A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is about an eleven year old girl named Francie and her life in Brooklyn, New York in 1912. The first paragraph of the book describes Brooklyn as “serene” which I thought was a unusual word to describe any borough of New York but especially Brooklyn. To be fair, I only really know modern day Brooklyn but it still feels weird to call it serene. Francie does go on in the first paragraph to contradict her statement on the whole “serene” thing and she says that “sober” could be a better word but it’s summer and Brooklyn is serene in summer. About a chapter later Franice goes to the library and that is when the book explained that she is reading two books a day and when she asks the librarian for suggestions, she gives her the same two everyday.
I like the book so far. I think it is really interesting to read about a time right before the Great Depression hit. It’s also interesting to see how weird some things are like the guy who is called the “neighborhood junkie” gives kids pennies for picking up garbage and cigarette butts but the girls get an extra penny if they don’t scream when he pinches their faces. He calls it a “pinching penny”. That’s just weird to me but there are different gender rules in 1912. Apparently the penny candy store is known as a “boys only” type store so when her brother goes in she has to wait outside. Now I want to know where the girls get their candy.
Great American Novels 2020 