Set in Nova Scotia and Mi'kmaq culture, the story begins with a four-year-old Mi'kmaq child going missing from the berry fields where her family finds summer work. The story breaks off into two POVs - Ruthie/Norma, the missing child and Joe, Ruthie's older brother whose voices often sounded similar on the page. Readers learn early on what happened to Ruthie and witness her new life as Norma. We also see how her disappearance has affected her family and the numerous hardships that befall them over the years.
The story touches on many topics - family dysfunction, grief, racism and the lack of attention to missing Indigenous women, which provide interesting and relevant fodder for book discussion. Unfortunately, I didn't have a strong enough connection to the characters and felt not enough time was given to the emotional resolution.
Overall, this was an interesting character-driven debut novel. It is a somber read with a foreseeable outcome, a great east coast setting and a premise that will interest many readers. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
My Rating: 3 stars
Author: Amanda Peters
Genre: Historical Fiction, Canadian, Indigenous, Mystery
Type and Source: Trade Paperback from public library
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
First Published: April 4, 2023
Book Description from GoodReads: A four-year-old girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a tragic mystery that will remain unsolved for nearly fifty years
July 1962. A Mi'kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family's youngest child, vanishes mysteriously. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on her favourite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain deeply affected by his sister's disappearance for years to come.
In Boston, 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.
A stunning debut by a vibrant new voice in fiction, The Berry Pickers is a riveting novel about the search for truth, the shadow of trauma and the persistence of love across time.
July 1962. A Mi'kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family's youngest child, vanishes mysteriously. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on her favourite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain deeply affected by his sister's disappearance for years to come.
In Boston, 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.
A stunning debut by a vibrant new voice in fiction, The Berry Pickers is a riveting novel about the search for truth, the shadow of trauma and the persistence of love across time.
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