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Small Great Things: A Novel Paperback – February 20, 2018

by Jodi Picoult (Author)

4.6 97,080 ratings

Editors' pick Best Literature & Fiction

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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A stunning page-turner with richly layered characters and a gripping moral dilemma that will lead readers to question everything they know about privilege, power, and race

Look for Jodi Picoult’s new novel, By Any Other Name, available now!

“[Picoult] offers a thought-provoking examination of racism in America today, both overt and subtle. Her many readers will find much to discuss in the pages of this topical, moving book.”—Booklist (starred 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 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 Small Great Things

“Small Great Things is the most important novel Jodi Picoult has ever written. . . . It will challenge her readers . . . [and] expand our cultural conversation about race and prejudice.”—The Washington Post

“A novel that puts its finger on the very pulse of the nation that we live in today . . . a fantastic read from beginning to end, as can always be expected from Picoult, this novel maintains a steady, page-turning pace that makes it hard for readers to put down.”—San Francisco Book Review

From the Publisher

WARNING: California’s Proposition 65

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Small Great Things is the most important novel Jodi Picoult has ever written. . . . It will challenge her readers . . . [and] expand our cultural conversation about race and prejudice.”—The Washington Post

“A novel that puts its finger on the very pulse of the nation that we live in today . . . a fantastic read from beginning to end, as can always be expected from Picoult, this novel maintains a steady, page-turning pace that makes it hard for readers to put down. It also allows for conversations to be had and for people to sit back and look at their lives, actions (past and present) and wonder how they will move forward. This is a fantastic book not only because it addresses something that happens in America and around the world every day, but it also shows us that change is possible too.”—San Francisco Book Review

“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

“Small Great Things embraces . . . empathy, hope and humility.”—Newsday

“[An] author at the top of her heart-rending game.”—The National

“A gripping read about an issue of urgency.”—The Vancouver Sun

“A book that needs to be read.”—The Detroit News

“Exciting and fast-paced.”—New York Journal of Books

“[Picoult] offers a thought-provoking examination of racism in America today, both overt and subtle. Her many readers will find much to discuss in the pages of this topical, moving book.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Powerful . . . revelations abound.”—The Free Lance-Star

“Picoult has outdone herself.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“A courageous and important work.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“I couldn’t put it down. Her best yet!”—New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman

“A compelling, can’t-put-it-down drama with a trademark [Jodi] Picoult twist.”—Good Housekeeping

“It’s Jodi Picoult, the prime provider of literary soul food. This riveting drama is sure to be supremely satisfying and a bravely thought-provoking tale on the dangers of prejudice.”—Redbook

“Jodi Picoult is never afraid to take on hot topics, and in Small Great Things, she tackles race and discrimination in a way that will grab hold of you and refuse to let you go. . . . This page-turner is perfect for book clubs.”—Popsugar

About the Author

Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestsellingauthor of twenty-five novels, including Small Great Things, Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart, Nineteen Minutes, and My Sister’s Keeper. She is also the author, with daughter Samantha van Leer, of two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page. Picoult lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Stage One: Early Labor

Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.
—Benjamin Franklin

Ruth

The miracle happened on West Seventy-fourth Street, in the home where Mama worked. It was a big brownstone encircled by a wrought-iron fence, and overlooking either side of the ornate door were gargoyles, their granite faces carved from my nightmares. They terrified me, so I didn’t mind the fact that we always entered through the less impressive side door, whose keys Mama kept on a ribbon in her purse.

Mama had been working for Sam Hallowell and his family since before my sister and I were born. You may not have recognized his name, but you would have known him the minute he said hello. He had been the unmistakable voice in the mid-1960s who announced before every show: The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC! In 1976, when the miracle happened, he was the network’s head of programming. The doorbell beneath those gargoyles was the famously pitched three-note chime everyone associates with NBC. Sometimes, when I came to work with my mother, I’d sneak outside and push the button and hum along.

The reason we were with Mama that day was because it was a snow day. School was canceled, but we were too little to stay alone in our apartment while Mama went to work—which she did, through snow and sleet and probably also earthquakes and Armageddon. She muttered, stuffing us into our snowsuits and boots, that it didn’t matter if she had to cross a blizzard to do it, but God forbid Ms. Mina had to spread the peanut butter on her own sandwich bread. In fact the only time I remember Mama taking time off work was twenty-five years later, when she had a double hip replacement, generously paid for by the Hallowells. She stayed home for a week, and even after that, when it didn’t quite heal right and she insisted on returning to work, Mina found her tasks to do that kept her off her feet. But when I was little, during school vacations and bouts of fever and snow days like this one, Mama would take us with her on the B train downtown.

