A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and deeply understanding story of childhood and family relationships. The Nolan family lived in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn from 1902 until 1919 and throughout their life there, their daughter Francie and their son Neely knew more than their fair share of the privations and sufferings that are the lot of a great city's poor. In the most part, this is Francie's book. She is a superb feat of characterization, an imaginative, alert, resourceful child and Francie's growing up and beginning of wisdom are the substance of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Francie was a young girl growing with ups and downs in the Brooklyn slums. In the beginning of the novel, Francie is viewed as a young girl just living her life like any other girl interested in books and hanging out with her brother Neely, but as the book progresses...