Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

I already announced my reading goal for 2019 and guess what?  I am making progress already!  Off to a great start.  My 2019 reading goal has been set at 24 books.  I know I keep saying this but I just need to let you know that yes, I know, 24 is not THAT many books read in one year but is a huge goal for me.

For my first book read in 2019 I picked up Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult from the library.  When I saw it on the shelf I knew I had to snatch it up after seeing a number of “blogger friends” do reviews on this book in 2018.  Now, let me be clear here, I did start this book on our New Years Eve week trip to Estes Park so it was started on December 30th!  BUT finished on January 1st!!

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

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.

Meet Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult is the author of twenty-four novels, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers Small Great Things, Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Between the Lines, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart, Nineteen Minutes, and My Sister’s Keeper. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children.

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.

My Thoughts of Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

As you can see, I read this book in 3 days, this is fast for me!  I had more time to sit and enjoy this book while we were all cozy in our cabin on our weekend away to Estes Park.  And during this time I had a hard time putting this book down.  With every page I was so eager to see what was going to happen next.

I might be a weird reader but this was the first Jodi Picoult book I have read besides My Sister’s Keeper.  Now that I have read Small Great Things I have many more of her books on my must read list.  I really loved the way she wrote this book and the way is flowed.  Honestly, this book should be a book that everyone reads.  Our world is full of turmoil and people who just do not understand “white privilege”.  Jodi Picoult did her very best to showcase this major issue in our communities.  Jodi Picoult shares areas of race discrimination, race prejudice, race snobbery, anti-semitism, and injustice in this book.

My only complaint about this book was that I felt like the ending came super fast.  I would have loved to learn more about what each character was doing.  I found myself feeling rushed as the novel completed.

This book was easy to follow the alternating points of view and the characters were so well-developed.  It was clear that Jodi Picoult did her research for this novel.  When you pick this book up, be ready, be ready to check yourself, be ready for the sharp reminder that racism is here and now, be ready to challenge your beliefs about the justice system.  Friends, be ready to enjoy this book but at the same time be ready to feel this book.  I promise you, if you read Small Great Things you will find something that triggers you; you will question your own morally and racial prejudice.  Dive in…you need to read this amazingly well written book.

Book 1 down!!  On to a great 2019 of reading!  I am excited for this journey and goal once again and hope I find some great books to give you reviews on.  I have already started book 2 and it is another great one.

Make sure you check out my reading list for 2019 that I have planned so far.

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

 

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