This review was written by Bookwi.se Contributor Vikki Huisman.
Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse with over two decades of experience. During a normal checkup on a newborn boy, Ruth is abruptly reassigned to another patient. The baby’s parents are white supremacists who do not want Ruth touching their child. Ruth is African American.
The following day, the baby experiences a cardia event while Ruth is alone with him. Ruth is expressly forbidden from touching the child based on the parents strong wishes. After a hesitation, she springs into action performing CPR but the delay results with Ruth being charged with a crime.
Kennedy McQuarrie is Ruth’s white public defender who emphatically tells her client that mentioning race in the court room will not bode well. As the trial becomes an explosive topic in the media, Ruth struggles to pay the bills and keep her teenage son on the straight and narrow. Tensions flare resulting Ruth and Kennedy struggling to trust each other and examine everything they’ve ever been taught.
Small Great Things is an emotional, thought-provoking, book that will cause the reader to examine themselves along with the characters. I can’t recommend this book enough.
If Small Great Things is representative of Jodi Picoult’s other works, I will make it a priority to read everything she’s written.
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult Purchase Links: Hardcover, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook
