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celticthistle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
hmih's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism
befrazzledenby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
mjs73's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Grief, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse and Vomit
meganclaire7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Dementia, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, and Grief
cptnstphy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racism, Terminal illness, Dementia, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Racial slurs, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, and Vomit
moraina's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
While the events of this story are sad, the author develops the characters in a way that you feel hopeful for each of them and includes some positive turns of events. I found The Berry Pickers to be instantly engaging and well-written, it ended up being one of my favorite reads for this year so far.
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Abandonment
liesthemoontells's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Saying that you wish a book had been a different book/that a story had been told differently feels like a cop-out in a review. An author chooses the story they want to tell, and that is the story the reader receives. Amanda Peters wanted to tell the story of two siblings who were torn apart by an awful act, and how the trauma of that act was mirrored throughout their lives into adulthood and middle age.
The problems with this are that a) the drama of the book lags in the middle as the two characters move away from their traumatic childhood, before the reckoning of mortality brings them back to it in middle age, and b) the story of Joe is ultimately not as strong or believable as that of Norma's. I think this would have been a better book had it concentrated only on Ruthie's disappearance, or
Similarly, I think a multiplicity of viewpoints, such as the other siblings, or the parents, or the Ellises who owned the berry farm, would have made the story stronger.
The highlight of this book for me was the way Peters wrote the complicated, twisted, guilt-ridden love between Norma and her mother. It was painful, heartwrenching, and rang utterly true.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Genocide
goodyeargoodbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
nemo_lacuna's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Pregnancy