Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Description – When a newborn baby dies after a routine hospital procedure, there is no doubt about who will be held responsible: the nurse who had been banned from looking after him by his father.

What the nurse, her lawyer and the father of the child cannot know is how this death will irrevocably change all of their lives, in ways both expected and not.

Small Great Things is about prejudice and power; it is about that which divides and unites us.

Publication Date ~ November 8th 2016

Published by ~ Hodder & Stoughton

My thoughts – Well to be totally honest I have no clue really what to say. This is a book like no other I have read before.

Told from the perspective of three very different characters, Small Great Things centres around the topic of racism in America. Ruth Jefferson is a skilled labour and delivery nurse with over 20 years experience, Turk Beaur a white supremacist and new father and Kennedy McQuarrie a public defender who is white and classes herself as colour blind. Each character brings a very different perspective to the story, particularly Turk’s which at some points were very difficult to read.

I’m not going to hash out the story in this review as there are so many reviews out there already and I don’t want to give any spoilers away. What I will say is that Picoult has written a story that is heart breaking, emotional and very topical. Its clear that there was a lot of research done on the subject and its written in a passionate way but this isn’t an easy read what so ever, at some points I felt totally disgusted and had to set my kindle down and walk away for a few minutes. This isn’t a bad thing though and If anything it made more intrigued in the story.

Small Great Things is a thought provoking book that I highly recommend and I think everyone should read it as its not just a story its a lesson and one many can take something away from.

My rating 5/5

My thanks go the publishers and Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

Jodi Picoult

I was lucky enough to get a ticket to go and see Jodi Picoult on her tour of Small Great Things. I was astonished that she was coming to our tiny little Village and not surprised in anyway when The Main Street Trading Company, a gorgeous little book shop and café that were hosting the event announced that the event was moving down to the Village Hall due to the demand. I met up with Kaisha aka The Writing Garnet and her gorgeous little daughter Eva and we were lucky enough to get front row seats (it wasn’t because we were there half an hour before the doors opened honestly).

Jodi read out a chapter of the book and it was clear that a lot of the audience hadn’t read the book yet as there were quite a few intakes of breath being heard, she then went on to tell us about how the book came about and her experiences during the research for the book. I will be honest and say I sat there with my mouth open in total awe of the passion and dedication that Jodi has and could have sat and listened all day.

A remarkable lady who has written a remarkable book. It was an amazing experience and one I will treasure. You can read The Authors Note here which is also available at the end of the book and this will give you an idea of what Jodi talked about at her events.

Thank you for reading x