Mr. Hallowell was away in California that week, which happened often, and which meant that Ms. Mina and Christina needed Mama even more. So did Rachel and I, but we were better at taking care of ourselves, I suppose, than Ms. Mina was.

When we finally emerged at Seventy-second Street, the world was white. It was not just that Central Park was caught in a snow globe. The faces of the men and women shuddering through the storm to get to work looked nothing like mine, or like my cousins’ or neighbors’.

I had not been into any Manhattan homes except for the Hallowells’, so I didn’t know how extraordinary it was for one family to live, alone, in this huge building. But I remember thinking it made no sense that Rachel and I had to put our snowsuits and boots into the tiny, cramped closet in the kitchen, when there were plenty of empty hooks and open spaces in the main entry, where Christina’s and Ms. Mina’s coats were hanging. Mama tucked away her coat, too, and her lucky scarf—the soft one that smelled like her, and that Rachel and I fought to wear around our house because it felt like petting a guinea pig or a bunny under your fingers. I waited for Mama to move through the dark rooms like Tinker Bell, alighting on a switch or a handle or a knob so that the sleeping beast of a house was gradually brought to life. “You two be quiet,” Mama told us, “and I’ll make you some of Ms. Mina’s hot chocolate.”

It was imported from Paris, and it tasted like heaven. So as Mama tied on her white apron, I took a piece of paper from a kitchen drawer and a packet of crayons I’d brought from home and silently started to sketch. I made a house as big as this one. I put a family inside: me, Mama, Rachel. I tried to draw snow, but I couldn’t. The flakes I’d made with the white crayon were invisible on the paper. The only way to see them was to tilt the paper sideways toward the chandelier light, so I could make out the shimmer where the crayon had been.

“Can we play with Christina?” Rachel asked. Christina was six, falling neatly between the ages of Rachel and me. Christina had the biggest bedroom I had ever seen and more toys than anyone I knew. When she was home and we came to work with our mother, we played school with her and her teddy bears, drank water out of real miniature china teacups, and braided the corn-silk hair of her dolls. Unless she had a friend over, in which case we stayed in the kitchen and colored.

But before Mama could answer, there was a scream so piercing and so ragged that it stabbed me in the chest. I knew it did the same to Mama, because she nearly dropped the pot of water she was carrying to the sink. “Stay here,” she said, her voice already trailing behind her as she ran upstairs.

Rachel was the first one out of her chair; she wasn’t one to follow instructions. I was drawn in her wake, a balloon tied to her wrist. My hand skimmed over the banister of the curved staircase, not touching.

Ms. Mina’s bedroom door was wide open, and she was twisting on the bed in a sinkhole of satin sheets. The round of her belly rose like a moon; the shining whites of her eyes made me think of merry-go-round horses, frozen in flight. “It’s too early, Lou,” she gasped.

“Tell that to this baby,” Mama replied. She was holding the telephone receiver. Ms. Mina held her other hand in a death grip. “You stop pushing, now,” she said. “The ambulance’ll be here any minute.” I wondered how fast an ambulance could get here in all that snow.

“Mommy?”

It wasn’t until I heard Christina’s voice that I realized the noise had woken her up. She stood between Rachel and me. “You three, go to Miss Christina’s room,” Mama ordered, with steel in her voice. “Now.” But we remained rooted to the spot as Mama quickly forgot about us, lost in a world made of Ms. Mina’s pain and fear, trying to be the map that she could follow out of it. I watched the cords stand out on Ms. Mina’s neck as she groaned; I saw Mama kneel on the bed between her legs and push her gown over her knees. I watched the pink lips between Ms. Mina’s legs purse and swell and part. There was the round knob of a head, a knot of shoulder, a gush of blood and fluid, and suddenly, a baby was cradled in Mama’s palms.

“Look at you,” she said, with love written over her face. “Weren’t you in a hurry to get into this world?”

Two things happened at once: the doorbell rang, and Christina started to cry. “Oh, honey,” Ms. Mina crooned, not scary anymore but still sweaty and red-faced. She held out her hand, but Christina was too terrified by what she had seen, and instead she burrowed closer to me. Rachel, ever practical, went to answer the front door. She returned with two paramedics, who swooped in and took over, so that what Mama had done for Ms. Mina became like everything else she did for the Hallowells: seamless and invisible.

The Hallowells named the baby Louis, after Mama. He was fine, even though he was almost a full month early, a casualty of the barometric pressure dropping with the storm, which caused a PROM—a premature rupture of membranes. Of course, I didn’t know that back then. I only knew that on a snowy day in Manhattan I had seen the very start of someone. I’d been with that baby before anyone or anything in this world had a chance to disappoint him.

The experience of watching Louis being born affected us all differently. Christina had her baby via surrogate. Rachel had five. Me, I became a labor and delivery nurse.

