Small great things

a novel

by Jodi Picoult

470 pages

English language

Published Dec. 4, 2016

ISBN:: 978-0-345-54495-7
OCLC Number:: 952139156

(8 reviews)

"This stunning new novel is Jodi Picoult at her finest--complete with unflinching insights, richly layered characters, and a page-turning plot with a gripping moral dilemma at its heart. 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 Jodi Picoult's Leaving Time "A riveting drama."--Us Weekly "[A] moving tale."--People "A fast-paced, surprise-ending mystery."--USA Today "Poignant. an entertaining story about parental love, friendship, loss."--The Washington Post"--

"A woman and her husband admitted to a hospital to have a baby requests that their nurse be reassigned - they are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is black, to touch their baby. The hospital complies, but the baby later goes into cardiac distress when Ruth is on duty. She hesitates before rushing in to perform CPR. When her indecision ends in tragedy, Ruth finds herself on trial, represented by a white public defender who warns against bringing race into a courtroom. As the two come to develop a truer understanding of each other's lives, they begin to doubt the beliefs they each hold most dear"--

1 edition

govmarley reviewed Small great things by Jodi Picoult

Review of 'Small great things' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This book was fantastic. I had to wait a few days to formulate my review because it was such an emotional roller coaster.

Race relations are never easy to discuss. There are some people who, no matter what you say, what facts you present to them, will never change their minds. And you can't understand someone's life if you haven't walked in their shoes.

Meet Ruth. She's a long-time L&D nurse, one of the hardest jobs out there. By all accounts, she knows her stuff. She also happens to be black. She attends to a newborn, as you do, and walks straight into his parents, who are white supremacists. When things go wrong, they are quick to point the finger at her.

Meet Kennedy. She's a hard-working public defender who hasn't really gotten her shot at a huge case yet. Kennedy is white. She's just grinding along, trying to find quick justice for her case load when she comes across Ruth. She wants to help Ruth and fights to keep the case. I want to tell you more, but instead I ask for you to read the book. Don't read any reviews before you start. Stop reading mine, go read the book, then come back and tell me what you think.

And the audiobook was well done with multiple narrators (always a favorite of mine), so if that's your thing, do that version. 4.5 stars that I am rounding up because I am still thinking about this book days later.

pithypants reviewed Small great things by Jodi Picoult

Review of 'Small great things' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I suspect I'll be recommending this book a lot. Picoult, who is known for her legal thrillers with ethical dilemmas, isn't always my favorite writer because her stories sometimes feel formulaic. In this one, however, she does a great job constructing three credible voices to tell a story that shines a light on racism - not only of the obviously hate-driven variety, but also the more pervasive institutional threads that are woven through all aspects of our society.

This book did a great job touching on all the themes my racial justice group has been discussing over the last year, and it does it through a page-turner of a novel. Whether you're just looking for a fast-paced legal thriller to take to the beach, or a way to expand your perspective on race without it feeling like a chore, this is a good read.

patchworkbunny reviewed Small great things by Jodi Picoult

Review of 'Small great things' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The publishers asked us to #ReadWithoutPrejudice, providing neither the author nor title. My first thoughts were that it might be a well-known author writing in a different genre, and we shouldn’t have preconceptions about them or their writing. Yet a few chapters in and the style, and tropes, were obvious and it didn’t take me long for someone to confirm that yes, this is the new Jodi Picoult novel (note, this has now been officially revealed).

I’ve enjoyed some of Jodi’s books in the past, especially Nineteen Minutes which tackles a school shooting, but the fact that I identified the author quite quick, just cements the idea that she can be a bit formulaic. She does tackle tough topics, is easy to read and has a large audience, so a book on racism by her can be no bad thing if it starts a discussion amongst those who might not normally think about it.

The narrative is shared between three characters. Ruth is a labour and delivery nurse (like a midwife) who also happens to be black. Turk is a white supremacist whose wife, Brittany, has just had their first baby. Kennedy is a public defence attorney who lives in the same neighbourhood as Ruth and soon finds herself taking her case.

Because Turk didn’t want Ruth touching his baby. It didn't matter that Ruth was an experienced and compassionate professional, all he saw was her skin colour. When the newborn tragically dies, the parents blame the black nurse, not just for negligence, but for murder. In amongst the heightened emotions, there is also a case of discrimination in the workplace and how the court system deals, or doesn’t deal, with race. There’s some really uncomfortable moments, the worst is knowing that these kind of things are happening out there in our so-called civilised world.

So the request to #ReadWithoutPrejudice was really a hint that the book is about racism, although it also worked to get me to read a book I probably wouldn’t have picked up if I had known the author. I am a little disappointed that this story was not written by someone with first-hand experience of racism, although Jodi does highlight the position of privilege white people are in, that we’re probably all a little bit racist, it’s what we do about it that matters.

Considering recent events, both in America and the UK, I’ve been reading a lot of journalism about racism and some of the longstanding problems which have kept black people down in the US. So there was not much new to me in this novel. What did strike me was that it was stuffed full of so many examples, it felt a bit tick boxy.

OK, white supremacists are probably a hard bunch to get inside their heads and Jodi notes that she spoke to some who had reformed, but a lot just seemed a bit like she’d watched some Louis Theroux documentaries and that season of Nip/Tuck and mixed those elements together. Turk’s ending was quite rushed and the result was it didn’t come across as entirely believable.

I think if you’re a fan of Jodi’s books you’ll definitely enjoy this one, but it wasn’t quite right for me. Sometimes our reading prejudices serve a purpose!