Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

41 reviews

areyreads9's review

emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

faefolkreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A

3.5

Wow, this book kicked me in the feels and just kept kicking. 

When this was announced the my book club pick I instantly said ‘I’m not going to read that- it will be too sad’ but against my better judgment, when my library reservation came in I picked it up to read the first sentence- at least that way I could say I tried, right? Before I knew it I was 100 pages in, knowing this story was breaking my heart and still unable to not see it through to the end.

I read review that said The Berry Pickers is a quiet type of story, and I feel that encapsulates this book perfectly. It was a story about love and grief and loss and trauma, family and hopes and heartbreak, but told in such a soft and gentle way that it was letting me feel and grieve with the characters. 

This book felt beautiful and real, but unfortunately  that type of story just depresses me, and I was expecting a little more drive and gumption and character growth then what was planned. The lower rating is 100% a me problem- I just feel there could have been *more* in terms of Norma finding out her past, more for the resolution, more from Joe, more time exploring the racism and class system that was touched upon in this book and so many other things which were glanced past but not delved in to. 
This book will be loved and appreciated by many- unfortunately it’s just not my cup of tea. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement and Infertility

themis_biblos's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

Even people who exude light and happiness have dark secrets. Sometimes, the lie becomes so entrenched it becomes the truth. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Abandonment

stacyjones530's review

emotional sad

5.0

Such a good, but sad story. The way the story ended was satisfying and relieving (I was a little worried the author would chose to end differently). Didn’t expect to like this as much as I did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Dementia

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

3.0

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

swamp__hag's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent

bookmuva's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

Not to be dramatic, but this is one of the best books I’ve ever read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Cancer, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia

lahars_little_library's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Homophobia, Infertility, Racial slurs, Trafficking, Outing, and Alcohol

hellokriti's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

jesslinkletter's review

emotional sad slow-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

4.0

I did enjoy this book and felt it was deeply emotional and thought provoking regarding grief and how we deal with it in different ways. I feel like there's not a lot spelled out in this book (for example, that the sixties scoop was very real and that several children were taken from indigenous families, that the police really would not care about a missing indigenous child unfortunately, and also that June and Alice were queer), and I feel like if you missed those points you may not have enjoyed it as much. 

I do wish that this story had taken one of two other routes - either having Ruthie return to her family earlier on and show her reconnecting to her Indigenous culture, or making where she was and if she would return more of a mystery instead of revealing everything in the first few chapters. 

But overall, Amanda Peters wrote incredibly complex characters and weaved them together through such a tragic, grief stricken story. It explores family bonds as a primary theme, as well as identity. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail