Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

13 reviews

kimveach's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.25

I chose to listen to this book as it was on a "great on audio list."  I've heard better narrations, but the story was great.  I think I'd have liked it even better in print.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Abandonment, Cursing, Death of parent, Racism, Dementia, Infertility, Murder, Physical abuse, Cancer, Child death, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Classism, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, and Violence

10inspace's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Hell of a read. Heartache and happiness and everything human in between. 

Bummer that the author found endless ways to describe characters as fat without being relevant in any way whatsoever to the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, Dementia, Child death, Addiction, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Racism, Body shaming, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Grief, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death, Colonisation, and Alcohol

dfrancis's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Infertility, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Car accident and Terminal illness

Minor: Pregnancy, Racism, Colonisation, and Homophobia

books_tea_blanket's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

This book deals with grief, some of what was but mainly what could have been. The characters’ stories are often sad as they find themselves, and I found myself wishing that their lives had been different. But I don’t put the blame on the author for writing their stories this way, but on the people and their choices in the book, as well as problems with society, for shaping the characters’ stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Grief, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, Death, Dementia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Racism, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Murder, Violence, Blood, Addiction, and Alcohol

Minor: Colonisation, Infertility, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Animal death, and Lesbophobia

Childhood trauma, loss of a child, and lack of identity are consistent themes and potential triggers throughout the book.

rsagarin's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

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

melissadawson79's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Racism, Colonisation, and Miscarriage

gwenswoons's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Alcoholism, Grief, Blood, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Dementia, Abandonment, Blood, Miscarriage, Addiction, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, and Terminal illness

Minor: Confinement, Death, Cancer, and Death of parent

nativeladybookwarrior's review

challenging emotional sad 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? Yes

3.5

Solid debut. The first third of the book I enjoyed bc it gave me a look into the book's title and how its tied in with Indigenous family and community. Thes  details made me want more. But then it transitions to the plot, and I was able to foreshadow easily what had happened and what would happen next, so me thinking that was intentional, I instead looked forward to the character development but I only  enjoyed that growth with Joe. I enjoyed Joe's perspective (the brother). But Norma's POV I found myself pushing thru. I saw qualities btw to cultures, families and upbringings, which I respected and appreciated but I wish I got more POV's. I woulda loved to read on Mae, Ben, the Mom and Dad, and even Charlie. That woulda given me the depth I crave in character driven stories. But, I look forward to what this author has in store for us in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Violence, Terminal illness, Racism, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Child death

Minor: Murder, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Abandonment

alexisgarcia's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.25

i think the pacing in this is a bit off, but this is a really good book overall. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Grief, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Racism, Death, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

 The Berry Pickers is a great debut novel. It opens in 1962 with a Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia who have travelled to Maine for a summer of blueberry picking. Within a few weeks the family’s youngest child, four year old Ruthie, disappears. Her six year old brother Joe was the last person to see her. The story is told from the alternating perspectives of Joe and of Norma. The story is not a mystery; that Norma is Ruthie is not a spoiler. The focus of this story is not so much what happened to Ruthie but how her life and that of Joe unfolded, how being separated from her birth family impacted her life and how her disappearance impacted his. Both have suffered, Joe in ways that are perhaps more obvious, but this is ultimately an uplifting story about redemption, forgiveness, identity, belonging, and the strength of family ties. The characters are well drawn and I could feel both Joe and Ruthie’s pain, different though they were. I liked the ways aspects of indigenous life - the annual rhythm of life and work, discrimination and lack of respect from police, employers and others, the effort people had to put in to learning their own language and aspects of their culture - were incorporated into the story, underpinning the narrative rather than dominating or being the focus. I do want to mention a trigger warning for miscarriage, something readers might not be expecting from the book’s synopsis. This novel was well written and enjoyable to read. I’ll be keen to read whatever Amanda Peters writes next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Cancer, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Racism