I loved this book more than I can express. It was so beautiful, funny, heartbreaking, and realistic that I couldn't help but adore it. It takes place in Brooklyn between 1915 and on. The story follows Francie, a young sensitive girl growing up in a poor section of Brooklyn (Bed Sty) and the struggles she and her family have due to having no money, an alcoholic father, little food, and the possibility of war.
I felt a real connection with Francie because her mother just doesn't prefer or even seem to like her. I can appreciate that and the parts of the book where Francie's mother treats her son (Francie's brother) like the second coming of the Messiah, while well behaved, book worm Francie is treated differently. I liked how Francie handled this type of rejection, because it took me a long time to understand and accept my own. I also like how she confronts her mother- which I have also done and cannot be understood by anyone unless you've been forced to do so.
Even though the book is sad, it's also a great character read. You will enjoy these imperfect characters living in an imperfect time. The things people who lived in a city environment had to do to survive will amaze you. And Betty Smith doesn't hold back when it comes to talking about the different races whether it be German, Jewish, Italian or Irish and what those ethnic groups did to survive (sometimes lots of fighting with one another) to make a buck.
Loved it.
PS: Anytime you see a tree actually growing and surviving in Brooklyn or any borough in NYC, rising out of concrete, it will be their forever. And that right there never ceases to amaze me.
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