Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

34 reviews

mynameisrebecca's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

bebidocrimes's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

teddie_valetine98's review against another edition

emotional 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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

jillaay_h's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

archangelo12's review

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

littlelizzieborden's review against another edition

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

isabellamarg's review

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

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility and Lesbophobia

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

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

aposthuma's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This book tells a beautiful and heartbreaking story of a Native girl kidnapped as a child who grows up with no knowledge of her heritage. I love the humanity and complexity of the main characters, and the ending was so sweet. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

stevenjran's review

emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping