"Small Great Things" by Jodi Picoult is Thought Provoking--A Must Read! (UPDATED)

 Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult is a contemporary fiction about racism that is absolutely very thought provoking and educational.  It is about Ruth, a black nurse, who is charged with murder and negligence because the newborn, the son of white supremacist parents, that she was watching over dies.  Ruth is a widow with a son who is a high school honor-student.  

There are so many good scenes in this book!  It started a little slow for me with all the baby deliveries at the beginning, but that just was a small part and soon moved along.  That was just to show what a good nurse Ruth was and that she really loved her job.

This is such a remarkable story that helped me look at blacks in a whole different light.  I never realized before reading this how it really is to be black.  I would love to hear a black person's views about this book!  I really did not enjoy the chapters about Turk and Brit, the parents of the baby who died because they were horrible people!  I really liked the chapters about Ruth's public defender, Kennedy and the chapters about Ruth.  In typical Picoult style, chapters are written from different characters' points of view.  I felt the characters were well developed and the plot had an unexpected twist that shocked me!  I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone--must read.  It has lots of great lines and the author used the experiences of some real people that she interviewed to get a feel for what it's really like to be black in the United States.  I loved the surprise ending!  Must Read! 
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

My husband and I both loved this one, here's his review:

In Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult, Ruth Jefferson is a delivery nurse in a small hospital.  She has been one for 20 years and is very good at it.  One night a newborn baby is having serious problems and Ruth is left alone with the baby.  The baby is white, and Ruth is black, with orders not to touch this baby.  When the baby dies, the parents blame Ruth!  Did she do something to the baby or did she try to save it?

WOW!  This book is GOOD!  This story is true to life and the characters are well developed.  The trial part alone is worth reading for sure but I enjoyed the whole book!  A must Read!!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

Shared this with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop - the prompt was share a book review.  I was pleased to see she is reading many of the books we have recommended and loved!