A review by eileen_critchley
Tomorrow Will Be Better: A Novel by Betty Smith

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

This book reads pretty close to as it would if it were a historical fiction novel written today. Betty Smith was ahead of her time in a few ways I think. Married three times, and an author at a time when not many women were, she wrote mostly autobiographical fiction from what I understand. (I have not read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.) She does jump around a bit as far as getting into various characters' thoughts, which felt like an abrupt shifting of gears sometimes. I will definitely say that children are generally treated much better in today's world than they were 100 years ago when this book takes place; my daughters life anyway is vastly different. I read about this book on a list of books that will make you think, and I do think her characters will stick with me.

{library, audio and Kindle, mostly audio}