On This Page
Description
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 show more come to develop a truer understanding of each other's lives, they begin to doubt the beliefs they each hold most dear. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
princejacon This book is recommended mostly for Senior Secondary School students in schools across the world.
Member Reviews
What an overwritten piece of dreck. It’s basically a (bad, shallow, preachy) textbook dressed up as a morality play. If you’re interested in the actual issues that Jodi Picoult wants to club you over the head with, there are numerous more interesting books about them. (I recommend [b:The New Jim Crow|6792458|The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness|Michelle Alexander|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328751532l/6792458._SX50_.jpg|6996712] or [b:The Warmth of Other Suns|8171378|The Warmth of Other Suns The Epic Story of America's Great Migration|Isabel Wilkerson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1433354252l/8171378._SY75_.jpg|13341052] as show more good ones to begin with.) If you’re interested in a novel about bad things happening to good people, well, anyone could recommend a dozen of those. But unless you deeply, truly want a white author to give you a crash course on the history of race in America in the form of a badly written novel from the co-opted eyes of a woman of color, with unbearable dialogue, uninteresting characters, and unsurprising plot twists, you should avoid this particular book. show less
Though racial tensions have always existed in the United States, it has drastically increased after the Presidential election. We are currently facing an exacerbated amount of racial tension and Small Great Things, deals with many of these challenging issues head on. Incredibly, this is my first Jodi Picoult book (yeah, I know, I know) and I will definitely be adding more of her books to my bookshelf. Small Great Things, made me angry, sad, laugh, and yes, cry (more than once). I had to put the book down more than once and reflect on what I had just read. At times the book was difficult, uncomfortable, disturbing and upsetting, but also humorous, empathetic and with reflective moments. It is authentic, well-written and quite moving. The show more story centers around Ruth Jefferson, an African American nurse accused of a horrible crime. Who accused her? White supremacist parents of a newborn boy. Small Great Things, will make you reflect on race, discrimination, biases and prejudice – all difficult topics to discuss. This is a particularly useful book for reading clubs (that’s where I learned of it). I highly recommend this book and believe it can be useful and inspiring to start a conversation about race. The author has a great deal of resources and reading club guides on her website. So go and get yourself a copy asap. I promise, you will not regret it and it will move you in a way you did not expect.
One of my favorites quotes (because it’s so profound)
“You say you don’t see color…but that’s all you see. You’re so hyper aware of it, and of trying to look like you aren’t prejudiced, you can’t even understand that when you say race doesn’t matter all I hear is you dismissing what I’ve felt, what I’ve lived, what it’s like to be put down because of the color of my skin.” show less
One of my favorites quotes (because it’s so profound)
“You say you don’t see color…but that’s all you see. You’re so hyper aware of it, and of trying to look like you aren’t prejudiced, you can’t even understand that when you say race doesn’t matter all I hear is you dismissing what I’ve felt, what I’ve lived, what it’s like to be put down because of the color of my skin.” show less
This book was so highly recommended by my step-daughter that, though I don't usually enjoy Jodi Picoult's novels, I decided to try it - and am so glad I did - This novel examines white privilege and racism in a courageous and engaging way - the author clearly examined her own reaction to these issues as is evidenced by the eloquent closing statement by the public defender near the end of the book. I loved that speech - so powerful and important especially in light of the overt bigotry of the Trump administration in the US.
This story of a black nurse, a white supremacist new father, and a dead newborn has a lot to say - there were flaws for me - especially a twist at the end that seemed out of character - possible yet unlikely - yet the show more merits of the subject matter outweighed that for me. The story kept me engaged as we evacuated to escape Hurricane Irma. show less
This story of a black nurse, a white supremacist new father, and a dead newborn has a lot to say - there were flaws for me - especially a twist at the end that seemed out of character - possible yet unlikely - yet the show more merits of the subject matter outweighed that for me. The story kept me engaged as we evacuated to escape Hurricane Irma. show less
This novel is about a black nurse who is fired and then tried for murder after the infant child of white supremacist parents dies under her care. It's really about racism, bias, and privilege-- and those are not thinly veiled but very much in your face themes throughout the book.
