sarah_mcmullan_nz 's review for:

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring 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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 beautiful tale that touches on colonial guilt, grief, trauma and the innate sense of self that everyone seeks - one that can be so easily broken when identity is denied be it by govt, society or family. 
I cried bucketloads throughout this novel for a variety of reasons for a variety of characters. 
No one is all good or all bad. We're all a little fcuked up by our childhoods, and THE BERRY PICKERS taps into that. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Classism

Reference to Reservation Schools of Canada