Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A

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Summary: The best book I have ever read
Review: When I first had to read this book my sophomore year in high school I frowned on it simply because it sounded like a extremely boring book set in a boring time. As I started to read it I could kind of feel for Francie and I never could put that book down. To this day whenever I'm bored I will pull that book of my shelf and start reading it all over again.

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Summary: Being a very realistic, hard book, it impressed me.
Review: I must say, I was taken aback by the superbness (don't know if that's a word) of the hard, depressive reality in this masterpiece. Being 13 years of age, I am going into the eight grade, and therefore, must read four books over the summer for school. Well, a friend of mine suggested I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and, my being a skepticist, I said "Yeah, right." "Yeah" is right! This is one of the best books I've read since I was five years old when I started to read. It is, as I've said, negatively veritable, and I am a great fan and avid reader of real, in-your-face publications. Usually I read macabre, gory mystery, and basically ghoulish stuff, but when I read this book, my point of view did a total 180*. Macabre may be physically gory, but wonderful, realistic books like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn are emotionally and mentally "gory". Emotional depression is, at least I think, the backbone of marvelous, expressive writing; I believe that this book is one of the only of its kind to provide that backbone in a way that separates it from unreal story-telling. Bravo, Ms. Smith, bravo. H.S.

Rating:
Summary: Good read.
Review: This is one of the few books that have made me cry. When a book makes me cry, it means that I have felt,throughout the book that I was in the book. Not as Francie, but as Francie's best friend who lives a better life than her. I still get sad when I think about it

Rating:
Summary: It was good.
Review: I had to read this book for my summer reading before I went to the 9th grade. I thought that it would be a drag reading it because it was so long, but I didn't really take a long finishing the book. I liked this book because it was very realistic. I could fit right in with Francie. Even though the story took place in the early 1900's, I felt that it could've took place today. I felt an instant connection with Francie once I picked up the book

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Summary: reading this book was like being bathed in sunshine
Review: "There's a tree that grows in Brooklyn. Some people call it the tree of heaven. No matter where its seed falls it makes a tree which struggles to reach the sky. It grows in boarded up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps. It grows out of cellar gratings. It is the only tree that grows out of the cement. It grows lushly...survives without sun, water, and seemingly without earth. It would be considered beautiful except that there are too many of it."

This paragraph, which appears right before the book starts is the definition of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It is the story of Francie, who like the tree, struggles to reach the sky. The sky represents the vastness of knowledge. To the people around her she would seem beautiful except there are too many of her. Her family is poor and are sometimes completely out of food, but she survives. She lives on life and gets drunk on it. Knowledge is her food and life is her drink. Betty Smith, the author, saw the beauty in a child growing up in the slums of Brooklyn and wrote a powerful book.

One of the most important characters in this book besides Francie is her dad, Johnny Nolen. Although he is a drunk, he is a wonderful father. Even though he brings in very little money for food he fills Francie and her brother, Neely's mind with stories of great beauty and with his own love. He is a pipe dreamer who never gets his dreams, but he builds a whole heep of them for Francie who has a chance at fullfilling them.

Betty Smith brings color and sunshine to the Brooklyn streets through her characters. Sometimes with a simple barber or junk man or with a strong character like Francies mom, Katie. My favorite side character was Francies aunt Sissy. Sissy married a man of 25 when she was 14. She is concidered a bad woman because men like her pretty looks. She has married several times, calling every one of her husbands John. With her love of men comes a love of all human kind, and in that way she isn't bad.

When I read this I was so pleased to find some things in common with Francie. Although there weren't many, it made me happy. I think any girl who reads this would find bits of herself in Francie. We sometimes forget that poor people have just as high expectations and longings to learn as any of us. Every time I opened this book I felt like I was being bathed in sunshine and when I finished I sat and smelled the pages, trying to take it all in.

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Summary: A story so detailed you forget it's not you in the book!
Review: My 9th grade teacher introduced this book to me and I thought it was going to be very boring and dull because it was such a long book. I was wrong it was so intresting, and so descriptive I felt as though I was Francie. It was so good (and the longest book I had ever read) I read it 3 times in 1 and a half years. The more I read it the more I loved the book. I recommend this book for anyone who refuses to read because reading this will surely get them to change their minds about reading. My whole class read it and even the guys could'nt put the book down. I am very thankful I was able to read this book because I will never forget how great the story was. Thank God we have an author as wonderful as Betty Smith to inspire us with her beautiful stories.

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Summary: This is the quintessential 20th century American novel
Review: The most amazing aspect of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is its universal appeal to readers of any age, any race. Opening the covers of this book is like stepping into a time machine and visiting the squalor of 1920's Brooklyn, N.Y. Here Betty Smith's descriptive magic plunges you into the ugliness of poverty and the beauty of the people who fought to overcome it... Francie Nolan, a dreamy child who finds her escape in books... Johnny Nolan, her handsome young father, who finds his escape -- and ultimate tragedy -- in the bottle... and Katie Nolan, her beautiful, hardened mother, who realizes that education is the only way her children can escape the life she is forced to endure. Although this novel was written many decades ago, modern readers will find the prose to be shockingly frank and as realistic as it is descriptive. The only fault with the book, which covers the span of Francie's life from birth until college, is that it eventually has to end. No history text can make the past come alive the way "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" can...no movie can leave its audience with more satisfaction from a story well-told. I dare anyone to read this book and not come away a different person...it is, in fact, a true work of art.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully rich
Review: When I got this book, I had a warm feeling because I knew it was a classic and because I rarely get American books. I think this is a good choice for foreigners like me. A good thing about this book is that Betty Smith tells all about every member of the Rommely and Nolan families, as well as other people, even though this isn't important to the plot. She isn't realistic the way modern children's writers are, but she gives lots of little details. I love the parts about the Catholic religion. My favorite character is Mary Rommely, and I enjoy daydreaming of being cared for by her or Sissy. I like the part where she tells Katie how to raise her daughter. This could be used in real life, even today. Katie is very smart, hard-working and strong-willed. Sometimes she seems too stern, but other times she is kind and understanding. I can most identify with Francie when she argues with her teacher, Miss Gardner over her writing. Also, same as her, I keep imagining things, so I liked the part when she's told to write down stories instead of speaking lies. (Only writing takes much more effort!) I think part of what it makes this a serious novel is that sometimes little sad details are included. I don't mean the kind describing the cruel school system, but softer ones: the father Johnny being a bum; Francie and Katie knowing it would never again be all right between them. However, there are also some parts telling of good times. This is a good book to read, and after you've read it, you can browse through it again and enjoy your favorite parts separately.

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Summary: I loved it
Review: This book is a real inspiration it just made me so greatfull for what I had. It also is what they call a real page turner. If I were to tell someone of a good book to read this would definately be the one I recomend to them

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Summary: Young girl grows up strong amidst squalor and poverty.
Review: This is the inspirational story of Francie, a young girl growing up in a tenament in Brooklyn in the '20s. Her father is an alcoholic with big dreams and no way to realize them. Her mother is down-to-earth, but completely worn down by their poor life. Francie is determined to learn; she enrolls in a school miles from her home, regardless of the hardhship this imposes on her. This is just one example of her strength and courage. I read this book first when I was in my teens; I am now 40, beginning college, and still find inspiration and hope in its pages. I would recommend it to anyone; however, women may find a lot in it. The main character, Francie, is a child of courage; I would love to meet her when she's 40!