A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

                                                
Jacob Sutton
708
9/16/12

                                 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

                    On the recommendation of my mother's cousin, I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by

Betty Smith over the summer. My cousin said that the main character Francie Nolan, captured her

heart. That was exactly what she did for me.

                    Francie Nolan is the central character in the book. As a young girl, she is very

observant, bright, and has a wide imagination. Her family, the Nolans, are very poor, but

that does not overshadow Francie's joy for the things she loves. I would have liked to have known

Francie, as she reminds me of myself in some ways. She loved reading, just like me. Sometimes,

school is my favorite place to be, just like Francie. Even though it didn't give her many friends, her

personal nature kept her open and sensitive. Francie was a young girl who strives and fights for the

things she loves, most of all her family.

                     Francie knows her mother, Katie Nolan , loves her brother Neeley more than her. She

strives to make her mother love her just as much as she loves Neeley. The reason that Katie does not

love Francie as much as Neeley, is because Francie and Katie are both so similar. They both

work hard, and fight hard for the family, but no matter how hard Francie tries, Katie loves Neeley

more.

                     By the end of the book, Francie has a more complex view of her world, but never

betrays her family. Francie always finds a solution to her problems, even though the odds are against

her. Francie will never forget the ones she loves, because she works so hard for them.