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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a beautiful book. It’s not a page turner by any means so read it when you have some to reflect.
I liked:
- It’s so simple but says so much about life and people. This just had a genuinely authentic voice that’s hard to come by.
- Francie rocks. What a resilient understatedly funny badass before her time.
Didn’t like:
- It can be slow. As someone who sometimes can only read 10 pages a night after work I was dragging a bit
- Ugh the father was tough but that’s my personal aversion to addiction storylines
What a lovely classic- I surprisingly liked this more than I expected.
I liked:
- It’s so simple but says so much about life and people. This just had a genuinely authentic voice that’s hard to come by.
- Francie rocks. What a resilient understatedly funny badass before her time.
Didn’t like:
- It can be slow. As someone who sometimes can only read 10 pages a night after work I was dragging a bit
- Ugh the father was tough but that’s my personal aversion to addiction storylines
What a lovely classic- I surprisingly liked this more than I expected.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
yeah I absolutely understand why this is a classic. I love you, Francie Nolan.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I felt like I was there, walking the streets of Brooklyn, while I read this.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Comfy and cozy and amazingly published in the 40s. Something warm in how frankly the novel approaches everything.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
What a surprise this book was! This book was written in 1943, but the insights about feelings, upbringing, feminism, class and sex could have been written now. Betty Smith was definetly before her time.
I'm not a big fan of coming of age-books, but this is something more than that. I listened to it as an audiobook, and that was great because of getting the brooklyn accent to boot:)
I'm not a big fan of coming of age-books, but this is something more than that. I listened to it as an audiobook, and that was great because of getting the brooklyn accent to boot:)
I'd give this a hundred stars if I could. Watch me yell from all the rooftops about a book better than gold. Watch me go up randomly to strangers asking them if they've read this book and that if they haven't, they should, they should!
A story full of stories. All the tragedies and comedies and beauties and mundanities in a girl's life. You cannot hate any one character - you end up loving them, flaws and all. Even Katie - I can understand her here and there, though I can never forgive her for not seeing past Neeley and caring for her little girl.
This was so well written, so poignant but somehow, lighthearted. You feel Francie's pain, and love, and frustrations, and sadness, and anger. And you hope so much for her. The graduation scene made me cry. For all Johnny's shortcomings, not once did he let Francie feel as though she played second fiddle. Not once. My heart. Oh, Francie.
I'm so terribly sad for Francie - she had to grow up too young. What kid, at age 11, does the groceries and the ironing? What kid, at age 6, is tasked to take care of her younger brother? A child at fourteen working 8 hours a day, giving up her education to become a breadwinner.
Their childhood, completely gone and for what?
Parents who wanted the fun but were ill-prepared for the responsibility. And then - a mum who took an all the responsibility, too busy to become a mum, and a dad who became a useless, if not well-meaning, drunkard. Nevertheless, life persists. I see my sweet girl growing up well amidst all the tragedy and yet getting drunk on the beauty of living.
Mary Frances Nolan, you beloved little girl. I would have read about you till you were old and gray and still wept at the end of your story.
Thank you so much for writing this, Betty Smith.
A story full of stories. All the tragedies and comedies and beauties and mundanities in a girl's life. You cannot hate any one character - you end up loving them, flaws and all. Even Katie - I can understand her here and there, though I can never forgive her for not seeing past Neeley and caring for her little girl.
This was so well written, so poignant but somehow, lighthearted. You feel Francie's pain, and love, and frustrations, and sadness, and anger. And you hope so much for her. The graduation scene made me cry. For all Johnny's shortcomings, not once did he let Francie feel as though she played second fiddle. Not once. My heart. Oh, Francie.
I'm so terribly sad for Francie - she had to grow up too young. What kid, at age 11, does the groceries and the ironing? What kid, at age 6, is tasked to take care of her younger brother? A child at fourteen working 8 hours a day, giving up her education to become a breadwinner.
Their childhood, completely gone and for what?
Parents who wanted the fun but were ill-prepared for the responsibility. And then - a mum who took an all the responsibility, too busy to become a mum, and a dad who became a useless, if not well-meaning, drunkard. Nevertheless, life persists. I see my sweet girl growing up well amidst all the tragedy and yet getting drunk on the beauty of living.
Mary Frances Nolan, you beloved little girl. I would have read about you till you were old and gray and still wept at the end of your story.
Thank you so much for writing this, Betty Smith.
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated