
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Paperback – Deckle Edge, May 30, 2006
HarperCollins · Paperback · May 30, 2006
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick A beautifully designed Harper Perennial Deluxe Edition of the beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the twentieth century.
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- Who it’s for
- Readers interested in early 20th-century American life
- Themes
- coming-of-age, family, resilience
- Pacing
- Steady
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Start with this bookAbout this book
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick A beautifully designed Harper Perennial Deluxe Edition of the beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the twentieth century. From the moment she entered the world, Francie Nolan needed to be made of stern stuff, for growing up in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn, New York demanded fortitude, precocity, and strength of spirit.
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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, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the Nolans’ daily experiences are raw with honestly and tenderly threaded with family connectedness. Betty Smith has captured the joys of humble Williamsburg life—from “junk day” on Saturdays, when the children traded their weekly take for pennies, to the special excitement of holidays, bringing cause for celebration and revelry. Smith has created a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as deeply resonant moments of universal experience. Here is an American classic that "cuts right to the heart of life," hails the New York Times. "If you miss A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, you will deny yourself a rich experience." The special edition includes French flaps, special cover effects, and deckle-edged paper.
Who it’s for
- Readers interested in early 20th-century American life
- Readers who appreciate coming-of-age family dramas
Where it sits
| 20th-Century Historical Fiction | 66% |
|---|---|
| Coming-of-Age | 39% |
| The Classics | 31% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- The Classics
- Family Sagas
- Literary Fiction
- Psychological Fiction
Show all 8 publisher categories
- Coming-of-Age
- Women's Fiction
- Family Life
- Cultural Heritage Fiction
- Authors
- Betty Smith
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- May 30, 2006
- Format
- Paperback
- Theme
- coming-of-age · family · resilience
- Reading lane
- The Classics