Betty Smith's novel chronicles the trials of young Francie and her family in Brooklyn. Told in five installments, flashing forward and backwards in time, the reader sees Francie, her mother, and brother struggle to overcome adversity, cope with family alcoholism, and make a living in the early 1900's. Brutually honest and poetically lyrical, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a radiant portrait of life on the outskirts of New York City.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith, Harper, 528 pp.