Joy in the Morning (Perennial Classics)

Rating:
Summary: S.E.W.- Student at Maces Lane Middle
Review: "Joy In The Morning" is one of my favorate books, written by one of my favorate authors, Betty Smith. In the novel, two young lovers, Annie McGairy, a bimbo with a flare for writing, and Carl "Carlton" Braun,a law student, are wed by the state, and it was funny, because the person who wed them thought that Annie didin't look "A day over fourteen". In actuality, Annie was eighteen. It's a romantic novel about young love, young parenthood, and young manerisms. There's a part that still bothers me, though. The part when Annie is pregnant with their baby, she's upset about the old carriage, and Carl threatens Annie that he'll "Bop her one". Well, I'd never let my man talk to me like that! One example of 20's male chauvinism. Shame, Betty Smith, shame.
Oh yeah, and this is NOT a novel with sexual content. It does give some indication, like sexual abuse, but no, pretty clean in general. I would know; I read this in the eighth grade.
If you're in the mood for clean romantic novels,I would also reccomend "The Notebook" by Nicholas Sparks, and "Bling: A hip-hop Story" by Erica Kennedy.

Rating:
Summary: A bit too boring
Review: After reading "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", which was like a little slice of life and "Maggie-Now", which wasn't as good but charming none the less, I read this. It was written in the typical Betty Smith style, but didn't really hold my interest like the other two did. Annie was an okay character, but Carl really got on my nerves. Was it supposed to be "romantic" that Annie still loved him even though he was a jerk? While "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"'s story took place over many years, "Joy in the Morning" only takes place over one and a half years. This means just boring details about what they ate and what they did all the time. Since the two main characters start out married, there is hardly any romance in the story. Instead of acting like newlyweds, they act like old people that have been married for 50 years. While "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" really came to life and made it seem like you were there, I had a hard time imagining the little village of Lopin that Annie and Carl live by. Over all, this is an okay, almost soap-opera about a couple that has little chemistry and live a pretty boring life.

Rating:
Summary: Reminds Me Why I Love Reading So Much
Review: I just finished, much to my dismay, Joy In the Morning. I couldn't put this book down over the weekend. Smith's character development is incredibly strong and her dialogue is excellently realistic. I have been away from reading for some time for various, no-good-reason reasons, and when I found this book I had meant to read in high school...and then college...I decided to give it a go and am ready to read again, often. It was truly a delight. The plot captured me immediately and I felt as though I quickly got to know Carl and Annie intimately. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a laid-back read that touches on many emotions and the common hardships/adjustments that come with starting a new life with someone. 5 stars, without a doubt.

Rating:
Summary: My favorite book
Review: I think that this book was an OK novel. I also read A Tree Grows In Brooklyn and saw many similarities of the 2 books. I did think that A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was better though just because it had a more intersting plot for older readers. I saw many similarites while reading Joy in the Morning between Francie and Annie while they are growing up. I also saw many references to Betty Smith's life. This book is great for younger readers and should be shared with many more generations.

Rating:
Summary: A Kinder, Gentler Novel
Review: In the Elizabethan era Christopher Marlowe wrote the famous line "Comparisons are Odious." However, when an author such as Betty Smith is so famous for one work, comparisons are very difficult to avoid. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was such a powerful novel that anyone who has ever read it is going to find it difficult to read Joy in the Morning without at least being vaguely reminded of the first book and possibly just a little disappointed in this one.

Joy in the Morning is the story of Annie, who leaves Brooklyn just after her 18th birthday to marry Carl, a young law student at a Midwestern university. The first year of their marriage is the stuff of subtle drama as Annie and Carl work out their cultural and educational differences.

The work is strongly autobiographical. Like Annie, Betty Smith left school at the age of 14 to work in factories and retail. Like Annie, Betty Smith (then Wehmer) left Brooklyn for the Midwest at age 18. At Ann Arbor, Michigan, she married George Smith, a young law student. In the book Annie is a writer trying to find her voice, and finds it in playwriting. Betty Smith was also a playwright-she attended Yale Drama School and had over 70 plays under belt before she wrote her first novel.

