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mthereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Dementia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Grief, Terminal illness, Child death, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Cancer
warlocksarecool21's review
- 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: Miscarriage, Addiction, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Grief, Domestic abuse, Death, Dementia, Cancer, Abortion, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Moderate: Car accident
sjanke2'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? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Terminal illness, Infertility, Abandonment, Miscarriage, Car accident, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Cancer, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Death of parent, Dementia, and Gaslighting
amandas_bookshelf'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
3.5
Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Classism, Grief, Infertility, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing
kelly_e'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
4.75
Author: Amanda Peters
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.75
Pub Date: April 4, 2023
I received complimentary eARC copy of this book from HarperCollins Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad
T H R E E • W O R D S
Riveting • Quiet • Moving
📖 S Y N O P S I S
July 1962. A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, is seen sitting on her favourite rock at the edge of a field before mysteriously vanishing. Her six-year-old brother, Joe, who was the last person to see Ruthie, is devastated by his sister’s disappearance, and her loss ripples through his life for years to come.
In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as an only child in an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, while her mother is frustratingly overprotective of Norma, who is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem to be too real to be her imagination. As she grows older, Norma senses there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she pursues her family’s secret for decades.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Amanda Peters debut novel, The Berry Pickers, came onto my radar while browsing 2023 releases on NetGalley. From the synopsis, I had a gut feeling I'd absolutely love this novel, yet it far surpassed me expectations.
Told in alternating POVs between Joe and Norma, Peters has crafted two unique voices offering just enough history without it overshadowing the story. The writing is subtle and the story has a steady pace. With themes of generational trauma, different types of loss, and the search for truth and identity, there is also an undercurrent of love, hope, and forgiveness. This novel is filled with great sorrow, yet there's so much resiliency that I couldn't help but feel hopeful.
The Berry Pickers is a book that will stay with me. Each of the characters found a way into my heart. It moved me to the core and is a stunning portrayal of the importance of family, language and culture. Amanda Petters is a new voice in Canadian fiction that I will be eagerly awaiting more books from.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers searching for an Indigenous voice
• historical fiction fans
• book clubs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Words are powerful and funny things, said or unsaid."
"Hope is such a wonderful thing until it isn't."
"If children lose their parents, they are orphans. If a husband loses his wife, he's a widower. But there's no word for a parent who loses a child. I've come to believe that the event is just too big, too monstrous, too overwhelming for words. No word could ever describe the feeling, so we leave it unsaid."
"Some wounds cannot be healed. Some wounds never close, never scar. But the further away from the injury, the easier it became to smile."
Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Addiction, Alcoholism, Racism, Infertility, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Kidnapping, Death, Violence, Miscarriage, and Blood
Moderate: Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Cancer, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Dementia, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, and Animal death
sibling death, divorceavisreadsandreads'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
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Infertility, Violence, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, and Car accident
Moderate: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Dementia, and Miscarriage
careinthelibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I liked what it had to say about how families being separated destroys the family from inside and out, but wished that there was more discussion about how Norma's culture being taken from her affected her and her sense of self. She wondered about things, but I think it would have been more powerful had there been a stronger presentation here of how it changed her trajectory. Joe was an interesting character because we saw how the tragedies in his family affected him. The before and after. How grief and especially anger derailed his future and caused him and his loved ones pain. And the resolution at the end was even more bittersweet because we saw the whole picture. But who would Ruthie have been? What did being Norma cost her?
The cover is absolutely stunning. Not sure the title and cover accurately represent the book's plot but I love it anyways.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Addiction, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, and Colonisation
Minor: Fatphobia
residential schoolszee's review against another edition
4.25
Moderate: Dementia, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Cancer, and Racism
annemaries_shelves'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? Yes
2.5
Amanda Peters wrote a good, melancholic debut. She had some really beautiful turns of phrases and descriptions (especially of landscapes) but the character work and emotional development just didn't come together for me. Peters tried but I struggled (and maybe it's a me thing) with believing her characters' motivations for their very frustrating actions and behaviours. It didn't feel fully realized on the page.
However, the family dynamics and explorations of grief was a strong point of the book - it shone most when families were on the page, rather than just Norma/Ruthie or Joe's perspective.
Also the Aunt June of Norma/Ruthie was lesbian and had a life partner, Aunt Alice. Their relationship was rarely explicitly named on page but it made me so happy.
CW: anti-Indigenous racism and outdated terminology that's accurate for the time setting (1950s-early 2000s), miscarriage (on-page), alcoholism, one scene of domestic abuse
Graphic: Dementia, Alcoholism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, and Racism
Minor: Cancer