Skip to main content

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters Book Review

Reasons For Reading This Book:

The Berry Picked by Amanda Peters came across my social media from a few different book Instagram accounts. One I know posted about it is @halpreads. I have like most of the books that I have taken as a recommendation from Emily, so I trusted her again for this one. I read the book description, was semi-interested, so I checked it out from the library.

 

Content of This Book:

It's July 1962 and the A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia has just arrived back in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. A few weeks into summer four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. Being the last one to see Ruthie leaves Joe distraught by his sister’s disappearance for years to come. In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret. The opposing narratives details the ups and downs of two families over the years and how love is at the center of everything.

What I Liked About This Book:

First of all I loved that this book was short and that the author was fantastic at writing a thorough but detailed story. I commend the author for giving one to two sentence updates or summaries instead of going into detail when it was not necessary. The author specifically did this when there was a jump in time or when a different narrator was giving their thoughts on an experience that was shared between characters. The writing was so easy to read, had just the right amount of detail, and had a smooth flow to it. There was also a distinct difference in the tone of voice between the narrators. This can be felt through their lived experiences and inner dialogue. The author was also able to give an overall aura for the whole plot. Each time I read this book I was transported into that time and place. This is a relationship-heavy book. I found the high and lows and creation and destruction of the relationships to be the most compelling part of the plot. I did prefer Nora’s narrator more at times just because I related to some of the things she experienced and felt. The author was able to make me feel every emotion possible towards these characters. At times I was empathetic towards them and at other times I was frustrated with their actions. I did not necessarily find the plot point of finding Ruthie the most riveting, I found myself more captivated by the character’s relationships and their life pre and post Ruthie’s disappearance. Something that I learned about in this book was the way the fruit pickers live. This is an occupation that I was unfamiliar with, so it was eye opening to learn about how they lived during the season and how they made a living during the other seasons.

 

What I Disliked About This Book:

I enjoyed my time reading this book and becoming invested in the plot, relationships, and character development, but overall I have only thought about this book a few times since reading it. It had its memorable parts, but overall its pretty steady. I also knew pretty much the whole time how the plot was going to come together. There were a few times I was slightly shocked, but overall I predicted the plot from the beginning. Something else I would have liked the author to explore is the relationships of Joe’s siblings and how Ruthie’s disappearance affected their relationship-making ability. I am still unsure if Joe’s sister ever had a partner or a family of her own.

 

Would I Recommend This Book?

I would recommend this book. I think this book would be the perfect road trip or vacation read. It is a heavier topic but its easy to pick up and get back into. Its also fairly short and moves quickly.


Check out my book reviews for 2024!!


Check out my book reviews for 2023!!

Horse by Geraldine Brooks  
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
Hester by Laurie Pico Albanese
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Environmental and Sustainability Book Reviews 2022
Self-Improvement Book Reviews 2022
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
Not All Diamonds and Rosé by Dave Quinn
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham 
Girls With Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman
Run, Rose, Run by James Patterson and Dolly Parton
The Summer Series by Jenny Han
A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard
The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives by Brian Moylan
Verity by Colleen Hoover
All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart 
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Majesty: American Royals 2 by Kathrine McGree
Every Last Secret by A.R. Torre

Check out my book reviews for 2021!!

2021 Book Rankings

Beach Read By Emily Henry
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Educated by Tara Westover
The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins 
We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins 
We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Klara and the Sun 
The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
American Duchess by Karen Harper 
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Girl With No Job by Claudia Oshry
Down the Habit Hole by Holly Madison Book Review
My Story by Elizabeth Smart
Layla by Colleen Hoover

Check out my book reviews for 2020!!

Check out my book reviews for 2019!!

Check out my book reviews from 2018!!


Don't forget to stay up to date on my blog by following my social media accounts!
Instagram: @whenishouldbestudying


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reasonable Dorm Room Cleaning Schedule

Reasonable Dorm Room Cleaning Schedule After my first semester of college I have developed a cleaning routine that I have been able to keep up with. You can read my previous blog post about What I Learned In My First Semester of College . Over the past few months I have experimented and I am confident in the routine that I have created.  Personalize When it comes to personalizing the schedule you could add or take out the different chores. For example I also wash my retainers weekly and monthly my roommate and I decorate the marker board on the outside of our door. We also only clean our mirrors when needed since we have found that they do not seem to become too dirty regularly. Something that I would make sure you sanitize every week would be the surfaces that you are constantly touching. That means light switches, door handles, and your desk. By doing this I managed to avoid getting sick when my roommate and other floor mates go sick. Another task that you could add ...
94 comments
Read more

Bullet Journal Fitness and Workout Spread Ideas

If you want to purchase some of these spreads you can buy the digital bundle from my Etsy shop: Simply Paperless .  I had created six different bullet journal fitness and workout trackers/spreads. These spreads were made in my digital bullet journal using the GoodNotes App.   I highly recommend to use a stylus when using GoodNotes as a digital bullet journal. For this project I used the Adonit Dash 3 Stylus , which I highly recommend. I also recommend the Bargain Depot Stylus 2 Pack  from Amazon. Daily Workout Plan This first spread can be used to plan out what exercises you plan to workout each day of the week. I would recommend this spread for those who are just starting to workout. I did not created the workout that is used as the example for the content of this spread. The workout is from Pintrest Workout Plan .  Workout Tracker This next tracker is in the format of a monthly calendar. In order to track the different workouts...
63 comments
Read more

Puppy and Pet Bullet Journal Planner Spread Ideas

2022 Update: If you are interested in having your own Puppy/Dog Pet Planner you can purchase these spreads along with other ones in my Etsy shop Simply Paperless Digital Puppy/Dog Pet Planner . I would like to officially announce that a puppy has been added to my family. This past weekend my sister adopted a soft coated Wheaten Terrier. His name is Bear because he looks like a bear/teddy bear. Growing up my Grandparents, family members and friends had dogs, but we always had cats or flying squirrels. My twin sister and I always wanted a dog, her more than me. After living in on our own for almost a year she finally made the decision to buy one. The summer was the perfect time to get him because we would have time to train him and get used to living with him before we started junior year of college. Now that I have said all of that lets get into the planner portion of this blog post. Today I will be sharing tracker spreads that are perfect for tracking anything and everything in...
42 comments
Read more