Book Review: Maggie- Now by Betty Smith Released in 1958

4 STARS for Maggie- Now by Betty Smith. Reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn earlier this year has continued to sit with me. I have moved on and read more typical books of mine, thrillers, mysteries, suspense mostly all new releases. I haven't been able to stop thinking about A Tree Grows Up in Brooklyn. During these challenging and foreign times, I find solace in the way she wrote about Brooklyn and the characters she developed in the middle of poverty.

After giving up on my neighborhood book club selection this month because I couldn't focus and keep track of the characters, I also closed an ARC I received from Netgalley for the same reason. I want to tell everyone, "it's not you, it's me." So, I reached for more of Betty Smith. Hopeful. Dreaming she would be able to transport me back to the streets of Brooklyn and introduce me to new characters in a similar way.

I gave Maggie-Now 4 stars because at the beginning, the story starts with an Irish immigrant. I had a hard time knowing where it was heading and wondering if the entire book was going to have "me," instead of, "my" when the characters were talking. I continued to long for Brooklyn, not Ireland. And then, BAM! He moved to the US. And, once again, Betty Smith held my heart and eyeballs for 2 days straight every break, meal, and post-kid bedtime minute I could get.

I also have Joy Comes in The Morning and Tomorrow Will Be Better by Betty Smith. I'm thinking of neglecting my TBR list for a bit. And, getting back to good. It's such different writing that I typically read. And, certainly a different type of suspense and grip. All that said, let me just say, "it isn't you, it's me," as I continue to look for literature that is like a warm and soothing blanket, a retreat from the current world. Relatively.

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