Scan barcode
chriszook's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars-ish
Small Great Things is a well-written, well-researched, thought-provoking, and even eye-opening page turner. The characters and the storyline drew me in for quite the roller-coaster emotional journey, in spite of a number of inherent flaws with the book.
I don’t normally read contemporary fiction, which I presume is supposed to represent real life in a realistic sort of way, even if the events are dramatized and mundane details limited in order to speed the pacing.
It’s clear that while writing this book, Jodi Picoult was on a mission to check off all the boxes in her exhaustive list of racial/racist experiences, stereotypes, tropes, and clichés no matter how contrived, convenient, or forced it turned out to be. At one point, a four-year-old white girl asks a black youth, who’s been invited to her home for dinner, if the chain necklace he’s wearing means he’s a slave. Really? Yeah, it’s like that.
In addition, the court experience in this book was written like any number of made-for-TV legal dramas, complete with the obligatory eleventh-hour evidence discoveries and witness-stand outbursts, meltdowns, and “shocking” revelations. Though it made for compelling reading, it was about as realistic as your standard 15-minute capital murder trial sequence from the Lifetime Movie Network.
Am I expecting too much? Or is this the exception when it comes to popular fiction?
Small Great Things is a well-written, well-researched, thought-provoking, and even eye-opening page turner. The characters and the storyline drew me in for quite the roller-coaster emotional journey, in spite of a number of inherent flaws with the book.
I don’t normally read contemporary fiction, which I presume is supposed to represent real life in a realistic sort of way, even if the events are dramatized and mundane details limited in order to speed the pacing.
It’s clear that while writing this book, Jodi Picoult was on a mission to check off all the boxes in her exhaustive list of racial/racist experiences, stereotypes, tropes, and clichés no matter how contrived, convenient, or forced it turned out to be. At one point, a four-year-old white girl asks a black youth, who’s been invited to her home for dinner, if the chain necklace he’s wearing means he’s a slave. Really? Yeah, it’s like that.
In addition, the court experience in this book was written like any number of made-for-TV legal dramas, complete with the obligatory eleventh-hour evidence discoveries and witness-stand outbursts, meltdowns, and “shocking” revelations. Though it made for compelling reading, it was about as realistic as your standard 15-minute capital murder trial sequence from the Lifetime Movie Network.
Am I expecting too much? Or is this the exception when it comes to popular fiction?
maggie_books92's review against another edition
5.0
This book is absolutely brilliant!! One of the best books I've read - I couldn't put it down.
I went through so many emotions whilst reading it and it really gets you thinking. I highly recommend it to anyone who is considering reading it!
I went through so many emotions whilst reading it and it really gets you thinking. I highly recommend it to anyone who is considering reading it!
schohayes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I simultaneously have so many thoughts about this book and I don’t even know what to say. I went in blind and it’s a real heavy hitter. The story is told from three different perspectives and I can genuinely say I have never hated a book character more than one of them—AND we were in his head, which made it even worse <3 also shoutout cuz this book kept me awake on my road trip thx
alisposato's review against another edition
2.0
I found this to be quite cliche, lacking true depth, and a bit preachy.
llacey's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
breaabe's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hcheese's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
bjhaseman16's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0