Betty Smith's book is kinda like Francie Nolan's essays that Miss Garnder doesn't like. After all, this story isn't filled with "hollyhocks like distilled sunsets and larkspur like concentrate of heaven," but rather with the "sordid" topics Francie writes about. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a story of life, which can be pretty (like Francie's time on the rooftop under the stars), but it definitely isn't always. Sometimes it's filled with alcoholism, deep hunger, perverts, broken hearts, the desire for love, hurting families, loneliness, and raw needs. How do we—as readers, teachers, students, parents—respond to these things, in books and in real life? Do we stop reading, read and forget, read and change?

Whether good or bad, these are all issues that people might deal with at some point or another. As a teacher, it's not necessarily helpful to get on a soapbox and moralize or blush and get embarrassed. Neither will help your students get something from this story and become independent thinkers, and that's the goal, right?