A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

It's almost sad to me that I have only read this book once, and that was over twelve years ago (I think I read it in the summer of 2005, if I am remembering correctly). I remembered that I loved it, but I didn't really remember anything about it. Once I started reading, things started coming back to me, and I remembered more of what it was about and what happened. I started reading it very slowly, trying to take my time and just savor it and enjoy it. I didn't want to rush and try to get through this fast--I wanted to sit with it. I ended up reading a huge chunk last night, so I finished it faster than I meant to, but once the action started halfway through I couldn't really put it down.

I think it's interesting how the first half of this very long book is basically just Smith world-building and giving so much detail about Francie's life in Brooklyn. The details are amazing, how clearly and expressively she describes their Brooklyn neighborhood and their family. I think that might annoy some people, since there wasn't much action for at least the first 200 pages of the book, but I loved it. I felt like I had such a good sense of where they were--I felt like I was there and like I was with Francie. Smith's spare writing also had a way of making me feel so strongly for Francie and Neeley. My heart just ached for them at so many little spots, how things were so difficult and how tough they had to be. There were so many small things in the story that made me want to cry--like the librarian who never looked at Francie while she checked out her books, even though she was there every day, or the English teacher who told her not to write about her own life any more after her father died, or how Francie was always lonely and never, ever had any friends.

I loved how Smith created the characters of both Johnny and Katie, Francie's parents. They both had amazing, admirable qualities, and they both had terrible, detrimental qualities as well--they were truly human. Katie was tough as nails and so hard-working and refused to give up even when life was so unbelievably hard, and Johnny was so loving and tender with his children, especially Francie. It is an inspiring story, how they worked so hard and made things work even when they barely could. It's not a rags-to-riches story, more of a rags-to-slightly-nicer-rags story, and it was a hard, hard life. It's such a relief that things work out more in the end for them.

Anyways, I feel like there are a billion more things I could say about this one. It is definitely one of my favorites ever. I love, love, love it, and I am happy that I read it again this year.