num_pages: 493
description: The American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century.From the moment she entered the world, Francie needed to be made of stern stuff, for the often harsh life of Williamsburg demanded fortitude, precocity, and strength of spirit. Often scorned by neighbors for her family’s erratic and eccentric behavior-such as her father Johnny’s taste for alcohol and Aunt Sissy’s habit of marrying serially without the formality of divorce-no one, least of all Francie, could say that the Nolans’ life lacked drama. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the Nolans’ daily experiences are tenderly threaded with family connectedness and raw with honesty. Betty Smith has, in the pages of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, captured the joys of humble Williamsburg life-from “junk day” on Saturdays, when the children of Francie’s neighborhood traded their weekly take for pennies, to the special excitement of holidays, bringing cause for celebration and revelry. Betty Smith has artfully caught this sense of exciting life in a novel of childhood, replete with incredibly rich moments of universal experiences--a truly remarkable achievement for any writer.
language: English
title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
titlecomplete: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
characters: Neeley Nolan, Sergeant McShane, Francie Nolan, Katie Nolan, Sissy Rommely, Eva "Evy" Rommely Flittman, Thomas Rommely, Johnny Nolan, Mary Rommely
genres: Historical, Literature, Young Adult, Classics, Novels, Book Club, Coming Of Age, New York, Historical Fiction, Fiction
ratings_count: 452607
places: The United States of America, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, New York City, New York, New York (State), Brooklyn, New York City, New York
awards: awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: Audie Award
category: Classic
publisher: Harper