Book Review: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

May 20, 2007

This is another one of the books on my American Lit possibility list. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a candid look at life in Brooklyn's slums in the early 1900s, told through the eyes of Francie Nolan. Francie is the daughter of a lovely alcoholic papa and a hardworking, floor-scrubbing mama. She navigates through her adolescence in the midst of poverty, realizing early on that education is the key to rising above the plight of the poor and that family is ultimately what provides sustenance. I read this book as a teenager and remembered only that I loved it; to re-read this as an adult was a tremendous gift.