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A review by kellylittlehansen
The Fields by Erin Young
3.0
3.5 stars rounded down
I really, really liked the premise of this book. As a former FFA member and ag student, the story's small farmer vs. big agriculture component was both well researched and a unique plot point. For a procedural, I found The Fields largely fast-paced, with enough twists and turns to keep you engaged without feeling overwhelmed by details. The two biggest downfalls of this book were that the ending grew more and more unlikely until it was impossible. Like, not even in the realm of possibility. The other was that the author continually called individuals facing homelessness "vagrants." Poverty in America is a crisis fueled by circumstances that folks have little to no control over (PTSD, the Sackler family-funded opioid epidemic, etc). To distill this experience into a singular term and offer no dignity was incredibly cruel, especially considering that these "vagrants" were also used as victims.
I really, really liked the premise of this book. As a former FFA member and ag student, the story's small farmer vs. big agriculture component was both well researched and a unique plot point. For a procedural, I found The Fields largely fast-paced, with enough twists and turns to keep you engaged without feeling overwhelmed by details. The two biggest downfalls of this book were that the ending grew more and more unlikely until it was impossible. Like, not even in the realm of possibility. The other was that the author continually called individuals facing homelessness "vagrants." Poverty in America is a crisis fueled by circumstances that folks have little to no control over (PTSD, the Sackler family-funded opioid epidemic, etc). To distill this experience into a singular term and offer no dignity was incredibly cruel, especially considering that these "vagrants" were also used as victims.