A review by elysahenegar
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

5.0

In the afterward, after the closing curtain, you discover the pulsing heart of this book, the significance that makes it one of the best of Picoult's ever-growing library. Jodi Picoult explains why Small Great Things---a novel about racism--was such an important novel for her, how she tried a few times to write it but never could until the audience - - people just like her, people who would never consider themselves to be racists- - became clear. In classic Picoult style, the novel is well-researched, thorough in its perspective, and honoring to the complex personalities and history of our brokenness. I found the story engaging, heartbreaking, and even vulnerably funny in places; I found the characters rich and real, the pace perfect. I found myself honestly considering my own unacknowledged prejudices, periodic frustration, assumptions, and sometimes lack of compassion over this issue, an issue that still and perhaps always will have teeth for minorities. Picoult gives much needed voice - - again--to an issue that should not be left simmering in hidden spaces. This book has potential for impact beyond its pages; I love Kennedy's comments near the end about equity versus equality. It's a book that has already taught me things; a book that will stay with me and help me find the paths I really wish to tread when it comes to loving others. I think everyone should read this novel; give it a good, open-hearted read and then let it begin a thousand real conversations.