The book is straightforward and structured and a real page turner. I appreciated that Turks background and story were also told and that his family was developed in the book and more than just a placeholder for white racism. Overall though, the story was massively one-sided and each plot point felt contrived to further hammer home the point. The story seemed intent on manipulating the readers emotions and I'm not a fan of that tactic. I'd rather the author have show more written it to invite introspection and critical discussion, both of which are badly needed on these themes. show less
The book is straightforward and structured and a real page turner. I appreciated that Turks background and story were also told and that his family was developed in the book and more than just a placeholder for white racism. Overall though, the story was massively one-sided and each plot point felt contrived to further hammer home the point. The story seemed intent on manipulating the readers emotions and I'm not a fan of that tactic. I'd rather the author have show more written it to invite introspection and critical discussion, both of which are badly needed on these themes. show less
Small Great Things, Jodi Picoult, author, Cassandra Campbell, Audra McDonald, Ari Fliakos, Narrators
Jodi Picoult has written a well researched and really difficult exposé on race relations and just what those two words really mean, in this, her latest book. She believes that there will be those on all sides of the issue who will find fault with her novel, but she also strongly believes that it had to be written. The pages turn themselves as the reader will be riveted to the story as it develops.
The novel is about a nurse, Ruth Jeffries, who is suddenly prohibited from treating a male newborn because of her skin color. Ruth Jeffries is a black labor and delivery nurse. Brit and Turk Bauer, the, young, proud parents of their infant son, show more Davis, are White Supremacists. Ruth is rightly offended when her superior agrees with the Bauer’s who have refused to have her, a person of color, interact with either their child or them. Ruth is summarily removed from the case.
The mother of Davis is Brit Bauer. She grew up without a mother and, instead, was raised by her father Francis, a leader of a white supremacist movement. Her husband, Kurt Bauer, was basically her father’s protégé. On his head, he had a tattoo of a swastika. On the knuckles of each hand was a word. On one it said love and on the other hate. He ran a racist blog. Neither he nor his wife had ever learned how to handle their anger in any other way than to strike out and viciously hurt others. They have actually enjoyed their violent impulses and relished in the pain they caused others. It seemed to be the only way they could relieve their own anger and pain. Yet, while Kurt is cruel to others, he is kind to Brit.
Ruth was a very experienced nurse with two decades of experience under her belt. She was the only nurse of color on the neonatal floor. She was well thought of and had an excellent reputation, but after she was removed from the care of the child by her superior, she discovered that her friendship with the other staff members was actually superficial. When, in a terrible tragedy, the child, Davis Bauer, dies after a routine circumcision, no one supports her when the Bauers accuse her of murder. Rather their fingers point in her direction, and they find it too easy to assume she might have actually deliberately killed the baby in an act of vengeance against his parents. She finds herself alone. The friendships she believed she had in the hospital were only a façade. Many of her so called friends and co-workers were only too eager to make her out to be the villain in the emergency situation that took the life of Davis Bauer, even though they had placed her in the impossible situation of saving the life of a child she was forbidden to touch. In desperation, she turns to her sister, someone who lives in the ghetto, someone whom she has tried to rise above and therefore distance herself from. She finds solace there, even though she does not agree with all of her sister’s ideas, she knows she will be the only one there for her and her son, Edison. Ruth is a widow. Her husband was killed fighting for the United States, in Afghanistan.
When the police broke into her apartment, handcuffed her son and herself, then trashed her home searching it, she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was because of her skin color that they were being treated so roughly. She was hauled off in the middle of the night in her nightgown and arraigned. Until this point, she had believed that she was accepted in the wider world of whites as an equal. She spoke well, was highly educated and got her nursing degree from Yale University. She led a quiet life with a low profile, living in a middle class white neighborhood so that her son Edison could get a better education. She wanted him to grow up in a world that was colorblind. She was naïve. That was not the real world. She had merely hoped that if she believed it, she could make it real; she wanted to believe that she might fit into the world of the whites.
Kennedy McQuarrie was a Public Defender who believed she was colorblind. She was in for a rude awakening. As they got to know each other, Ruth and Kennedy learned to see the world through each other’s eyes. Kennedy had a lot to learn from Ruth and Ruth had her eyes opened by Kennedy. Kennedy, however, learned far more. She discovered that race was indeed an issue even when it was denied as one. When leaving a store together, it was Ruth’s packages that were inspected to see if she had shoplifted; it was Ruth’s ID that was demanded while Kennedy was ignored and waved on without a moment’s hesitation. She was not suspect. She was white. Even the reader who believed there was not a racist bone in his/her body, both black and white, will discover that underneath every rock, there is a seed hiding, even when one is least aware of its presence.
