Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

14 reviews

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

 The Berry Pickers is a great debut novel. It opens in 1962 with a Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia who have travelled to Maine for a summer of blueberry picking. Within a few weeks the family’s youngest child, four year old Ruthie, disappears. Her six year old brother Joe was the last person to see her. The story is told from the alternating perspectives of Joe and of Norma. The story is not a mystery; that Norma is Ruthie is not a spoiler. The focus of this story is not so much what happened to Ruthie but how her life and that of Joe unfolded, how being separated from her birth family impacted her life and how her disappearance impacted his. Both have suffered, Joe in ways that are perhaps more obvious, but this is ultimately an uplifting story about redemption, forgiveness, identity, belonging, and the strength of family ties. The characters are well drawn and I could feel both Joe and Ruthie’s pain, different though they were. I liked the ways aspects of indigenous life - the annual rhythm of life and work, discrimination and lack of respect from police, employers and others, the effort people had to put in to learning their own language and aspects of their culture - were incorporated into the story, underpinning the narrative rather than dominating or being the focus. I do want to mention a trigger warning for miscarriage, something readers might not be expecting from the book’s synopsis. This novel was well written and enjoyable to read. I’ll be keen to read whatever Amanda Peters writes next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Cancer, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Racism

sjanke2's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

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

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

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

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

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

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