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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
I just finished reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in 2015, a mere 75 years after it was published. The most striking element to me was how different young adult fiction is now from when this was written. I read quite a bit of young adult fiction now, and the stark storytelling and plodding pace in this book was jarring. A whole page about the pickles available from the local deli is a little much for my tastes. There are definitely event that happen to Francie in this book, but the focus is equally on the atmosphere where very little is happening and the dullness of that life. It would be the equivalent now of reading about a character who spent a lot of time texting and watching videos on her phone. Snore.
As when I was reading The Boston Girl earlier this year, I kept trying to picture my grandmothers (who have both long since passed) as contemporaries of the protagonists. Chronologically, it isn’t that far off, but the setting is so far different than as I picture the youths of my grandmothers, who both grew up in Wisconsin, rather than a huge east coast city like the protagonists of those two novels. The image of Brooklyn in the early 1900s is as unfamiliar to me as the Mars-based mining operation that is the setting of the beginning of Red Rising, or district 12 from The Hunger Games as the concept of the housing and the environment for these kids to grow up is just as foreign.
In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn the city of Brooklyn is a real character, similar to how Savannah is a compelling character in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Francie loves Brooklyn, undeservedly I think, which I felt was a parallel to the devotion she shows to her father (a drunk who spent his money on booze rather than food for this family). Francie loves Brooklyn and Johnny beyond logic, and struggles more with her relationships with her mother and aunties. This seems realist, as does most of the story.
Francie is a very compelling character. Her speech is a little off-putting for an adolescent girl. I’m not sure whether to attribute that more to her odd Brooklyn accent, or to an adult writer using an omniscient narrator, and then not switching more into Francie’s perspective for her dialog. Either way, that was off-putting, but Francie is still likeable. I think that she’s admirable for the way that she persisted, like the tree that refused to die. She’s also human in her stubborn refusal to modify her writing (or produce any writing at all) for the teacher who didn’t understand her. I’m just not sure how relatable this story is now, 75 years after its publication, and whether it should really be in the canon of required reading given it’s frustratingly slow pace.
As when I was reading The Boston Girl earlier this year, I kept trying to picture my grandmothers (who have both long since passed) as contemporaries of the protagonists. Chronologically, it isn’t that far off, but the setting is so far different than as I picture the youths of my grandmothers, who both grew up in Wisconsin, rather than a huge east coast city like the protagonists of those two novels. The image of Brooklyn in the early 1900s is as unfamiliar to me as the Mars-based mining operation that is the setting of the beginning of Red Rising, or district 12 from The Hunger Games as the concept of the housing and the environment for these kids to grow up is just as foreign.
In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn the city of Brooklyn is a real character, similar to how Savannah is a compelling character in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Francie loves Brooklyn, undeservedly I think, which I felt was a parallel to the devotion she shows to her father (a drunk who spent his money on booze rather than food for this family). Francie loves Brooklyn and Johnny beyond logic, and struggles more with her relationships with her mother and aunties. This seems realist, as does most of the story.
Francie is a very compelling character. Her speech is a little off-putting for an adolescent girl. I’m not sure whether to attribute that more to her odd Brooklyn accent, or to an adult writer using an omniscient narrator, and then not switching more into Francie’s perspective for her dialog. Either way, that was off-putting, but Francie is still likeable. I think that she’s admirable for the way that she persisted, like the tree that refused to die. She’s also human in her stubborn refusal to modify her writing (or produce any writing at all) for the teacher who didn’t understand her. I’m just not sure how relatable this story is now, 75 years after its publication, and whether it should really be in the canon of required reading given it’s frustratingly slow pace.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism
Minor: Antisemitism
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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:
No
An exceptional read
top read of 2024 so far.
brilliant, moving, human. i would like a copy of this book to own asap. would recommend this to everyone. made me cry, made me smile, made me feel.
the few editing quibbles i have with this aren’t necessary to get into; sometimes it’s a product of its times and that’s a thing, and authors aren’t perfect either, but for what it’s worth, this book is everything.
edit: as life-changing as this book is, i would only probably recommend it for 17/18+ because the content does get really intense. (mini spoiler: the pedophile rape & murder subplot gets graphic.) also, if you’re dealing with any of the subjects in the book like grief over a loss, pedophiles (i wish i was joking!), etc, i’d recommend Not using it like catharsis like i did. the subject matter is intense and often dark, so… don’t read it in tandem with dealing with issues irl.
brilliant, moving, human. i would like a copy of this book to own asap. would recommend this to everyone. made me cry, made me smile, made me feel.
the few editing quibbles i have with this aren’t necessary to get into; sometimes it’s a product of its times and that’s a thing, and authors aren’t perfect either, but for what it’s worth, this book is everything.
edit: as life-changing as this book is, i would only probably recommend it for 17/18+ because the content does get really intense. (mini spoiler: the pedophile rape & murder subplot gets graphic.) also, if you’re dealing with any of the subjects in the book like grief over a loss, pedophiles (i wish i was joking!), etc, i’d recommend Not using it like catharsis like i did. the subject matter is intense and often dark, so… don’t read it in tandem with dealing with issues irl.