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The book depicts life in the slums just as they were when my parents were growing up, although it was a bit rougher than as she describes it. I grew up in Greenpoint which is mentioned in the book - it borders the area where most of the action takes place. The younger generation and even my generation don't realize my sisters and I slept in the same bed in a tiny bedroom with no windows, my parents slept on a pull out bed in the living room and we had a tiny kitchen that barely fit a table and chairs. The toilet was in the hall and we had no shower or bath - had to go to the public baths as did many of my friends who lived in a poor immigrant neighborhood in the 1950's. It was still a lot like the book though the book takes place at an earlier time. I think it would be a good book for the kids today who seem to want for nothing to see how hard life was in the USA then and I was a second generation American. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
This is a beautiful coming of age book based on the authors life. I couldn’t put it down. When my daughter is older I’ll ask her to read it as well. Three generations of my family have now read and loved this book. It’s life changing.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
my son was reading this book for his english class and i thought i'd read it at the same time. i think i might have read it as a teen. i definitely saw the movie. i loved reading this book. it coincides so beautifully with what's going on in the world today--the honor of working hard and living without, not living outside of your means. the love of family despite all the flaws. seeing the best in each other when we are so obviously damaged. i found myself rooting for the characters even though i knew there wasn't some perfect ending for them all. this is such a beautifully written depiction of life in the depression. it brought me back to all the stories my father used to tell us about his childhood that i just couldn't relate to, growing up in the 70's. for those of us who are caught up in the quest for more material things, this book is a reminder that things are not what matter in life. highly recommend.Read full review
Where was I when everyone else was reading this book? My book club had been reading the recent books of Jeanette Walls [Half Broke Horses and The Glass Castle] about a girl growing up poor with crazy and alcoholic parents. Many members of the group count A Tree Grows in Brooklyn as their favorite books of all time [up there with To Kill a Mockingbird and A Christmas Carol]. But I had never read it. That's why I bought it. Another novel about growing up poor with an alcoholic father, but in a more innocent time and place. This book has none of the bitterness of Walls accounts. It is a book of infinite hope and faith in the educational system to raise each succeeding generation from the poverty of the initial immigrant generation. It is truly an American story and it should be required reading in all schools.Read full review
charming. An American Dickens, sorta. Poor kid is rich in experience. She had an appreciation of little things we take for granted living in times of plenty. And a strong sense of justice despite the cultural differences between early 20th Century and now.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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