A review by relf
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

A lovely, very moving novel that is deceptively simple. In the early 1960s, a Mi’kmaw family from Nova Scotia spends summers in Maine picking berries. One August, the family's youngest child, 4-year-old Ruthie, disappears without a trace, and local police are unhelpful. The book's chapters alternate between the points of view of Joe, Ruthie's next older brother and the last to see her, and Norma, a girl who grows up in a loving but suffocating family in Maine. It's not a suspenseful plot--you see exactly where the story is going--but you become immersed in the emotional lives of the characters and the meaning of family, culture, and home. Residential schools, loss of cultural identity, and racism all come into the story, but are treated rather gently, I thought. A beautiful book by an author of both Mi’kmaw and settler ancestry.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings