Overview:
Trees grow in neglected areas, tenement districts. The trees come first, then poor foreigners follow. A tree that likes poor people. The poor and those who have money have different views of each other. Different views about why people are in poverty. This book highlights the misunderstandings of assumptions about those within different social classes. A secret to success within this book, to get out of poverty, is the ability to read. Getting as much education as possible.

Francie grows up poor, but has relatives that desire success. They work very hard not only to survive, but get ahead. This is a story of how Francie grows up. A story of how Francie’s mind changes about various ideas, and how Francie impacts those who interact with Francie. With a love of books and an incessant need to improve upon ideas.

The poor in this book are described as those who struggle to survive, and get ahead. Working hard to kept what they have. A dislike of charity, and the humiliation that it brings with it. A want to not feel the need to save as much as possible of everything.

There is a clash between hope and effort. Not just between the characters, but the reason for immigrating. The purpose of coming to America was that it was supposedly a place of hope. Where circumstances could be improved. With those improvements come over the generations. Slowey but surely trying to help the next generation achieve more than they and their predecessors had.

Education, specifically reading, being one of the skills that are impressed as a need for social advancement. The library having a lot of importance, given that it provides access to books. With help from Katie’s mother, Katie used the information to instill a want to read in Katie’s daughter Francie. Growing up, Francie was exposed to a lot of books, and loved to read books.

School is another important source of knowledge. But not all schools want to educate the children. With very mean children. Francie still appreciated school in spite of the cruelties. The cruelties made Francie really appreciate the next school, and a willing to walk a lot to the better school.

Whenever Francie saw ideas that could be improved upon, the future that Francie saw for Francie changed. Wanting to be an integral part of the reason for the improvement. An incessant need to improve ideas.

Francie became liable to lie. Although given somewhat poor ideas on the delineation between lying and a story, advice was given for Francie to write the truth. Francie found an outlet in writing, in order to keep a dividing line between truth and fiction. A discrepancy between what is true and what is beautiful, between the real misery and the hope.

Caveats?
The book can be a bit difficult to read, with poor flow. The historical context and situations have changed. Many of the interactions and events lack emotional appeal, but their representation makes them more realistic. ( )

This book was sitting on my shelf for quite a while, I ended up donating it only to buy another copy from Books-A-Million. Finally, I picked it up and fell in love with it. I didn't know if I was ready for a family drama, but it turned out to be exactly what I needed at the exact moment I picked it up. Francie Nolan has soared up on the list of my favorite fictional characters of all time; to be honest, you might not like the book as much if you are a "realist". However, if you are a dreamer and see the world much differently than your peers, you will love it!

I particularly liked her relationship with her mother. Yes, it was a co-dependent relationship with a lack of affection, but this made the moments where affection was shown between them that much more powerful. Francie sees so much and understands so much, and you watch her grow and understand the world, to accept and make the most of the life she has, to find the light in the darkest circumstances. Yeah, I love this book and highly recommend it, especially if it has been sitting on your shelf collecting dust for the last five years. ( )

Among the most fervent and outspoken of coming-of-age novels in American literature that I've read, full to the brim with life sketches as pictorial as David Copperfield and with an epic scope as sweeping as East of Eden. Betty Smith invites us into a breathtaking depiction of New York with the same richness that Woody Allen's Manhattan did for the big screen, visualized from the perspective of an aspiring and headstrong Francie Nolan raised in the heart of poverty-stricken Brooklyn. This novel expresses a hope for American immigrants at the turn of the century that isn't to be found in Upton Sinclair's the Jungle, and although Francie's relatives are far from perfect, their love and care for each other is irrefutable and irrepressible. Francie is met with experiences and choices that are as various and unique as any uncommon family, and their stories are forever memorable as the small things that are best in a simple life. ( )

Although this is a piece of fiction, the postscript makes it clear that it is based in the author's own childhood and was written as such. It is therefore very easy to imagine the type of life Smith had growing up in what we would today consider abject poverty but with the love and support of her family. It is astounding, really, the resilience but also the innocence of the time, marked by hard work, precarious conditions and community. It's a wonderful coming of age story but also testimony of the time which was as changing as it is today. ( )

Francie’s story: a young impoverished girl growing up in Brooklyn at the start of the last century. Semi autobiographical novel, written in the 1940s. At once an historical document but also as fresh and pertinent as if it were written this morning. Francie pragmatically faces hardship and the tribulations of being female in a poverty-stricken district. Fantastic sense of time and place, with a likeable protagonist. ( )