A review by msmichaela
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

5.0

I love this novel just as much as I did as a kid, when I read it over and over. There's some dark stuff here, including an attempted rape, infidelity and grinding poverty; all but the poverty went over my head as a kid. Sure, the book is melodramatic and trades in some hoary ethnic cliches, but Francie remains one of my all time favorite fictional characters, with her yearning and striving and optimism tempered by realism. So, so glad I re-read this.