Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

83 reviews

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

bellarosereads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-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

4.25

Although you sort of know the end from the start, I sobbed through the last 30 pages or so. 

Overall, while I was interested in Norma/Ruthie's story in terms of how she ended up learning the truth but not as much what happened to her. I found Joe's inner life and the ramifications of Ruthie's disappearance and his other life mistakes and tragedies more compelling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Gaslighting

sehenry20's review

emotional hopeful 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting

peachflavorr's review against another edition

challenging dark informative

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Miscarriage

whatmckennareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Kidnapping

Moderate: Racism and Violence

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

cemari's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Violence

brebooks_'s review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

Wowww this book tore me up. So incredibly sad when you truly sit down to think about each consequence of this novel. The last chapter being titled Ruthie broke my spirit and filled me with joy.  Not what I expected but definitely took me on a ride. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Racism, Violence, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy

Minor: Homophobia

machenn's review against another edition

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

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent