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Cover of A tree grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

A tree grows in Brooklyn

  • 443 pages · about 7 hours
  • First published 1943
  • 87 editions

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1 About this book

The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchanted and inspired millions of readers for more than sixty years.

By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolans are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness -- in a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as incredibly rich moments of universal experience.

Good for readers who want: a classic and a coming-of-age story.

  • Classics
  • Family life
  • Coming of age
  • Teenage girls
  • Girls
  • Poor families
  • Poverty
  • New york

2 About Betty Smith

1896–1972

Betty Smith (born Elisabeth Lillian Wehner; December 15, 1896 – January 17, 1972) was an American playwright and novelist. She is best known for writing the 1943 bestseller A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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