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Summary: I can still remember my first reading of this book
Review: Many years ago, I was staying with my aunt and hunting for something to read. She handed me this book and told me how much she had liked it. I started it and time stood still----I was transported to Brooklyn and the world of the characters---and I was very sad when the book ended and I had to leave that world! I wish this book had a sequel. I've read it many times since, with the same effect every time. If you've never had a first reading of this wonderful book, I envy you! You are in for such a treat.
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Summary: Great Fictional Book - A Classic!
Review: My mother recommended this book to me. As soon as I started it, I couldn't put it down! It is a great story about a girl who grows up in Brooklyn. Through many hardships, she finds courage, character, and love. It is a warm and comforting book. I recommend it!
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Summary: The most powerful quote...
Review: "Intolerance is a thing that causes war, pogroms, crucifixions, lynchings, and makes people cruel to little children and to each other. It is responsible for most of the viciousness, violence, terror, and heart and soul breaking of the world." -page 226 in the 1998 Perennial Classics (excerpt from 13 year old Francie Nolan's diary)This quote is what I believe to be the most powerful. It wrenched me to it from the moment I read it, and made this book worthwhile to me. It was a wonderful book, but I might have read it much faster if I did not keep turning back to that page to read that quote over and over. It stuck in my heart, and will stay there forever. It made the novel for me.
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Summary: A must read for computer-generated kids everywhere!
Review: When I first read 'Tree',I must have been around 10. I read it over and over. The subject matter hits too close to home for me, having grown up in the 70's, but under startlingly similar conditions for their time. My mother, brother and I were alone, yet we utilised our time and resources just Like Francie and Neely. As one who has gone through poverty can tell you, that is much the way it is for many, many people in the USA. Reading this book will remind those people of the small things, the things that matter. This family was like many, in Brooklyn and all over the world, with its harshness, ugliness and hope. There will always be poverty, but for those, like Francie and Neely who have finally found their way out, it makes the past all that much more bittersweet. I recommend this book for those kids who have never gone without, who have their lives handed to them, and for whom the computer does all their work. Read this: you will be humbled. I promise you will appreciate what you have.
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Summary: WOW
Review: i just finished reading "A tree grows in brooklyn" as part of a class project. I've got to admit, that I chose the book because of it's high point value. I had the book for 1 month, and just read it casually until i really got into it. The last 300 hundread pages were magical! I didn't want to put the book down! There seemed to be a new surprise every time i turned the pages. There was just so much to learn about Francie and her family. The book at me crying towards the end, even though it wasn't sad. It was one of those books you just want to go on forever and never end. I think this book ranks alongside my favorite book of all time "Circle of Friends". This book is one for people who enjoy reading about family life, and getting very much invovled with the charecters and caring what happens to them in the following chapters. I admit, there were some points in the book in which i was screaming at the mother "Don't do that to Francie! " i would yell in my head. I think that is what makes this book so good-you become Francie and become very much a part of her world. I read 400 pages of the book in 2 days. I never put it down-it was that good. If you are looking for a good book, this is definiatly one to pick.
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Summary: Touching-The Best Book I've Ever Read
Review: Betty Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is a wonderful read. The story touches your heart, leaving you laughing and crying. Seeing what the characters go through makes one appreciate all that they have. Smith is able to bring the characters to life and allow the reader to identify with and see inside the characters minds. I've read this book numerous times, and it never gets old. "A Tree..." is without a doubt the best book I have ever read and should be recommended to all. Once you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down.
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Summary: Wow!
Review: I ended up reading this book for a book report at school. I chose it beacuse of a quotable quote from Reader's Digest. Because of its length, I almost gave up. However, I stuck with it and was taken into Francie's world and could imagine myself in her position. It gave me a new outlook on the beauty of everyday life. Because Francie had little experience outside of Brooklyn, she did not realize her poverty and being poor did not bother her. I was profoundly moved by every section and feel that A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a very life-changing book.
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Summary: A book that reaches the sky
Review: A tree grows in Brooklyn is a heartfelt story about a young girl and her lower class family in Brooklyn, New York. Author Betty Smith tells the stories of Francie, her brother Neely and the rest of the Nolans and their lives between 1912-1920. Betty using comfortable,descriptive writing,tells of the triumphs and sorrows Francie faces as she grows. She talks about the exciting events that happen in the lives of their family including the marriage of Francie's sister Katie and the reactions it caused. Betty often speaks of a special tree,"The Tree of Heaven," as it is called in Brooklyn; Francie tells that it is beautiful and it "reaches the sky." I really enjoyed the story and I would reccommend it to any sappy person who enjoys curling up to the fire with a good emotional novel.
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Summary: A profound and touching novel
Review: After I got my summer reading list going into freshman year and saw "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" on the list, I thought, Oh great, some other stupid book that school will make me read. I've been an avid reader since I can remeber, but school, it takes the fun out of things. But this book, this book was amazing. I stayed up until 4 in the morning reading because I didn't want to put it down. It was the first book that really ever made me cry, and I cried and cried because I think everyone can relate to a lot of different aspects of the story, I know that I could. I got through this book in 2 days, and it's not a short story. I was even inspired to read Betty Smith's other novel, "A Joy in the morning", which by the way, if you like this one, I highly recommend. This book is a classic and everyone should read it. I re-read it all the time, and it still gets me.
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Summary: this book is like an old friend
Review: There are a few books that I always, always return to (Gone With The Wind, Rebecca, and others) and "Tree" goes into this category without a doubt. I don't know how many times I've read it in the 15 years since the first time I read it, but every time I pick it up, it's like coming home again. I have read Betty Smith's other books, and I was disappointed with them. Nothing could compare with the richness of "Tree". I wish a more recent film were made of this book. Ignore the reviews here that insult "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," because this book is like sinking into a big comfortable sofa for a long talk with a friend you haven't seen in years.
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