Small Great Things

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - With richly layered characters and a gripping moral dilemma that will lead readers to question everything they know about privilege, power, and race, Small Great Things is the stunning new page-turner 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 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.

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

Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 10/11/2016
Pages: 480
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.65lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.50w x 1.50d
ISBN: 9780345544957

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.7
Point Value: 24
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 186558 / Small Great Things


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 05/15/2016 pg. 48
Booklist 07/01/2016 pg. 31
Library Journal 08/01/2016 pg. 85
Kirkus Reviews 01/01/0001
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2016
Publishers Weekly 08/29/2016
Shelf Awareness 10/21/2016
Library Journal 05/15/2016

About the Author
Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-five novels, including Small Great Things, Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart, Nineteen Minutes, and My Sister's Keeper. She is also the author, with daughter Samantha van Leer, of two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page. Picoult lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children.