Small Great Things - Jodi Picoult

Small Great Things

By Jodi Picoult

  • Release Date: 2016-10-11
  • Genre: Fiction & Literature
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 3,334 Ratings

Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • With richly layered characters and a gripping moral dilemma that will lead readers to question everything they know about privilege, power, and race, Small Great Things is the stunning new page-turner from Jodi Picoult.

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

“[Picoult] offers a thought-provoking examination of racism in America today, both overt and subtle. Her many readers will find much to discuss in the pages of this topical, moving book.”—Booklist (starred review)

Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years’ experience. During her shift, Ruth 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 with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. 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 gives unexpected advice: 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 for her family—especially her teenage son—as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other’s trust, and come to see that what they’ve been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.

With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion—and doesn’t offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game.

Praise for Small Great Things

Small Great Things is the most important novel Jodi Picoult has ever written. . . . It will challenge her readers . . . [and] expand our cultural conversation about race and prejudice.”The Washington Post

“A novel that puts its finger on the very pulse of the nation that we live in today . . . a fantastic read from beginning to end, as can always be expected from Picoult, this novel maintains a steady, page-turning pace that makes it hard for readers to put down.”San Francisco Book Review

Reviews

  • Riveting

    5
    By missrcade
    What great writing. I was engulfed in these characters. I felt like I really knew them. Thank you for telling such a difficult story.
  • So good

    5
    By fminnick
    I really loved this book. I read it for one of my classes during nursing school and it turned out to be so good. It was heartbreaking but also kept me on my toes. I recommend.
  • Not an audiobook

    1
    By ~Timeka
    This is not an audiobook
  • Wonderful

    5
    By allnightup!
    This book was hard to read, but I’m so glad I did. Wonderful!
  • Loved it!

    5
    By MacBeers
    Thank you! I absolutely loved this story.
  • Gifted writer but….

    3
    By Colorado Kathy
    Such a talented story teller and captivating story but I don’t choose a novel to be made to feel guilty and sinful for being white. If this is your need for penance and contrition and self flagellation then this book is for you. The author got me when she had to call out certain politicians and News medias by name. She could have refrained from that and softened her liberal, CRT stance.
  • Highly recommend

    5
    By Gladeola
    An uncomfortable read that you can’t put down
  • Thank you

    5
    By D Moorekema
    Thank you Jodi for showing me just how privileged I have been all my life and just taking it for granted…. ( I’m a 75 year old white woman) I actually felt embarrassed looking back on all the things I had given to me just for that reason…. and didn’t even realize it until Black Lives Matter and now again … even more after reading your book. At first I was gonna stop reading it because of Turks language … I’m glad I read it til the end. Thank you for bringing so much awareness to me and I’m sure so many other people.
  • Big important things in life

    5
    By nursearce
    Well written, although difficult to read about how people can hate. It’s the reality we live in and as a brown person of color, I can relate to Ruth. Glad I finally read this!
  • Engaging but also off putting

    2
    By Sassie 12345
    While I have to admit the book was difficult to put down, overall I was turned off by the political narrative and hyperbolic over generalization of racial issues. I read as an escape rather than a scolding on white privilege and a leftist agenda being pushed on the reader. It’s painfully obvious that a white person wrote the book and is assuming the perspective of a black person living in America today. If I had know there was going to be so much political commentary I would have avoided it.

Comments