Two Books in Brooklyn

I ended up reading the following novels fairly close together. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn kept me company during my illness on Christmas Eve, when I could not join in the festivities. I read While We're Far Apart to check it out for a book club. I decided not to pick it for the book club, but still enjoyed it. Both are set in wonderful Brooklyn and take place in the past.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
This American classic is set in the early 1900s leading up to World War I. The novel follows the Nolan family through the trials of poverty and serves as a touching coming-of-age story for young Francie. It's beautifully written, with rich emotion and detail. I read this for a book club and some of the other members thought it was a sad book and didn't like the ending. I thought it ended hopefully and that things were just as they should have been, which is a good compliment for a novel. (PG-13, recommended)

While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin
Austin's Christian historical novel explores Brooklyn during World War II. The story's told through three points of view, Penny Goodrich, a young lady who volunteers to watch Mr. Shaffer's kids after he enlists in the Army because she's in love with him, Esther Shaffer, Mr. Shaffer's young daughter who doesn't like Penny, and Mr. Mendel, Mr. Shaffer's neighbor and a widower who is accused of burning down the synagogue across the street and who lost his wife in the same accident Mr. Shaffer lost his and whose son went to Europe before the war and is lost. Got it?

I found the novel well-written with rounded characters and reverent treatment of both Christianity and Judaism. The characters weren't afraid to ask hard questions of God, and Austin didn't provide any easy Sunday School answers. (Perhaps this is why Austin has won numerous Christy awards.) I found the ending satisfying and enjoyed the book overall. (PG, recommended)