A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is everything the perfect coming-of-age story should be and more. We follow as our little Francie grows up and faces problems such as poverty and class, gender and sex, the importance of education, and perseverance through hardships. The author does a brilliant job of placing you right on the streets of Brooklyn, experiencing life through the eyes of a little girl struck with poverty. Smith makes sure you feel every hunger pang and every teardrop in this fantastic piece of literature.

Life in early 1900s Brooklyn is challenging for this family. Francie lives in a small apartment with her father, mother, and her little brother, Neeley. Johnny Nolan, her father, is a singing waiter who uses his tip money for drinks after work. Her mother, Katie Nolan, is a janitress in their apartment, trying to make a better living for her children. Finally, Cornelius “Neeley” Nolan is a loving brother and a typical boy. We watch as her family is met with each hardship throughout the years, from moving neighborhoods to alcoholism.

The book opens on Francie sitting on her fire escape while the narrator describes a tree growing in her backyard. It’s a unique tree some people call the Tree of Heaven. “No matter where its seed fell, it made a tree which struggled to reach the sky” (p. 6). It was a tree that liked poor people, Francie would say. While I was reading the book, I always wondered why it was titled A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. What was the significance of the tree, anyhow? It wasn’t until after I finished that I realized the Tree of Heaven symbolizes Francie and her story. It didn’t matter so much that Francie was raised poor because even when everyone was trying to cut her down, she continued to grow. Betty Smith used her hometown and own personal experiences as inspiration to write this book. Smith was raised poor in Brooklyn, and just like Francie, she defied all odds.

The novel takes place over a hundred years ago, in somewhere I’ve never been, and yet I felt a real connection to the main character. The problems teenagers faced then, are relevant today, and that proves how significant this book is in our society. This novel is timeless and heartwarming, and it should be on everyone’s reading list. Anyone who has ever struggled, anyone who has defied the odds stacked against them, and anyone who is human should read this book.