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I haven’t read a Jodi Picoult book in a long time, but I’m so glad I decided to read this one. Small Great Things is one of the most thought provoking and inflammatory books I’ve read in some time. It focuses on issues of race and prejudice in a way that I, and probably many others, have not considered. The story is told from the perspectives of three characters: Ruth (an African-American labor and delivery nurse), Turk (a white supremacist father of a newborn baby in Ruth’s hospital), and Kennedy (Ruth’s defense attorney). Each viewpoint sheds a different light on the issue of racism. We learn that we all have much to learn about how we perceive each other and behave towards each other.
The characters were believable, although not always likable. Ruth was intelligent, sympathetic, and strong. You can’t help but get incensed by the injustices she has faced. It was difficult to read at times, especially the chapters told from Turk’s perspective. The following two quotes summarize the messages in this book:
Benjamin Franklin: “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”
The title refers to a quote attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things that are great.”