I met one of my summer reading goals by reading The Berry Pickers. I read many positive reviews online for this title by Amanda Peters. It has a beautiful cover, an intriguing synopsis, and it sounded like the perfect seasonal book to start my summer reading back in June so I’m adding my 2 cents and putting it in the win column. It’s a great choice!

The story takes place in July of 1962 in the blueberry fields of Maine. An Indiginace 4-year-old girl goes missing when their family travels from Nova Scotia each summer to pick berries for a local farmer. In reality, the author, Amanda Peter’s father, grandparents, and siblings used to berry pick in the 60s and 70s, and that’s how the premise of this story came to life.

Although there are many characters in the book, the chapters are from the perspective of only 2, Joe, one of the brothers in the family, and another person related to the story, Norma. 

This book takes on a lot of emotion. It’s the search for truth, the love and separation of family, tragedy, and redemption. In a typical child gone missing book, you don’t know where the child is, but in this book you do, but not exactly. I realize why that doesn’t seem very clear but as you read the book, you will come to understand my words. 

I enjoyed this book because there is much more than the notion of the missing child. Misguided love is a huge underlying premise that becomes prevalent. Some of the characters I loved, but as I read on, I decided I didn’t like them. Some characters I started to care for, then they would do something to make me feel resentment toward them. That’s good character development, in my eyes! 

It’s a book that’s a little unexpected and sometimes, gave me chills, but not in a spooky, mystery kind of way. The 304-page book is one that I am glad I spent time with this summer. It’s not a romantic beach read, nor a mystery as you would expect. It certainly was a pleasant surprise. 

Kudos to debut author, Amanda Peters for earning the 2023 Barnes and Noble Discover Prize Winner and the winner of the Carnegie Medal Of Excellence for Fiction. Crack this book open this last month of summer and enjoy!