Reviews - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

6.49k reviews for:

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Betty Smith

4.3 AVERAGE

cmstein's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

melorafern's review against another edition

4.0

I read and reread A Tree Grows in Brooklyn when I was young. I pretended I was Francie, sitting on my fire escape munching on candy, reading for hours—hidden in the branches of a big tree. My book club, The Queen Bees, just read it again and whoa—my rosy childhood recollection is nothing like the book itself! Did I read an abridged version? I don’t know—but Francie’s struggles, isolation, and hardships were more real and traumatic than I remembered! However, Betty Smith’s character-driven American classic unfolds tragically and beautifully at the same time.

Synopsis: This poignant story about Francie Nolan, impoverished daughter of immigrants, who fights her way with perseverance, reading, and the complicated love from her parents, aunts, brother, and her neighborhood. Set in the early 1900’s it tells the ageless tale of the American dream—it’s magic and it’s consequences.

Everyone should read or re-read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn—especially if you read it as a kid!