*The Berry Pickers* by Amanda Peters is a poignant and beautifully woven tale of family, loss, and identity. Peters’ evocative storytelling captures both the heartache and hope in the characters' journeys, making for a deeply moving and immersive read. It's a powerful exploration of resilience and the ties that bind us.

"The Berry Pickers" is a gem of a novel that will linger in your heart long after you've turned the final page. Highly recommended for anyone in search of a moving and unforgettable read.

This book was excellent. Would definitely recommend if you’re looking to read more Indigenous stories, as it is wonderfully written and beautifully narrated. The mystery will keep you reading, but the characters will make you feel.

Thanks to RB Media and Recorded Books for the ALC!

Really beautiful. Loved the story and the narrators. My one note for the audiobook was that Norma/Ruthie’s narrator spoke much slower than Joe’s so the pacing felt a little off. I almost wanted to adjust the speed each time it changed but that would have been a little tedious.

I loved the POV of First Nations migrant workers, but the complaining down by the brother reminds me of the complaining in Catcher in the Rye. Good story and compelling read otherwise.

As of right now, this is probably the best book I have read in a long time. It is an intense story about family and loss and grief and the choices that make e make. The things we hold dear and the things that stay with us forever. It is also about forgiveness and truth.

The audiobook narrator was wonderful and easy to listen to.

This is a phenomenal and heartbreaking story of identity, family, and trauma. I was blown away by this story, the excellent writing, and the depth of character. Though incredibly sad, it's also somehow heartwarming? It's the kind of story that will stick with you for a long time.

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the author’s writing style. She was really able to paint a vivid picture. She brought her characters to life and made you feel so much for them. I liked the alternating view points of Norma and Joe.

The narrators were great at emoting and told the story with feeling.

the Berry Pickers was an excellent listen and read. I liked the two storylines and that not everything was wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end. It was beautiful writing and I appreciated the time jumps.

3.75/5 ⭐️ (so rounding up to 4)
Ruthie, a young indigenous girl, disappears one day while her family is in Maine to pick berries. Her brother, Joe, was the last one to see her. Alternating between Joe and Norma (aka Ruthie), we see how their lives were forever affected by this.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I do think it was hard on audio to figure out exactly when things were happening. It was told in a way that in present day, Joe and Norma are looking back on memories, and thus, sometimes they pan back in the middle of a memory to modern day. This was a lot harder to track on audio as there were not clear cues for this. This also was very heavily character driven, as not much plot wise really happens until the end - it is mostly just them telling about their lives. Personally, I would have preferred a little more plot - like maybe Ruthie finding out before her non-biological parents die.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Stories about family really speak to my soul, and family drama will forever be my very favorite sub-genre, if you can even call it that. Either way, if you hand me a book that’s heavily focused on family dynamics, I’ll read it. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters was the perfect book for me to listen to over the Christmas break. It follows a Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia who travel to Maine in 1962 to pick blueberries for the summer, and then something devastating happens. Four-year-old Ruthie, the youngest in the family disappears, and her brother, Joe was the last one to see her. Her mysterious disappearance haunts him for his entire life, and was an event that shaped (and followed) him into manhood. The novel is told through Ruthie and Joe’s alternating perspectives, and gives the reader a thorough look at how this tragedy affected their entire family. I’m also a big sucker for books set in Canada, so of course this one got bonus points for that. The city I used to live in, Winnipeg was even mentioned, so that certainly made me smile. This was a quick read/listen, and when I finished, I was left wanting a little more. I felt like it needed an extra hundred pages or so. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I think it had to do with character development. I craved a little more from both Ruthie and Joe, as well as their siblings. If you’re looking for an engrossing novel about race, class, trauma, loss, grief, and healing, then give The Berry Pickers a try. It’s a solid read, and definitely worth your while!

This was a compelling story about a Mi’kmaq girl, Ruthie, who goes missing. The story explores the role of racism and how Native populations are often treated by police, the impact of the loss of the little girl on their family, and her own investigation into her past as an adult.

I thought the family impacts were well fleshed out and I enjoyed getting to know them, particularly her brother, Joe, who narrates parts of the story. But, I felt like the role of the white people in this story were inconsistently mapped out. We get a lot of the impact of the white people the family interacts with at the beginning when Ruthie goes missing, but I think they were left off the hook for their role in what happened to Ruthie and the it's far-reaching impact.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and the audiobook narration, and I'd definitely pick up another book by this author.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

While this was a slow burn it still keeps you intrigued throughout! Such an interesting premise. The narrator did a good job as well.