At first, I was one of the people that the author said would find fault with her book. I didn’t like the fact that she painted one group with a broad brush as if only they were racists and Progressives were the Saints waiting in the wings. Personally, I do not believe that Fox News or all Conservatives are racist as a group, in the way she depicted them. However, as she developed her narrative, it became more apparent that she was aiming for another, larger truth in which everyone had shared blame for the racism that is denied in society, and that truth pointed to a larger group that crossed color, cultural, religious and political lines. She titled the book with part of a quote from Martin Luther King, and its brevity belies its profundity. In essence, at the core of this story is the definition of the words equality vs. equity, with equity developing as the most meaningful goal and the lack of it is a broad and plausible explanation of the problems that lie behind the subtle racism that exists everywhere, even where it is denied the loudest.
I believe the book could have a great impact on those who read it. In its honesty, it is forthright; in its understanding of the underlying causes of racism, it is intuitive; in its relationship to true events, it is inspired; in its pretending that racism does not exist, it exposes the pretense that itself is a form of racism.
Based on events that occurred in the real world this book twists and turns from tragedy to fairytale and its surprise ending comes out of the blue. However, it is the reality of the resemblance to actual events that prevents the book from crossing over into the land of fairytales, at times.
Picoult uses the terms equity vs. equality to describe the tragedy of racism. According to her, equality sounds fair, but it is equity that is fair. One is for show, the other is for real. One demands only equivalence and uniformity; the other demands justice and impartiality, both of which appear to be largely absent in today’s society.
***The narrators added a greater depth to this story than the print book, I think, and I recommend it. show less
Jodi Picoult has written a well researched and really difficult exposé on race relations and just what those two words really mean, in this, her latest book. She believes that there will be those on all sides of the issue who will find fault with her novel, but she also strongly believes that it had to be written. The pages turn themselves as the reader will be riveted to the story as it develops.
The novel is about a nurse, Ruth Jeffries, who is suddenly prohibited from treating a male newborn because of her skin color. Ruth Jeffries is a black labor and delivery nurse. Brit and Turk Bauer, the, young, proud parents of their infant son, show more Davis, are White Supremacists. Ruth is rightly offended when her superior agrees with the Bauer’s who have refused to have her, a person of color, interact with either their child or them. Ruth is summarily removed from the case.
The mother of Davis is Brit Bauer. She grew up without a mother and, instead, was raised by her father Francis, a leader of a white supremacist movement. Her husband, Kurt Bauer, was basically her father’s protégé. On his head, he had a tattoo of a swastika. On the knuckles of each hand was a word. On one it said love and on the other hate. He ran a racist blog. Neither he nor his wife had ever learned how to handle their anger in any other way than to strike out and viciously hurt others. They have actually enjoyed their violent impulses and relished in the pain they caused others. It seemed to be the only way they could relieve their own anger and pain. Yet, while Kurt is cruel to others, he is kind to Brit.
Ruth was a very experienced nurse with two decades of experience under her belt. She was the only nurse of color on the neonatal floor. She was well thought of and had an excellent reputation, but after she was removed from the care of the child by her superior, she discovered that her friendship with the other staff members was actually superficial. When, in a terrible tragedy, the child, Davis Bauer, dies after a routine circumcision, no one supports her when the Bauers accuse her of murder. Rather their fingers point in her direction, and they find it too easy to assume she might have actually deliberately killed the baby in an act of vengeance against his parents. She finds herself alone. The friendships she believed she had in the hospital were only a façade. Many of her so called friends and co-workers were only too eager to make her out to be the villain in the emergency situation that took the life of Davis Bauer, even though they had placed her in the impossible situation of saving the life of a child she was forbidden to touch. In desperation, she turns to her sister, someone who lives in the ghetto, someone whom she has tried to rise above and therefore distance herself from. She finds solace there, even though she does not agree with all of her sister’s ideas, she knows she will be the only one there for her and her son, Edison. Ruth is a widow. Her husband was killed fighting for the United States, in Afghanistan.
When the police broke into her apartment, handcuffed her son and herself, then trashed her home searching it, she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was because of her skin color that they were being treated so roughly. She was hauled off in the middle of the night in her nightgown and arraigned. Until this point, she had believed that she was accepted in the wider world of whites as an equal. She spoke well, was highly educated and got her nursing degree from Yale University. She led a quiet life with a low profile, living in a middle class white neighborhood so that her son Edison could get a better education. She wanted him to grow up in a world that was colorblind. She was naïve. That was not the real world. She had merely hoped that if she believed it, she could make it real; she wanted to believe that she might fit into the world of the whites.
