Joy in the Morning

The reason why I'm reviewing this is not because I finished the book. The reason is, I accidentally misplaced my copy somewhere (trust me, I've looked for it), and none of the libraries around me carry it. I got sick of seeing this book on my Goodreads homepage and not being able to finish it, so I'm rating it based on my impression of the book so far. I'll probably find my copy right after I write this, because that's how the world works.
I picked this up because I really love A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a book I have read many, many times since first reading it in high school. I'm pleased to say that the two are similar, but I feel that Joy in the Morning is not nearly as charming nor environmentally encompassing. It relies quite a bit on dialogue, which I'm normally fine with, but I think in this case it's to the detriment of the story because so much of the setting is lost to the reader through dialogue. The characters are enjoyable, but I didn't grow to love them the way I did with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. However, that's probably due to the fact that I lost my book before finishing it.
It's worth checking out for the writing style, but it isn't Betty Smith's best work by any means. I initially picked it up from a used bookstore so I could have something to read on a car trip, and I think that's a great setting for a book like this.