Book Group

The Berry Pickers / Amanda Peters

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
The Berry Pickers
By: Amanda Peters
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 307
Published: October 31, 2023 (1st Published April 4, 2023)
Publisher: Catapuly
Dates Read: May 25, 2026 - May 27, 2026
Format: Library Book / Paperback	ISBN: 9781646221950

In 1960’s Maine, six-year-old Joe watches his four-year-old sister Ruthie while their family, Mi’kmaq people from Nova Scotia, picks blueberries in the field. He turns away for only a moment and Ruthie vanishes without a trace. Joe is forever tormented with the guilt of being the last person to see Ruthie.

In a suburb nearby, Norma grows up as an only child of two unhappy parents. She is smart and bursting with questions, but most of the time she’s not allowed to ask. Like, where her baby photos are, her dark skin, the vivid dreams of warm embraces and campfires she has frequently. There are things her parents aren’t telling her but it will take decades for her to unravel the buried secrets.

This story is told through dual perspectives that alternate between chapters. Though it’s not told in linear order, it’s not hard to follow at all as it allows us to see how one event impacts two different individuals.

This was definitely a character driven story and was a little slower paced than I would have liked, but I still appreciated it as it kind of made you, the reader, go through the events with them. It’s not really a mystery in the usual sense, more of a sleuthing of finding out exactly what happened but I would also say Amanda Peters did an excellent job at portraying a realistic response to trauma and how it affects everyone differently.

I read this with my book group, and I’m by far the youngest in the group, so it was interesting to both read about family secrets and how things were over fifty years ago and hearing my book group members talk about their own family “secrets” that they had growing up.

Overall, a thought provoking story with themes of family, identity, loss, hope, and grief spanning over fifty years, perfect for those who like historical fiction with a bit of mystery.

Night Watch / Jayne Anne Phillips, Karissa Vacker (Narrator), Theo Stockman (Narrator), Maggi-Meg Reed (Narrator)

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Night Watch
By: Jayne Anne Phillips, Karissa Vacker (Narrator), Theo Stockman (Narrator), Maggi-Meg Reed (Narrator)
Genre: Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 304
Published: September 19, 2024
Publisher: Vintage
Dates Read: February 7, 2026 - February 16, 2026
Format: Paperback / Library Book / Audiobook
ISBN: 9781101972793

Trigger Warnings: rape, PTSD, war, trauma, abuse, mental health

In 1874, twelve-year-old ConaLee just arrived at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia with her mother, Eliza, who hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. They were dropped off by a war veteran who had forced himself into their world. He had made them leave behind family, their loving Dearbhla, and their mountain home. Now, they’re there to heal.

Meanwhile, the Night Watch has a story all his own, or rather, what he remembers from before the war. Now, he’s on his way to his own healing as the Night Watch at the same asylum. 

I had a really really hard time reading this because there were no quotes around spoken words. Everything was one paragraph or a sentence mixed in with descriptors. Sometimes it would have a descriptor, spoken words, and then more descriptors, making it extremely difficult to know when someone stopped talking, it was super frustrating. The timeline also jumped around quite a bit and it was sometimes hard to keep straight if we were in the past or present.

So, I switched and went over to listening to it on Audiobook and let me tell you, the narrators did a spectacular job at keeping everything sorted and understandable. It was then I was able to understand how complex the characters were and appreciate the story a lot more.

I appreciated the little tidbits of information about asylums back in the 1800s and how easily it was to basically get dropped off there and forgotten.

Overall, while this historical novel will challenge the everyday reader, if you can get past the unique style choice of no quotation marks, you may very well discover the emotional and intellectual depth this novel has to offer.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store / James McBride (REREAD)

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The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store (Reread)
By: James McBride
Genre: Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 400
Published: August 8. 2023
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Dates Read: January 23, 2026 - January 28, 2026
Format: ARC / Paperback		ISBN: 9780593422946

In 1972, workers were digging a new foundation in Pottstown, Pennsylvania when they found a skeleton at the bottom of a well. To figure out who it is, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store goes back 40 years to the secrets of the neighborhood of Chicken Hill, a dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side.

This book was ultimately about the community of Chicken Hill, rallying together in order to protect a young deaf boy they’ve named Dodo, from being taken by the state to an institution. It starts off with a murder mystery, but to be honest, that wasn’t at all the most interesting part of the story.

