Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

93 reviews

kathleendayle's review against another edition

sad slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Death of parent

sundayfever's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I wanted to love this book, but it just didn't do it for me. There was no suspense or unexpected plot twist. I knew within the first few chapters what had happened, so it was just waiting for the whole rest of the book for the characters to figure it out. Love the setting in Downeast Maine & Atlantic Canada, and the characters were sweet. But not as engaging a read as I'd hoped. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, and Murder

Minor: Vomit

bookishevy's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

During the summer of 1962, 4-year-old Ruthie vanishes weeks after her family arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the season. The last person to see her is Joe, her 6-year-old brother.

The story is told from two perspectives.

Joe, who is now in palliative care at 56 and still devastated over his sister’s disappearance, narrates how his family coped with the grief of missing Ruthie; and Norma, who recounts growing up as the only child in an affluent family in Maine, with a cold father and a bias, domineering mother who constantly tries to convince her that the recurring visions she has that feel like memories are just dreams. 

Norma is obviously Ruthie. This isn't a mystery for the reader, who Norma takes on an emotional journey as she unravels her family's secret. You get the sense that she knows there's something her parents aren't telling her, but her intuition hasn't prepared her for the magnitude of the truth.

I tried having empathy for the woman who raised Norma, but her grief doesn't make it okay to snatch up someone else's child. It was more her beliefs about Native Americans that made her think Ruthie needed saving. She pays for what she did in guilt and spends the rest of her life looking over her shoulder, worrying if someone will take Norma away.

In Nova Scotia, Joe suffers with his own guilt. He struggles the most with Ruthie's disappearance and other losses the family endures because he feels most responsible. His trauma leads to self-medication with alcohol and he rages against people he loves, leading to self-alienation.

But if Norma learns the truth, maybe she could reunite with her family and feel the love that was absent during her upbringing and give Joe some closure before he crosses over. 

I was in shambles 😩

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racism, Violence, and Kidnapping

bites_of_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

The story of Ruthie and Joe is so sad and so necessary. I loved the writing and the complex characters. It would be easy to be set against the kidnapping family, but even with those characters, there was complexity throughout the book. 
Ruthie's journey is hard to read, mostly because of the gaslighting that she endures. I think many things did happen to her and she didn't get to have much agency, but that felt like a big part of the point of the story in this case. 
Joe was a potentially unlikeable character who did grow for me and his story is truly heartbreaking. His emotional journey was difficult to connect to at times but there were certain moments that were so heartfelt and real for me that I couldn't help but want to just wrap him up in a blanket.
I'd love to read more of Peters' books! I simply loved her writing, at times I was so wrapped up in it that I did forget everything that was going on around me. That's a great book for me! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

cmcahill's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.75

When I learned that the story revolved around a lost child, I thought, who would want to read this during the holiday season. But pretty early on you realize things will resolve. Lots of loss and dysfunction, but very readable.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, and Grief

bessadams's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Terminal illness, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, and Death of parent

erincooper04's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Dementia, Kidnapping, and Grief

hanvin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, and Grief

Moderate: Cancer and Violence

panickat123's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

jillianlottie26's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• 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

2.0

I almost dnf this book but I guess I'm glad I stuck it out to the end, at the very least to add to my yearly reading challenge. This book was so depressing, it was truly the accumulation of every bad thing that could happen to an individual and to families. I could tell exactly how it was going to end by chapter 2. This book was suppose to be about the preservation of the human spirit and enduring families but it really misses that mark. To me, the characters in this book really are just going through the motions. I really just don't get why everyone loves it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Dementia, and Kidnapping