When I tell people this story, they assume the miracle I am referring to during that long-ago blizzard was the birth of a baby. True, that was astonishing. But that day I witnessed a greater wonder. As Christina held my hand and Ms. Mina held Mama’s, there was a moment— one heartbeat, one breath—where all the differences in schooling and money and skin color evaporated like mirages in a desert. Where everyone was equal, and it was just one woman, helping another.

That miracle, I’ve spent thirty-nine years waiting to see again.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ballantine Books; Reprint edition (February 20, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 528 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0345544978
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345544971
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ HL800L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.52 x 1.18 x 8.23 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #5,695 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #296 in Contemporary Women Fiction
- #362 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction
- #636 in Literary Fiction (Books)

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4.6 97,080 ratings

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Jodi Picoult

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Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-nine novels, including Mad Honey, Wish You Were Here, The Book of Two Ways, A Spark of Light, Small Great Things, Leaving Time, and My Sister's Keeper, and, with daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page. Picoult lives in New Hampshire.

Follow Jodi Picoult on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter: @jodipicoult

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Customers find the book engaging and thought-provoking. They praise the writing quality as excellent and the author's skill in tackling difficult issues. The storyline is described as riveting and exciting, with a twist at the end that keeps readers hooked. The characters are well-developed and relatable, making the book an enjoyable read for customers.

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4,188 customers mention "Readability"4,092 positive96 negative

Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They appreciate the author's talent and dedication to the subject matter. The story is described as compelling and appropriate for the occasion.

"...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. &#..." Read more

"Gripping. Powerful. A story that needs to be told. From two different perspectives. One that is almost unbearable to read...." Read more

"...are quite a few secondary characters that add perspective and spice to the story as well and I think each one presented a point of view and point of..." Read more

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2,709 customers mention "Thought provoking"2,651 positive58 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking and entertaining. They appreciate the different points of view and the different voices. The book inspires them to be more aware and work harder to eliminate racism. It is poignant, touching, gripping, and an eye-opener about bias and hatred. Readers describe it as well-written and interesting as all of her books.

"...Jodi Picoult's novels are always extremely well-researched, intelligently-written, and very thought-provoking and "Small Great Things" is an..." Read more

"...Please don't misunderstand, I was enthralled by the book. The story is passionate, intense, and portrays a deep struggle, which you want to..." Read more

"...The characters in this novel are amazing. The story is told through three perspectives: Ruth, a black nurse who loses her job and is charged with a..." Read more

"...She does her homework. She tugs at your heartstrings, your very soul...." Read more

1,788 customers mention "Writing quality"1,496 positive292 negative

Customers find the writing quality of the book good. They appreciate the character development and writing about difficult issues artfully. The author has a talent and guts to continue writing about them. Readers praise the book as incredible, with beautiful quotes like "PRIDE is an evil dragon" and mention it's a must-read for all. However, some feel the book is not easy to read, with no metaphors, poetry, or descriptions.

"...Jodi Picoult's novels are always extremely well-researched, intelligently-written, and very thought-provoking and "Small Great Things" is an..." Read more

"...Something else I quite enjoyed was learning the medical and law jargon and procedures that aren't always shown or known to those outside the fields...." Read more

"...What I love about this book is that it is as well written and interesting as all of her books. It is a page turner and it doesn't point fingers...." Read more

"...she felt compelled to write about the subject was some of the best writing in the book." Read more

926 customers mention "Storyline"778 positive148 negative

Customers enjoy the engaging storyline. They find the plot twist at the end clever and the characters realistic. The book contains a courtroom drama, which they appreciate. Readers are drawn into the characters' experiences and able to see parts of themselves through the story.

"...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...." Read more

"...There is nothing that can bring him back. The back stories were amazing and uncomfortable to read...." Read more

"...Racism is discussed as well as 3k. But it has a good ending and I Would recommend people read it...." Read more

"...Highly recommend because it is not predictable." Read more

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Customers find the book well-written and engaging. They appreciate the author's courage in tackling the difficult subject of racism and white privilege. The book makes them rethink their prejudices and assumptions about race. It also helps them understand how race affects their choices and justice.

"...I feel she tackles the topic of race well and paints beautiful portraits of all the individuals involved...." Read more

"...Jodi Picoult is at her best once again with this complex and multilayered story of race, discrimination, and understanding as only she can write..." Read more

"Very good read. It goes into the history of racism and sexism in this country...." Read more

"Kudos to Jodi Picoult for having the courage to write about racism in America...." Read more

747 customers mention "Character development"647 positive100 negative

Customers enjoy the well-developed characters. They find them portrayed as individuals, and the story is told in the voices of three different characters who each represent a character. The characters hold readers' attention and make them feel like friends.

