Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

21 reviews

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

Moderate: Terminal illness and Car accident

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

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

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

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

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: 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

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: Miscarriage, Racism, Kidnapping, and Colonisation

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

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

Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Death, 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, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

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

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

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: Cancer, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Racism, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Colonisation

sjanke2's review

challenging dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing