Review: Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Wow, just wow! This book was everything and I really appreciate Jodi Picoult have the balls to step out of her comfort zone and write the incredible novel. I listened via audiobook and I’m so glad that I did. After posting this to my instagram feed yesterday, there were MANY thoughts from many different races with many mixed feelings. The authors note at the end really helped to hear Jodi’s perspective on things, how much she actually researched for the characters of this book and where she got the inspiration to write this story from.
This story is told from the perspective of 3 different people. Ruth Jefferson, the African American nurse, Turk Bauer, the white supremacist and Kennedy, a white female defense attorney. Ruth is a nurse who has been in her field of work for over 20 years. She comes in to cover shift for a coworker and doesn’t realize this day will change her for the rest of her life. She’s making her rounds in Labor and Delivery to check on patients and meets the Bauer family. After doing some routine check ups on baby Davis, Turk, the husband, asks to see Ruth’s supervisor. He then explains to the supervisor that he doesn’t want an black people handling his baby and the rest went downhill from there. The supervisor makes note in the baby’s file that no African American personnel is to handle the baby. Ruth is deeply hurt by this. On her next shift, there is an emergency that takes place and Ruth is the only pair of free hands to watch baby Davis after his circumcision. Well, she notices the baby has a blue tint to him and is unsure what to do. The baby is in need of emergency care, however she’s been specifically instructed not to touch this baby. Long story short, Ruth eventually lends the rest of the team a helping hand and the parents witness this and are irate, especially when they discover their precious newborn has died and want to hold Ruth responsibly for the death by taking her to court.
The book follows Ruth, Turk and Kennedy from their perspective of the trial and how they experience and deal with racism (or lack thereof) on a day to day before and during the trial.
Such a great story of how hate is learned and how this incident really changed these 3 individuals indefinitely. I really loved the twist at the end. It blew my mind because I totally did not see it coming.
A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating from
me. I look forward to reading more of Jodi Picoult, as this was my first from her (recommended by a friend).