"...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..." Read more

"...There are quite a few secondary characters that add perspective and spice to the story as well and I think each one presented a point of view and..." Read more

"...Shocking moments. Overall this will be a memorable book with great characters...." Read more

"Excellent character development, difficult subject written artfully. Favorite book I read in 2024. Sticking with me." Read more

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Customers find the book engaging and captivating. They say it keeps their attention throughout, drawing them into the characters' experiences and allowing them to reflect on themselves. The book is described as honest, inspiring, and memorable.

"...Jodi Picoult’s SMALL GREAT THINGS. This book is so riveting as it strikes a chord...." Read more

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"...It has a somewhat complex story that will keep you turning the pages. I enjoyed reading this book. Rating: 4 Stars...." Read more

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478 customers mention "Realistic"378 positive100 negative

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"...She is not claiming to be an expert. She based it on a true story...." Read more

"...It felt very realistic and authentic and helped ground the story with facts and methods inside what can otherwise be very emotional...." Read more

"...It is sad, poignant, though-provoking, touching, gripping and compelling. Without a doubt, this book will be on my favorites shelf...." Read more

"...I felt that the voices of these three narrators were often unrealistic, thus my mediocre rating of this book...." Read more

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Kristin B.
Jodi Picoult is at the Top of Her Game!
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2016
Verified Purchase

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.

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carilynp
Jodi Picoult’s SMALL GREAT THINGS. This book is so riveting as it ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2016
Verified Purchase
Gripping. Powerful. A story that needs to be told. From two different perspectives. One that is almost unbearable to read. Actually, both are very difficult to read, but in different ways. One character's life makes you think not only of her outlook but forces you to truly take an introspective look. From another's viewpoint as well as how you look at the world. While you are reading it, it is hard to imagine that it was written by a white, female author. Jodi Picoult’s SMALL GREAT THINGS. This book is so riveting as it strikes a chord. Given the state of race relations in our country, the story is all the more haunting. To say that the issue of racial inequality has actually taken a turn for the worse, would be an understatement. The disparity in everyday life. I found myself doubting things that I have said, whom I may have inadvertently hurt or offended with no malicious intent. Reading this book made me sick to my stomach. But, I read on. It is important. Picoult is trying to get a message across. Please don't misunderstand, I was enthralled by the book. The story is passionate, intense, and portrays a deep struggle, which you want to read.

I imagine some people will be doubters. How could the author possibly understand this situation, even if she is writing fiction. I have read interviews about the depth of research that she put into this book. She is not claiming to be an expert. She based it on a true story. The title comes from a line in a famous speech of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s: If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”

The story is about a nurse, no ordinary nurse, but one who is dedicated and well regarded, with a twenty-year career at the hospital where ‘the incident’ occurs. A husband and wife have just had their first baby. When the nurse comes into their room, to take over the shift of another labor and delivery nurse, upon seeing her, the parents, who are white supremacists, see that she is black and immediately request to see her supervisor, whom they tell, in no uncertain terms, that this woman is not to touch their baby. What unfolds next is a devastating. Both of their lives take a turn neither could have predicted. The story is told from both sides. Heartbreak from the nurse’s and mistrust of everyone she encounters. She has noticed this before or rather, has worked hard to rise above it, but now it is all surfacing and cannot be ignored. The extremely racist man is angered to the point of revenge and his wife is shattered and taken to bed and depression.

Some books make you think. Some books turn you to a fantasy world. Some books make you step outside of yourself and think how others feel. SMALL GREAT THINGS makes you think, step outside of yourself, take another's perspective, and re-think your beliefs, and step outside of the fantasy world you have been living in, where all people are treated equally. It is both disturbing, heartbreaking and enlightening.

I commend Picoult for taking on the writing of a potentially controversial subject and for tackling it with a story that has great depth and feeling.

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luciana Murakami
Great novel
Reviewed in Brazil on July 9, 2022
Verified Purchase

Easy and fast reading. Interesting novel

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Sudhakar kadiyala
Extrordinary
Reviewed in India on January 4, 2023
Verified Purchase
The author role modelled herself into the character of Ruth(Black woman) so much that her every heartbeat, every thought ,action etc was reflected as it goes consciously & subconscious in the mind of a victim.Thanks to my friend for her suggestion and congratulations to Jodi Picoult for a fine writeup.Started seeing greatness in small things. ❤️

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Enrique Lopez
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
Reviewed in Mexico on December 11, 2020
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"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 !

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Small Great Things / edizione in lingua inglese
Reviewed in Italy on August 19, 2022
Verified Purchase
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.

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Its_Amran
Wow!
Reviewed in the Netherlands on March 19, 2021
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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.

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Small Great Things: A Novel Paperback – February 20, 2018

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