#1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult is a born storyteller who “writes with a fine touch, a sharp eye for detail, and a firm grasp of the delicacy and complexity of human relationships” (The Boston Globe). Small Great Things is Picoult at her finest–complete with unflinching insights, richly layered characters, and a page-turning plot with a gripping moral dilemma at its heart.
… dilemma at its heart.
Ruth Jefferson, a labor and delivery nurse, begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she’s been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don’t want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone on the ward. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?
Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case, but Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy’s counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible–especially for her teenaged son. And as the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy come to see that what they’ve been taught their whole lives about others–and themselves–might be wrong.
From the Hardcover edition.
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I just finished listening the this audio book and was blown away. I was impressed that the author could so adeptly maneuver between 3 view point characters, two or whom are nothing like her. Authors are often told to “stay in their lane” so to speak, and not write characters unlike themselves. This equates to telling white authors to not write black characters – to not appropriate their culture. I disagree with this thought and apparently so does Jodi Picoult. She includes an author statement at the end that explains how she came to write this story and the research she did to get it right. My thought is that if authors only wrote characters “like” themselves, we’d never expand beyond our own little boxes.
The story revolves around a female black nurse, a female white public defender, and a male white supremacist. It’s interesting that in the author’s hands, I was able to relate to all three characters.
Although Turk, the white supremacist, was a character I loved to hate, I could also feel sympathy for his loss. I could see the gray that makes up most of life. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t like anything he stood for, and he scared the crap out of me, because I know real people like him exist.
Ruth, the black nurse, helped me to see the world through different eyes. Privileged eyes. I’ve always thought of myself as not racist. But through Ruth’s experience, I was able to understand the various ways that I could be considered one. Not overtly, but in small, subtle ways. To see my white, privileged world through Ruth’s black eyes, gave me a greater understanding.
And Kennedy, the white public defender, who like me, would never have seen herself as a racist. Her journey to understanding is something we can all learn from.
A very worthwhile read. An interesting story line that packs quite a lesson.
This book exposed some ugly truths about white supremacists….including the fact that I have things in common with them. We have so much work left to do.
This book addresses issues that we just don’t deal with but are very real. It is both an excellent, eye-opening story and very disturbing at the same time. Plus it’s a great story of redemption. Well done, Jodi Picoult, on writing about a topic we need to face and own.
I enjoyed this book. It captured me within the first 25 pages. The subject matter made we think about the type of people in our society who hate people because of their race. This is very true in this country.
I read this for a book club I’m in. This book really makes think about right and wring with racism mixed in. This is a very good read. At first I was very upset with the beginning but the more I pushed to read it, it got really interesting.
Great book. It makes you think beyond the surface on difficult topics. I loved it.
This book takes a close look at racism in our world today and how there is most certainly white privilege. The uncomfortable controversial topics led you step back and look at your own life. The characters in this novel were remarkable and made he reader feel heartfelt for each of them. Finished this book in 2 days; it’s hard to put down. Bravo to Picoult, this is one of her best!
A book that causes one to look at themselves and where they fit into the big picture.
We used this book for our book club. It made for wonderful discussion points.
I think everyone should read it .
I’ve always been a Picoult fan, but this book is positively brilliant. It will make you mad, it will make you sad, but most of all, it will make you think. It will have you questioning your own unacknowledged biases, and most likely will make you squirm. How she can get inside the minds of totally different characters, and make them all completely believable is absolutely brilliant!
Very thought provoking. As always Picoult has a phenomenal way of presenting both sides of an event/action/story.
Sadly, these inequality and biased situations continue to happen today! This book was compelling! One of my favorite reads ever!!
Jodi, you did it again! Great book……as always. I love your work
I loved this book, very thought provoking. Her books always make you think if things differently than you normally would. A book for our times..
Very thought provoking and honest look at our society and culture from a frightening and very possible scenario.
Thought-provoking and led to great book group discussion.
Small Great Things is one of Jodi Picoult’s best reads! It is revealing and insightful; you won’t want to put it down. If you’re heading down to the beach to soak up the sun and breathe in the salty breeze, this book will be a great edition to your escape!
One of the best books I’ve read! Everyone I have recommended it to raves about it.
Pretty good book. Not my personal favorite. Author made some extreme generalizations that I found annoying. Over all, interesting.