books_tea_blanket 's review for:

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

4.75

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Grief, 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, Alcohol

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

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