Kennedy McQuarrie was a Public Defender who believed she was colorblind. She was in for a rude awakening. As they got to know each other, Ruth and Kennedy learned to see the world through each other’s eyes. Kennedy had a lot to learn from Ruth and Ruth had her eyes opened by Kennedy. Kennedy, however, learned far more. She discovered that race was indeed an issue even when it was denied as one. When leaving a store together, it was Ruth’s packages that were inspected to see if she had shoplifted; it was Ruth’s ID that was demanded while Kennedy was ignored and waved on without a moment’s hesitation. She was not suspect. She was white. Even the reader who believed there was not a racist bone in his/her body, both black and white, will discover that underneath every rock, there is a seed hiding, even when one is least aware of its presence.
At first, I was one of the people that the author said would find fault with her book. I didn’t like the fact that she painted one group with a broad brush as if only they were racists and Progressives were the Saints waiting in the wings. Personally, I do not believe that Fox News or all Conservatives are racist as a group, in the way she depicted them. However, as she developed her narrative, it became more apparent that she was aiming for another, larger truth in which everyone had shared blame for the racism that is denied in society, and that truth pointed to a larger group that crossed color, cultural, religious and political lines. She titled the book with part of a quote from Martin Luther King, and its brevity belies its profundity. In essence, at the core of this story is the definition of the words equality vs. equity, with equity developing as the most meaningful goal and the lack of it is a broad and plausible explanation of the problems that lie behind the subtle racism that exists everywhere, even where it is denied the loudest.
I believe the book could have a great impact on those who read it. In its honesty, it is forthright; in its understanding of the underlying causes of racism, it is intuitive; in its relationship to true events, it is inspired; in its pretending that racism does not exist, it exposes the pretense that itself is a form of racism.
Based on events that occurred in the real world this book twists and turns from tragedy to fairytale and its surprise ending comes out of the blue. However, it is the reality of the resemblance to actual events that prevents the book from crossing over into the land of fairytales, at times.
Picoult uses the terms equity vs. equality to describe the tragedy of racism. According to her, equality sounds fair, but it is equity that is fair. One is for show, the other is for real. One demands only equivalence and uniformity; the other demands justice and impartiality, both of which appear to be largely absent in today’s society.
***The narrators added a greater depth to this story than the print book, I think, and I recommend it. show less
‘Small Great Things’ by Jodi Piccoult is a riveting story about Ruth Jefferson, an African American nurse, who has worked hard to provide a successful life for herself and her son Edison. As the only nurse of color at her hospital, Ruth has performed with exemplary professionalism for over twenty years. Then one day, Ruth’s life is put into upheaval when she is accused of murdering the baby of a White supremacist couple. Since the story is told from three perspectives…Ruth, Turk (the White supremacist father), and Kennedy McQuarrie (Ruth’s white lawyer), I was able to delve into the feelings and thoughts of the three main characters. Although Ruth is counseled by her lawyer to never bring up the racial issue in court, Ruth show more feels compelled to testify and to state the truth forthrightly, possibly at the risk of losing her case. Jodi Piccoult is so adept at presenting the character’s feelings in depth, and she leaves one much to ponder over and to reflect upon regarding racism, both overt and subtle. I felt compelled to discuss this story with an African American friend and to reflect upon my own experiences regarding racism and prejudice. I so appreciate this novel for bringing new insights and understanding about race, so that one might conduct oneself more equitably and with compassion for others. show less
I am a huge fan of Jodi so I knew I would probably enjoy this book. The theme of the story is racism and it is told from three different perspectives. The chapters from Turk's point of view (he is a white supremacist) were really hard to read. It is difficult to imagine anyone having the ability to hate so many people that much, but sadly what Jodi is portraying is a reality. This book certainly had its intended affect. It made me stop and think about my own privileges and participation in systems that are clearly stacked against some people. I think it was courageous and timely for Jodi to write this book and I think we would all be better off as a society if we read more books like this and had honest discussions about race. I think show more the characters were great in this book. I especially liked Edison and Kennedy. As usual Jodi throws in a twist at the end and although much of the book is disturbing it is also hopeful. I would certainly recommend this one to anyone. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Top Five Books of 2016
795 works; 228 members
Books Read in 2023
5,547 works; 145 members
Books by Jewish Authors
68 works; 5 members
Books Mentioned in the A+ Autostraddle Pop Up Discords Nov 2022 & Dec 2022
223 works; 3 members
Author Information
116+ Works 146,261 Members
