Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

69 reviews

hwoodard's review

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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Grief

abicaro17's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This book is amazing. Very insightful and inspiring. You really connect to both sides of the coin: Ruthie as dutiful and reserved struggling to break free and Joe as angry and lost struggling to find peace. I think while the end was a tad short it did wrap everything up in a neat and sad way. Its also hella slow and doesn't pick up till the last 30%. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

rsagarin's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

reflectiverambling_nalana's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Though I am still processing this novel, I found it to be a a complex examination on how lost pieces can create new versions of the people we intend or are 'meant' to be. Given the title I expected this to be slightly more a love letter to the culture of the work and to the land. While there are hints of that and as a Mainer I truly appreciate the scope of the state and Eastern canadian territory it covers, i had admit I had hoped for a little more. 

dual narratives can sometimes be very tricky to pull off. I was quite pleased at how these two complimented each other. It was interesting to see how many trends were in NOra/Ruth's path and Joe's. They were not mirrors. But it makes an interesting case of nature vs. nurture in how they both find their independence, how they relate to family both in embracing and keeping at arm's length, and how they each form their own quest to fill the holes in their lives. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Dementia, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism and Racism

theonlysentree's review

emotional hopeful mysterious slow-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Racism, Kidnapping, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, and Violence

seattlehols16's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent

allisonwatkins's review

emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Infertility

mondovertigo's review

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Blood, Kidnapping, and Lesbophobia

krisi616's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage

cassielaj'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

4.5

The Berry Pickers is a soft-spoken, impactful novel about what loss can do to a family, about identity, and about those who never lose hope. The alternating perspectives weave together the experiences of two people who deal with loss, guilt, grief, and family over the span of 50 years. It’s slow at times, but it reads as though being told directly to you by the characters, which is perfectly fitting for the story. An excellent debut. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Grief

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infertility, and Kidnapping