't worry about teens picking this up is what I'm basically getting at here, which one woman did raise as a concern during book club last night... 
 Josie was great--intelligent, spirited, a wee bit clueless, and desperate to get away from her surroundings. Most of the supporting cast was memorable, although a few characters came across as a little too plot device-y. Sepetys' writing is polished to a gleam and really raised the story from being merely interesting to memorable.