Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

45 reviews

atamano's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Racism, Gaslighting, Murder, Grief, and Child death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Blood, Classism, Violence, Terminal illness, Dementia, Cancer, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Pregnancy, Cursing, and Alcohol

kappafrog's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is a hard book to review. I was compelled to keep reading because I felt completely drawn in to the tragedies and traumas that the characters were facing, and needed to see how it all resolved. I was moved to tears at times, especially at the end. At the same time, the characters went through so much trauma that I almost felt voyeuristic at times. I kept going because I knew from the first chapter there was hope, but it was pretty brutal seeing everything that especially Joe's family went through.

This story is a heartbreaking look at the effect the Sixties Scoop had on Indigenous people in Canada. While this wasn't exactly like the typical Sixties Scoop - where the taking of children was sanctioned by child welfare services - it explored how much that sort of forced interracial adoption fractured family and individual identities. It's estimated that 20,000 Indigenous children were forcibly relocated during the Scoop, so the emotions that Ruthie and her family went through in this book are far from unique.

At times I wondered why we were spending so much time with Joe. His story was interesting to read, but I finished the book with so many unanswered questions about the fallout with Norma

/Ruthie

and her family that I wish we could have spent some more time with her perspective at the end. What we did get with her at that point was great though and very healing.

That scene towards the end where all the siblings are laughing together was so special.

The book could have dug a little deeper on a few of its themes.

Aunt June didn't exactly get off easy, as Norma did articulate to her what I'd been thinking the whole time, but the book could have explored a little more her position as a white queer person - on the one hand oppressed, and on the other hand, an enabler of another's oppression. She did so much damage by keeping that secret - poor Norma got so twisted up by all the gaslighting, and no one was ever fully held accountable for it, though the novel was still clear about how awful it was and the negative effects it had. I would have liked to see some more anger expressed towards Norma's mother, and to have seen more of her original family's reactions to learning why Ruthie had been taken from them.

The above are all just things I wish we could have seen more of. I do have one criticism of the book aside from that though. I really didn't like how Norma's mother Lenore played into stereotypes about manipulative people with migraines. Her migraines were her key emotional manipulation tactic, and I really didn't appreciate that. While it's something that could certainly happen, one of the reasons that migraine isn't taken seriously as the massively debilitating disease it is is that people see it as something women fake to get out of things they don't want to do. There's plenty of research showing that. So, as someone whose life has been badly affected by chronic migraine (and OCD, which Norma's mother was also possibly implied to have), I didn't love that the author used this trope. It wasn't a dealbreaker, since it was technically plausible (migraine can be triggered by emotional upset), and the main characters in the novel were suffering from so many worse societal ills, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this book. It is a heavy read, but it really shines in moments like the descriptions of the landscape and people's connections to it and Joe's memories of his sister. It provided insights into a way of life unknown to most people (including me) by exploring the social and economic realities of life for itinerant Indigenous berry pickers in Canada and Maine. While there were things I would have liked to see it explore more, it was a fantastic debut, and I look forward to seeing more from this author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Cancer, Grief, Infertility, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Violence, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Racism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Murder, Addiction, Genocide, Homophobia, Blood, Colonisation, Ableism, Classism, and Cursing

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Vomit

laurrelise's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Miscarriage

Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Dementia, Car accident, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Cancer

Minor: Homophobia

archangelo12's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This reflective story about long lost family and the tragedy that they faced over decades was well written and moving. I don’t normally enjoy the switching of narrators every other chapter, but I think it was necessary and powerful to see how the disappearance of young Ruthie affected both parties involved. 

So many parts were just devastating, and while I couldn’t relate, I sympathized so deeply with their losses. The novel made evident how loss truly shapes one’s perspective on life and the relationships they hold dear. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dementia, Grief, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Death, Child death, Pregnancy, and Terminal illness

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Dementia, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Body horror, Murder, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Blood, Cancer, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, and Racism

littlelizzieborden's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Cancer, Blood, Death of parent, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Violence, Child death, and Dementia

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

maryannc's review

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Dementia, Kidnapping, and Alcoholism

Minor: Miscarriage and Death of parent

isabellamarg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

The Berry Pickers is the story of Ruthie, a four year old Mi'kmaq girl who disappears on a berry picking farm in rural Maine while her family is there to work for the season. The book follows her, now named Norma, as well as the family she left behind (and the family that has taken her), specifically her brother Joe, in the aftermath of her disappearance. This book was a beautiful tapestry of familial pain and truly captured the human reality of grief, regret, death, forgiveness, guilt, and the bonds of sisters and brothers that span eternity. 

The Berry Pickers has been added to my list of favorite books. The characters were honest, relatable, and flawed. Norma, or Ruthie's, story and the consequences of her disappearance for her family were raw and hard. There were many strong, complex female characters which was great to read and the ending makes you think deeply about death and facing it. The last few chapters were beautiful and made me cry with pure joy and happiness. One of my main takeaways from this book is that while forgiveness is not easy or simple, it is necessary sometimes to continue to live and love. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Murder, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Dementia, and Miscarriage

Minor: Car accident

sytaylor's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia and Infertility

Moderate: Grief, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, and Racism

Minor: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Cancer, Dementia, Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Vomit, and Cursing

leslie_overbookedsocialworker's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Dementia, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Cancer, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Racism, Alcoholism, Grief, and Murder