Excellent characters. Believable real-life situations and challenges. Wonderful Indigenous representation.
Even thought The Berry Pickers is outside my norm for typical books I select; I still enjoyed it. This is a ‘book club’ like pick (which I usually avoid). As it’s an Indigenous story I wanted to read it. I’m glad I did. There is a lot that can be unpacked here; not least of which is perhaps why parents, children, and teenagers all keep secrets from one another. If everyone could be more honest and ask questions safely (no matter the topic) I think we’d all be better off.
While the overall story lags at times; especially when it’s Norma’s POV. The Berry Pickers is still a good contemporary literature book. It has depth, believability, and you’ll likely want some Kleenex nearby near the end.

The audiobook has a typical narrator. Nothing special but good enough.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Full of gorgeous prose and sentences that feel like a nourishing meal, this book explores the aftermath of Norma’s abduction from her Mi’kmaq family from the perspective of Norma herself and her biological brother Joe. We follow them for years, waiting to see if Norma will ever find out the true story.

For anyone following Buffy Ste. Marie’s story, this is a timely read, as it’s not unlike the origin story she has told over time. But it’s also simply a heart wrenching exploration of family and belonging.

There were moments in this book that sparkled and moments where I wanted more. But all in all, it’s a quiet novel that keeps the reader engaged.

I was already crying by the end of chapter one. Peters explores the ongoing tragedy of missing/murdered indigenous women brilliantly.

The Berry Pickers is a completely engrossing story, which addresses the treatment of indigenous people. When a four-year-old Mi’kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, her family, who is from over the border in Nova Scotia, is unable to get any assistance from the authorities regarding their missing child.

It turns out the child, Ruthie/Norma, was abducted by a white woman, who was distraught over the loss of her own child. Her husband and family accept the abduction, and the child is raised without her Mi’kmaq family, culture, or language. Ruthie/Norma always feels out of place, and when she questions things, she is told to ignore them.

Peters is a indigenous author, who with grace, explores importance of language and culture and the ramifications of their loss.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ALC!

The Berry Pickers is a story which examines the very concept of family, and presents the various bonds which tie us to those we call family in a deeply profound way. Joe is a Mi’kmaq boy who’s family travels from Canada to Maine every summer to pick blueberries, until one devastating year when his little sister, Ruthie, goes missing. Norma, or so she has been called since an early age, is a sheltered little girl whose home has no family photos and has no family other than a beloved Aunt. The stories of Norma and Joe are interwoven as they grow up to paint a portrait of two people torn from each other one fateful summer afternoon.

This story is inflected with such tragedy I felt it in my bones, but at the same time had me so hopeful for the truth to come out and bring some peace. Norma tells her story from a place of deep reflection as she examines her relationship with her mother, which was as suffocating as it was nurturing. The whole novel contains such a fascinating depiction of motherhood, focusing on the guilt and grief of one mother versus the debts owed and exploited of another. The voice acting was inflected with such emotion and grief, the ending scene had me misty-eyed. Peters has written a striking novel of reconcilitation, forgiveness, and healing, centering the children who were stolen/permanently changed by that stealing.

Set in Maine and Nova Scotia, Peters centers her novel on the 1962 disappearance of a 4-year-old girl from a farm in Maine where her family worked as migrant berry pickers. The girl was a member of the Mi’kmaq tribe from Canada. Her family was devastated, none more so than the slightly older Joe who was watching his sister when she vanished. Authorities refused to investigate the case of the missing child of Native migrants. The child’s body was never found and the family refused to accept her death. As the decades went by, the loss continued to haunt the family.

In Maine a young girl called Norma grows up in an overly protective household. Her mother has a stranglehold on the girl’s interactions with others and it’s stifling. She’s distraught over her mother’s strict control, although she knows her mother suffered greatly from the deaths of her earlier children. Norma is also haunted by snippets of visions that she can’t understand.

Secrets and loss are the central themes. Both families have suffered losses that trouble them over the years. The details of the Mi’kmaq family in Nova Scotia show a family that has reluctantly moved on. Joe becomes a central character who shows how guilt can erode one’s sense of decency. Norma’s life is restricted, but not destroyed, by her mother’s controlling behavior. Yet she too struggles for answers and some peace.

The premise of the novel held such promise but the delivery fell a little short of expectation. The characters lacked the emotional pull to really draw the reader in and their behavior is hard to relate to. Racism is touched on, but could have been more integral to the tension. Predictability is another problem in that detracts from the buildup of anticipation. While an enjoyable read, it could have been so much more. Unfortunately, the audio version did not add to the telling. Narration often enhances the reading experience but here it failed to heighten my interest.

A compelling story about the stories our families tell us about our origins and histories. We are at their absolute mercies (or lack thereof)!

Ruthie and Norma's story, and the parents of each are the POVs that switch back and forth in this read. It was well woven around how families deal with devastating crises, with the silky threads of culture, class and motivation. I especially loved the power of siblings in the support of their parents, each other and faith in final outcomes.

Highly recommended, all the stars, and am looking forward to more from this new author!

*A sincere thank you to Amanda Peters, RB Media, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #TheBerryPickers #NetGalley