A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

My mom and I do not have similar reading tastes, but we both read this book at the same time and enjoyed it immensely. My mom read it when she was younger and remembered liking it, so she decided giving it another try. This was my classic for the month.

And boy, was it good.

Slightly reminiscent of the atmosphere of To Kill A Mockingbird, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is the story of Francie Nolan, a girl growing up with her family in Brooklyn. Much of her family's interesting history is recorded in this book, like of her aunt Sissy, who could never give birth to a live baby and has many husbands, all named John.

I wouldn't really say A Tree Grows in Brooklyn has a plot I can tell you. It simply follows Francie through her early years. I usually do not like books like this, but I really liked it. The combination of deep topics, hardship, and whimsical characters and circumstances make the perfect mix.

One thing that fascinated me about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is the relationship between mothers and daughters. Katie (Francie's mother) gets some very cool and interesting advice after she has Francie. Katie offers interesting perspective on dating and men when Francie gets older. I can't give any of that away, it's just too good.

Definitely, this gets an A.

(This book fits into the Dewey's Books Challenge. Good one, Dewey!)