A review by careinthelibrary
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I was really liking the first third of this but the "foreshadowing" (aka, the plot reveal which was clear as day coming) wore on too long. I lost interest in the mystery of this because it was so obviously plotted. I stuck it out to see how the reunion would go (if it ever happened) but overall thought this novel was good, but nothing memorable or outstanding. If heavy hinting at a mystery doesn't bother you, I do encourage you to check out this book.

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.
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