Ballantine Books
Small Great Things
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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - In "the most important novel Jodi Picoult has ever written" (The Washington Post), the acclaimed author tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion--and doesn't offer easy answers.
"A gripping courtroom drama . . . Given the current political climate it is quite prescient and worthwhile. . . . This is a writer who understands her characters inside and out."--Roxane Gay, The New York Times Book 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 Black, 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.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9780345544957
EAN:
9780345544957
Binding:
Paperback
Pages:
528
Authors:
Jodi Picoult
Publisher:
Ballantine Books
Published Date: 2018-20-02
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This book was expertly-written and not only tells a gripping story, but delves into a topic that makes many of us uncomfortable: race and racism. As a white male, I try to recognize the advantages I've been given solely by being born who I am, but I also realize there are many ways either I have benefited or others have been disadvantaged that I simply don't see or understand. This book helped with that.
There are many parts of this book that were very uncomfortable to read, but not because of a spotlight being put on the advantages I've been given. The book is written from the perspective of several different individuals, and one of them is a extremist, white nationalist, and because of the voice coming from his perspective, there is a lot of overt racism and slurs used. It does a great job of portraying this character for who he is, but it can be hard to read at the same time.
I would highly recommend this book, both for the story and for the discourse on overt and hidden forms of racism in the US today.
This book is so well written. It really opened my eyes even more to racism, equality and equity. It was so well done with multiple perspectives-black, white, white supremest. Today more than ever we need this! We’ve come so far, but not enough.
Was it uncomfortable, absolutely, but was it necessary, YES! I will be recommending this book to my colleagues.
I almost couldn’t wait to get to the end to read the acknowledgments to see how Ms. Picoult did her research although as usual this was an amazingly well-written novel. It was painful, though, reading the things that Turk did as a white supremacist. Likewise, it was eye-opening reading more about a black woman’s life. This was a masterfully written work!
Everyone should read this book especially those of us who call ourselves Caucasian. This is a story that touches your soul .I questioned my beliefs and realized that I too have been living a lie. What would I do, what have I done or not done because of my beliefs.A very emotional and heartbreaking story.
