A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

By Betty Smith

Rating:  5 Star

Many years ago my mother told me that A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was one of her all time favorite books.  So, because I was a teenage daughter I resisted reading it.  Many many years later, I decided to give it a try.  It would give me and my mom something to talk about, right?  

Well of course, I fell in love with Francie Nolan and her entire family.  It’s a coming of age novel centered around a young girl growing up in poverty in Brooklyn in the early 1900’s.    There is sorrow, frustration and humor with a perfect balance of character driven storytelling.

I have read it three times, (once on audible)  and each time I love it more.  It was a Las Vegas Bookie selection and was enjoyed by all.  

 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is now considered an essential part of American literature. As an indispensable classic, Smith's book appears on reading lists across the country. The New York Public Library even chose the book as one of the "Books of the Century."

Read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

·      If you like coming of age stories        

·   If  you historical style fiction

·   If you want a great book club discussion

Favorite Quote:

"Those were the Rommely women: Mary, the mother, Evy, Sissy, and Katie, her daughters, and Francie, who would grow up to be a Rommely woman even though her name was Nolan. They were all slender, frail creatures with wondering eyes and soft fluttery voices…they were made out of thin invisible steel."

by Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Ch. 7


Happy Reading,

     Susanne