Below is my second time reading it’s review:

This time around, I physically read this book verses listening to it in audio and doing this definitely changed my mind about it. Chuna is still one of my favorite characters, but I now also have a soft spot for Monkey Pants. But also, since I was really slowing myself down to pay attention, the list of characters is so long! I gained more respect for a lot of characters that, during the first read through, I didn’t even remember! Characters like Moche, or Malachi, or Paper!

Above all though, it really made me think about justice and how it’s served and does taking it into your own hands count?

Overall, I’m glad I gave this a second chance. It is rich and full of characters that are there for their community and get things done.

If you want to re my first review, you can below. A lot of changed since I physically read it this time around.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store / James McBride

James / Percival Everett

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James
By: Percival Everett
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 303
Published: March 19, 2024
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday
Dates Read: January 2, 2026 - January 10, 2026
Format: Hardcover		ISBN: 9780385550369

Trigger Warnings: slavery, racism, racial slurs, rape, violence, murder

A reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told through the voice of Jim.

When Jim overhears he’s about to be sold and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can think of a plan to get his family together. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his abusive father. The two meet up while hiding and thus begin their adventure down the Mississippi River.

Full disclaimer, I have never read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but I know of the story and generally what happens in it because it’s kind of hard not to, especially growing up in Kansas and now living in Missouri and the fact that Mark Twain is highly talked about. I have, however, read Tom Sawyer, so I knew a little going into this.

I put off reading this because I read The Trees by Percival Everett and just remembered I needed to really focus on it to understand it all. And, I’m going to be honest, this book started off a bit hard to read because of the dialect written in it first thing and I didn’t know if I was ready for it. But, it reminded me of one of my favorite sci-fi writers, P. Djélí Clark, and how I just need to not speedread it to fully enjoy it. I slowed down my reading and it finally “clicked” and I could enjoy it and appreciate it! Especially once you learn what that dialect really is.

I think one of the craziest parts of this was the blackface minstrel troupe… like, that was a real thing?? The history of racism really baffles me sometimes and what people had as “entertainment” back in the day would cause heart attacks nowadays.

Overall, I really enjoy this retelling/changed perspective of Huckleberry Finn. I don’t read a lot in this timeline but appreciate what this brought about freedom, race, and the enduring impact of slavery. 

A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman who Stopped Them / Timothy Egan

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A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman who Stopped Them
By: Timothy Egan
Genre: Nonfiction, History
Number of Pages: 448
Published: June 4, 2024 (1st Published April 4, 2023)
Publisher: Penguin Books
Dates Read: November 4, 2025 - November 23, 2025
Format: Library Book / Book Group

Trigger Warnings: racism, lynching, murder, domestic violence, torture, suicide

After telling the story of the Ku Klux Klan’s rise to power in the 1920s, Timothy Egan then tells you how one woman brought it crumbling down.

So, I knew a few things going into this, but also expanded my knowledge too. One, that the KKK hated Blacks; I feel like that is always broadly talked about (but didn’t realize how much they hated Catholics??). Two, the Nazis got the idea for the Holocaust from America, mostly from the KKK (though I don’t think I realized that they (the KKK), also hated Jews, again, I thought it was just Blacks?). Three, American History is so covered in racism that even though a lot of people want to bury it, it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Reading this made me think of the fact that sure, not everyone was a part of the Klan, but so many people stood by and let them run havoc because they knew someone in the Klan so therefore were sympathizers of the group. I would hope that nowadays, even if cousin Arnold was a part of a race hating group, that doesn’t mean I have to support him in any way. 

It really got to me about how the Klan used preachers and leaders of the church to teach the hatred principles of the Klan. People get so easily brainwashed by religion that it really goes to that saying “Racism is taught, not inherited”.

Sure, I think everyone needs to read this – if not to see the comparisons of what is happening currently but to also see how to not make the same mistakes. But,  I also want Madge’s story to be shared more. This woman took down the KKK – a group that was not far away from having their fingers dipped into the Presidency of the United States – from her deathbed! 

I’m not going to tell you this is an “easy” read, because, I’ll say it again, American history is covered in racism and people treated others horribly just because of their skin, or ethnic background, or how they chose to worship, but just because it’s horrible, doesn’t mean the story shouldn’t be shared or talked about. We can learn from our mistakes.