Jodi Picoult was born in Nesconset, New York on May 19, 1966. She received a degree in creative writing from Princeton University in 1987 and a master's degree in education from Harvard University. She published two short stories in Seventeen magazine while still in college. Immediately after graduation, she landed a variety of jobs, ranging from show more editing textbooks to teaching eighth-grade English. Her first book, Songs of the Humpback Whale, was published in 1992. Her other works include Picture Perfect, Mercy, The Pact, Salem Falls, The Tenth Circle, Nineteen Minutes, Change of Heart, Handle with Care, House Rules, Sing You Home, Lone Wolf, Leaving Time, and Small Great Things. My Sister's Keeper was made into a movie starring Cameron Diaz. She received the New England Bookseller Award for fiction in 2003. She also wrote five issues of the Wonder Woman comic book series for DC Comics. She writes young adult novels with her daughter Samantha van Leer including Between the Lines and Off the Page. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Awards
Distinctions
Series
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Small Great Things
- Original title
- Small Great Things
- Original publication date
- 2016-10
- People/Characters
- Ruth Brooks Jefferson; Kennedy McQuarrie; Turk Bauer; Brittany Mitchum Bauer; Davis Bauer; Edison Wesley Jefferson (show all 29); Rachel "Adisa" Brooks; Micah McQuarrie; Violet McQuarrie; Ava; Francis Mitchum; Carla Luongo; Louanne "Mama Lou" Brooks; Mina Hallowell; Sam Hallowell; Christina Hallowell Sawyer; Louis Hallowell; Marie Malone; Corinne McAvoy; Roarke Matthews; Odette Lawton; Wallace Mercy; Wesley Jefferson; Judge Thunder; Howard Moore; Ivan Kelly-Garcia; Adele Adams; Deborah; Carys
- Important places
- East End, Connecticut, USA; New Haven, Connecticut, USA; Mercy-West Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Epigraph
- Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are. -- BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced. -- JAMES BALDWIN
The piano keys are black and white but they sound like a million colors in your mind. -- MARIA CRISTINA MENA
She wanted to get at the hate of them all, to pry at it and work at it until she found a little chink, and then pull out a pebble or a stone or a brick and then a part of the wall, and, once started, the whole edifice might r... (show all)oar down and be done away with. -- Ray Bradbury, The Illustrated Man
People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love. -- Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom - Dedication
- For Kevin Ferreira, whose ideas and actions make the world a better place, and who taught me that we are all works in progress. Welcome to the family.
- First words
- The miracle happened on West Seventy-Fourth Street, in the home where Mama worked.
- Quotations
- "True confession? The reason we don't talk about race is because we do not speak a common language."
I hear the flow of the fountain behind me, and I think about water, how it might rise above its station as mist, flirt at being a cloud, and return as rain. Would you call that falling? Or coming home?
Equality is treating everyone the same. But equity is taking differences into account, so everyone has a chance to succeed.
One day, you realize there is less of your life left than what you've already lived.
........there is nothing more selfish than trying to change someone's mind because they don't think like you. Just because something is different does not mean it should not be respected.
What no one told me about grief is how lonely it is. No matter who else is mourning, you're in your own little cell. (show all 18)
The best lies are the ones that are wrapped around a core of truth.
I knew that sometimes when people spoke, it wasn't because they had something important to say. It was because they had a powerful need for someone to listen.
How incredibly easy it is to hide behind white skin, I think, looking at those probable supremacists.
If Ruth seemed judgmental or prickly, then her sister is a porcupine with an anger management problem.
The white supremacist supports in the gallery start booing. I am not sure they'd be happy with any verdict short of a public lynching.
If the first freedom you lose in prison is privacy, the second is dignity.
There were stones in her voice.
As it turns out, public defenders are less Superman and more Sisyphus, and there's no small number of lawyers who wind up crushed under the weight of the infinite caseloads and the crappy hours and the shitty pay.
"White folks have spent years giving Black folks their freedom on paper, but deep down they still expect us to say yes, massuh, and be quiet and grateful for what we got."
All mothers worry, but Black mothers, we have to worry a little bit more. "Even walking can be dangerous. Just being can be dangerous, if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Ms. Thomas was small and pretty and hopped from the desk of one third grader to another like a starling on a summer patio.
we have to put one foot in front of the other every day and pray it will be better the next time the sun rises. That if our legacy is not entitlement, it must be hope. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I hold my daughter's hand, or maybe she holds mine, like we are at an intersection, and it's my job to take her safely to the other side.
- Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.54
- Canonical LCC
- PS3566.I372
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 5,017
- Popularity
- 2,767
- Reviews
- 245
- Rating
- (4.15)
- Languages
- 10 — Chinese, Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 60
- ASINs
- 13
