ARC Review of Tomorrow Will Be Better by Betty Smith

 I've mentioned before that my all-time favorite book is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I was interested in reading more from her, but her books are out of print. However, I recently found that they are getting reprinted so I requested an audio ARC of Tomorrow Will Be Better.

The book focuses on Margy Shannon, a poor Irish girl growing up in 1920s Brooklyn. This is a family saga that looks at the impact of poverty on family dynamics and the idea of the American Dream that if you work hard, you can be successful. Hope towards a brighter tomorrow is a constant theme running through the book.

Something that I thought was incredibly progressive for a book originally published in 1948 is the inclusion of a character is who not really interested in sex with his wife. It is unclear if this character is asexual or a homosexual but either way, that was likely a radical idea to include in this story.

This book is quite sad in parts, dealing with abuse, poverty, and infant loss but the book ends on a hopeful note that things can turn around. My only issue with the book was the pacing. Occasionally she skipped over significant events or rushed through them. While this did not replace A Tree Grows in Brooklyn as my favorite, I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend the audiobook. I gave the book 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for the audio ARC and this book will be published on November 24, 2020.