Small Great Things: A Novel Hardcover – October 11, 2016

About 12 years ago, I was introduced to Jodi Picoult's novels and, once I started reading them, I couldn't stop! I purchased all of her novels that were published at the time and quickly devoured them because I felt they were some of the most well-written, amazing books I had ever read. I remember giving many of my family members her books as gifts and they ended up enjoying them as well. A couple years after I started reading her books, I had one of the most exciting days of my life at the time when I met Jodi Picoult in person! I was pretty much hyperventilating when I met her and I loved listening to her talk about her books. I met her a couple other times after that and would actually skip going with everyone to sporting events just so I could hear her talk. Now, many years later, I have many of her books signed and I've read and loved all of her books, some more than others. I've found as she has grown as an author, her books become more thoughtful, her characters more complex, and the storylines told from multiple characters are woven together so well that, by the end of the novel, my jaw is hanging on the ground."If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way."The above quotation by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the inspiration for the title of this novel and I feel it is very appropriate given the subject matter and story within the pages of this novel. "Small Great Things" is the story of Ruth Jefferson, a veteran labor and delivery nurse at a hospital in New Haven, Connecticut. Ruth worked hard to get to where she is and her boss and coworkers consider her to be the best and most knowledgeable nurse on staff. One day she is performing her job when she is told she is no longer able to provide care for a newborn because the parents are white supremacists and she is African American. The next day, the baby goes into cardiac arrest when she is alone with him in the nursery. Within just a few moments, she wrestles over if she should follow her boss's orders or fulfill her duty as a nurse to help care for the newborn.As always with Jodi Picoult's novels, "Small Great Things" is told from multiple viewpoints which help make this an extremely complex and deeply-layered novel. This novel is told from three viewpoints: Ruth, Turke Bauer, the white supremacist father, and Kennedy McQuarrie, a public defender who has never taken a case like this. These protagonists, as well as the supporting characters, are portrayed as individuals whom anyone could see out in public and they are all very well-developed. We see them as they go about their everyday business both at work and at home, as they experience highs and lows, and as they are confronted with one another. As a former English Literature major, I love analyzing novels and "Small Great Things" was great to do just that and I enjoyed seeing the brilliant character development and the thought processes within these three main characters.In summary, I loved this novel and had a hard time putting it down. Many of the chapters end in cliffhangers and I simply couldn't stop reading! Jodi Picoult is a wonderful storyteller and one of my favorite authors. I've enjoyed all of her books, some more than others, and I would rate "Small Great Things" up there as one of my favorites. I feel she tackles the topic of race well and paints beautiful portraits of all the individuals involved. This novel has been a work-in-progress for Jodi Picoult for about two decades as she put extensive research into it and wanted to make sure she portrayed her characters as accurately as possible. If you decide to read this novel, which I very highly recommend, I suggest reading the Author's Note at the end because she describes the development of this novel. Jodi Picoult's novels are always extremely well-researched, intelligently-written, and very thought-provoking and "Small Great Things" is an amazing work of fiction that deserves to be read.

I love Piccoult and I collect her books when I see them on sale or in a used book shop. I am a person of color, 100% Latina but my dad is afro Latino (african latino) to be specific. I thought each character was very intensive and thought of. I of course related more to Ruth and there were scenes that made me go, "that's happened to me". Racism still very much exists and even when white people try to make me feel better by including me in their girls night outs, play dates, work meetings, discussions etc, I hear their bias loud and clear when they think I can just afford to buy a house out of the blue or ask me why my car isn't the newest or I'm asked if my daughter is mine (she's fairer skinned then me) or tell me how beautiful she is with her blue eyes.Piccolt did a wonderful job as always of doing her research and making sure she puts out a beautiful work of art in the form of literature instead of being lazy and putting out trash as a money grab. I will be recommending this book to all my friends, no matter what color their skin is.

Well researched subject on the job of a L and D nurse job, also well research on the legal end .I liked how the author introduced herself in the racial issues of African Americans in the USA as well as describing the violence of skin heads and other extreme Right wing sects, in their own words.There is an issue that is hard to believe , and is that of a double missed result of metabolic abnormality and then again of hemoglobin abnormality in neonatal testing by the hospital staff.Also the conversion of the skin head/neo Nazi character Turk into a married, stay home dad given talks in high school s and jails about his live turn around was in my opinion too far off to be a real event.

This story addresses racism, our legal system and what it means to be targeted by hate and unfair treatment. You will root for Ruth and her son and find the ending a bit fairytale in that the transformation seems improbable.

Easy and fast reading. Interesting novel

"Small Great Things" is an excellent story, magisterially narrated by Jodi Picoult. Unfortunately, racism exists. It has existed since the human being appeared in our planet. The subject is intense, alluring. Through the pages of the book, I lived the drama of the different characters, and understood their motivations, though not always approved them. I am glad I read Jodi Picoult for the first time. I will surely read other books by the author.Congratulations to Jodi Picoult !

Ruth lavora da vent'anni come infermeria del reparto maternità di un ospedale del Connecticut, apprezzata e stimata per la sua competenza e professionalità da superiori e colleghe. Durante uno dei suoi turni, Ruth inizia un check-up di routine su di un neonato, ma dopo pochi minuti le viene detto che i genitori sono suprematisti bianchi e che non vogliono che Ruth, che è afro-americana, tocchi il bambino. L'ospedale accetta la richiesta ( pur sapendo trattarsi di atteggiamento razzista nei suoi confronti) ed assegna Ruth ad un altro paziente. Il giorno dopo però, il neonato va in arresto cardiaco mentre leì è l'unica infermiera presente nella nursery, in quanto la collega è stata chiamata per un'emergenza e le ha chiesto di sostituirla. Che fare? Ruth deve obbedire agli ordini ricevuti o deve intervenire? Non voglio svelare oltre della trama di questo romanzo, avvincente come tutti i romanzi della Picoult, la quale, con incredibile empatia ed intelligenza, affronta temi delicatissimi come la razza, i privilegi dell'essere "bianchi", il pregiudizio, la compassione e non offre risposte facili. Un libro per riflettere e, magari,perchè no, uscirne migliori. Assolutamente consigliato, ovviamente in lingua originale, per apprezzare la scrittura dell'autrice.

What an amazing read! I haven't read a book in a single sitting for soo long until this book came along. I loved the amazing way in which the author explains racial issues in the US. As a black woman, I could relate to so many situations and feelings that Ruth was experiencing so I was pleasantly surprised to find out at the end of the book that the author is a white woman. I think she did an amazing job not only with Ruth's pov but also Turk's.

This book is an eye opener, to all the discrimination that we do and that we receive.. A must read.. 👌👌I've become a fan of the author.. Her writing style is so damn good.. 👍