Small Great Things

A Novel

By: Jodi Picoult

Narrated by: Audra McDonald, Cassandra Campbell, Ari Fliakos

Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

2017 Audie Awards, Winner

Number-one New York Times Best Seller

With richly layered characters and a gripping moral dilemma that will lead listeners to question everything they know about privilege, power, and race, Small Great Things is the stunning new pause-resister from Jodi Picoult.

Soon to be a major motion picture

“[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 20 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)

©2016 Jodi Picoult (P)2016 Random House Audio

Hard to read for several reasons

Picoult almost always makes me think. And Small Great Things is no exception. It's "ripped from the headlines" and fairly well done.

The setup and development of the plot were well done but the big "plot twist" was manipulative. I'm not going to provide any spoilers, but as soon as I saw it coming, I was annoyed with the author.

The main characters (Ruth; her son; her sister; Turk and Brittany, her accusers; and Kennedy, her public defender) were well drawn if painfully close to stereotypes - or maybe archetypes. This bothered me. She also had some very preachy moments in that she put lots and lots of words in the characters' minds so that lessons could be conveyed. These factors detracted from what was otherwise a pretty good book.

On the other hand, Picoult really made me think about some painful truths about race relations in America. One of the best things seemed to be her successful attempt to let her readers at least come close to understanding how "the other" feels.

For this I am grateful. I recommend the book.

There aren't enough stars for this perspective altering story.

Jodi Picoult has me in awe. The story and the way it's told will forever change the way I view people and hopefully my interactions with those who are different from me. I'm grateful for this book and plan to hand it to many people this Christmas.

Absorbing, Engrossing and Eye Opening Must-Read

I had to mentally prepare myself to listen to this novel. I knew the subject material would be difficult and emotionally trying. I also knew that the author, Jodi Picoult, researches her books extremely well and knows what she is talking about, so I knew I wouldn't be getting feel-good fluff. The subject material is very relevant and it demanded my attention. The book was sitting there waiting to be listened to. l only recently became interested in listening to books by Picoult and have been pleasantly surprised, so I dived in.

An extremely brief synopsis just in case you aren't familiar with the story line. A successful, experienced African American nurse is unjustly accused of purposely causing a baby's death by his white supremacist parents. In the process, she is dragged to jail in the middle of the night, loses her license and job, and suffers untold indignities as she fights to clear her name and avoid a long prison term. You don't need to know any more details, trust me.

I was totally engrossed in the audiobook and sat, for the good part of two days, in a semi-catatonic state on the couch listening to the story unfold. I was unable to pull myself away, as I had to know how it played out. When I wasn't listening, I was examining my own beliefs and behaviors regarding racism. I still am. This book brings on a certain level of discomfort and demands self-examination. Which can be good, right?

For me, this wasn't just a great listen. It was an emotionally draining and valuable "experience." The narrators were perfection. Picoult outdid herself in capturing the characters and their motivations. You get what you pay for and very much more with this author.

If I were to have a tiny quibble or complaint, it would be that the end tied up a little to prettily. The twist (Picoult always has twists--you wait patiently for them) was not believable and should have been edited out. Really. But I don't feel this diminished the story in any significant way. In other words, its effects were small and not great.

Strongly recommended for everybody.

Relevant

This was a very interesting and powerful book. It hits on some very timely topics of racism and gave a lot of food for thought. I listened to this one for book club and we ended having a 2-hour meeting, which was a first for us, our meeting do not usually go the full hour.

I found all the characters to be interesting but I felt Ruth was the most fleshed out. Maybe if Turk had been more fleshed out I could have understood the ending better. Now, let us get over the elephant in the room, the ending, let’s just say that took it down a star for me I thought it was too pretty and wrapped in bow. I know that in the author’s notes she explains why she did it but it still kind of felt like a letdown to me.

Overall, I think this was a timely book that I would recommend for book clubs because the discussion after reading was great!

The narration by Audra McDonald, Cassandra Campbell & Ari Fliakos was fabulous I thought all three really captured the character and brought them to life. I will admit that the Turk chapters were harder to listen to just because of the language he used but he is a white supremacists so… I also thought that Cassandra did a good job with the character of Kennedy and in doing Ruth’s voice when she spoke in her chapters. Audra was amazing as Ruth she really brought her to life there is a scene at the end where just from her voice I could picture perfectly Ruth standing in the door with her hand on the handle.

3 Stars

Powerful

This is a powerful novel that examines race relations and perceptions from all sides, even those I didn't expect.

Everyone should “see,” open your eyes

This was an incredible book....I am a White, Jewish woman who is divorced from a deeply Southern “good Christian” man who (I was blind to see) is a racist, anti Semitic, anti-anything not white, male, and “Christian.”
Sadly, the world has taken severe steps back in recent years causing more of a divide then I’ve ever seen. However, this book captures the pure insight of perception being reality and the fact that we MUST all ACT and not sit back and wait for others to do the work. I don’t want to be ignorant to any race, religion, or sexual orientation.....it is hard to talk about, but too important not to. My mother, who is in heaven always taught me that nothing “comes easy,” but to fight for what drives us and to always remember that I am not better than anyone and no one is better than me. Thank you for this incredible book....

Small Great Things

Jodi Picoult always chooses tough topics for her books. Especially today this book is so relevant. I was surprised when she brought up the difference between prejudice versus racism. I think so many people feel they are not prejudiced but I wonder if those same people understand racism. This is an excellent read to aid in that understanding. As always Jodi Picoult develops her characters into very human people and you become invested in them. I would highly recommend this book. I had quit reading Jodi's books because I found so many of the subject matter hard to deal with. But after reading this book I'm going to get reacquainted with her because the social nature of her books are so very relevant and we need to understand these subjects so we can heal our nation.

I couldn't stop listening

If you could sum up Small Great Things in three words, what would they be?

enlightening empowering and mindful

What other book might you compare Small Great Things to and why?

I'm not sure, I've never really read something so recent and so powerful. Many of the stories that took place during the Hitler era are comparable in many ways.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

I can't decide. All of them were powerful

Who was the most memorable character of Small Great Things and why?

The defense attorney. She was so willing to learn and understand. But then again her husband made a huge difference too. I love how he just got her to think.

Any additional comments?

This is a great book. I don't think of myself as racist and like one of the characters in the book,. I teach in the inner city. This story opened my eyes to a a lot of things.

a necessary conversation

I always appreciate that she tries to present all sides of an issue fairly. As the white mother of 4 children of color I know how complicated this conversation is, but I also know how important it is to have it. Kudos to Ms Picoult for starting it.

Timely and necessary

This novel is relevant, riveting, thought-provoking and challenging. It is an important topic for such a time as this. This book is worth reading for all people.