This historical fiction novel set in 1960s New England follows two families whose paths cross alongside a dirt road and are then forever entwined. Joe and his family are Mi’kmaq, they travel down from Nova Scotia every year to work the berry fields of Maine. His day begins as any other but when he fails to keep an eye on his four year old sister Ruthie, he will spend the rest of his life trying to atone for her disappearance.
Norma has grown up in a sheltered and isolated suburban home with a mother that always seems afraid to let her out of her sight. She doesn’t remember much of her early childhood, but her parent’s distress when she asks about it or mentions her imaginary friend Ruthie has taught her to keep questions to herself. As she grows up her assumption that she’s adopted, and her parents never wanted to tell her will be shaken by a more awful truth. The Berry Pickers follows the aftermath of one family’s tragedy and another’s sins as both try to move forward after the loss of a child. Peter’s weaves these two dramatically different family stories together, exploring themes of family, guilt, and identity. It was the winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and the 2024 selection for One Book One Lincoln by Lincoln City Libraries.
Peters, Amanda. The Berry Pickers: A Novel. Catapult. 2023.