With that much stage experience, it is no wonder that Betty Smith is a virtuoso of both pace and dialogue. The underlying structure of Joy in the Morning is every bit as well-crafted as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. But it is every bit as different from the earlier work as a college town in the Midwest is from New York City. It is lighter, more sentimental, and less condensed. The grit of the Brooklyn streets is softened here. Though there are allusions to her stepfather's behavior in her bedroom being part of the reason Annie fled Brooklyn, Smith doesn't show the reader anything truly ugly as she did with Nolan's drinking and death in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Joy in the Morning is simply a kinder, gentler read, a sweet story about the first year of marriage in a new town.

Rating:
Summary: The first year of marriage in the world of Smith
Review: It has been said that this tale of Carl and Annie could well be the tale of the younger sister of Francie of Smith's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (indeed, Francie did have a baby sister named Annie Laurie.) Carl and Annie had been seeing each other for 4 years in Brooklyn and, a week after she turns 18 and is of legal age to get married, Annie joins Carl in the Midwest -- where he is attending law school -- to get married despite their respective mothers' wishes. The book starts with their simple wedding ceremony at the justice of the peace and proceeds to chronicle ther first year together.

As with all of Smith's books, this is set in the early part of the 20th century and there are episodes of gut-wrenching poverty. But there are also scenes that affect any young married couple, regardless of age, class, income or time period. Carl has been admonished by the Law School Dean that getting married may adversely affect his grades, and there is a struggle to find work without sacrificing school. Annie looks for work too, and finds herself participating in campus life, which she had always assumed was cut off to her as she is not officially a coed. She starts to discover a flair for academics she had not discovered before.

There is also depiction of Annie's relationships with the simple everyday people with whom we all come into contact: the landlady, the florist, the clerk at the corner store. Annie's wondrous way of discovering the world makes them all a part of this story and her life. Indeed, they are all watching a girl grow into a woman, as is the theme with Snith's books. Betty Smith has a wonderful understanding of what it is to be a young girl and, even more amazing, how that affects everyone around her. It shines through clear in this book as well.

Rating:
Summary: A Lovely Read
Review: Several years ago, I picked up this book for next-to-nothing at a used book sale. I began reading it and couldn't put it down. The story of the young law student and his other-side-of the-tracks wife is endearing and most memorable. This book has drama, comedy...anything any reader would want. I was so sorry when I finished it that I turned it over and started it all over again. This book is also a good summer or winter vacation read for teenage girls. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: A Lovely Read
Review: Several years ago, I picked up this book for next-to-nothing at a used book sale. I began reading it and couldn't put it down. The story of the young law student and his other-side-of the-tracks wife is endearing and most memorable. This book has drama, comedy...anything any reader would want. I was so sorry when I finished it that I turned it over and started it all over again. This book is also a good summer or winter vacation read for teenage girls. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL! Great in it's own righteous way!
Review: This book is about Carl Brown and Annie McGrairy and their compassionate love. This book is about young love and newly-weds. It is great all the way through. Betty Smith maintains her style of writing through this book as well. One would easily fall in love with the characters. This book really makes one believe that love can accomplish anything and everything. This book deals with dreams, aspirations, ambition, romance, poverty, desire, love and much more. I would recommend this book to anyone, it's hard to pick it up without putting it down, and it's a easy read. It's a rich experience all throughout. The book about newly-weds and especially about Annie who moves from Brooklyn to the Midwest to join her husband while he studies law at Midwestern University. Annie loves to read and write (like Francie Nolan from ATGIB) and how she makes friends and learns to love her new hometown.
It is a more gentler novel than A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and the character of Annie is much like Francie Nolan and even more like Betty Smith. The character of Carl is alot like Ben Blake from ATGIB, but like the ideal prince as well as husband. This book doesn't have as many down parts as ATGIB and it keeps a smile on one's face throughout.
This book was great! I loved it...as much as ATGIB. From cover to cover---IT WAS TRULY WONDERFUL. The characters in this book are one's that anyone can easily fall in love with. I THINK ANYONE WOULD ENJOY THIS NOVEL. I've read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and I know that many people think this book isn't as great, but it is, in it's own way.

Rating:
Summary: Timeless Love Story
Review: What a surprise! Found an old copy of this book while looking for something to take my mind off of personal problems. Was swept away to a simpler time and place... Midwestern college town in the late 1920's. Two struggling Brooklynites with the basic ability to overcome tremendous odds. Puts "Love Story" to shame. All heart and warmth without the "dramatics". A truly wonderful novel.