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A review by letsgolesbians
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
Did not finish book.
DNFing at 16 pages.
Listen, I love Jodi. I've been a Jodi fan since I read My Sister's Keeper a decade ago. I own most of her books and add myself to the wait list at the library whenever a new book comes out; it took me months to get this one, which I admittedly put on hold without reading the synopsis. But sixteen pages in, I'm already uncomfortable.
As soon as the first microaggression popped up, I was done. It was a clear teaching moment for white people, and made it more obvious that this is a book written by a white person and meant for other white people. Can white people write POC characters? Of course, but white people writing books with protagonists of color and getting these books published means publishers are overlooking/ignoring books about POC written by POC. I don't want a book about a black woman written by a white woman when I could read a book about a black woman written by a black woman. You're taking up space that doesn't belong to you, Jodi. You're claiming this story when so many black women aren't given a chance. You want to help people understand racism? Help a black woman get published. Find a black teen to co-write a book with your daughter. You are a well-known author who can do something like that, and getting a black girl published would do far more than writing a book like this yourself.
Publishers: do better.
Listen, I love Jodi. I've been a Jodi fan since I read My Sister's Keeper a decade ago. I own most of her books and add myself to the wait list at the library whenever a new book comes out; it took me months to get this one, which I admittedly put on hold without reading the synopsis. But sixteen pages in, I'm already uncomfortable.
As soon as the first microaggression popped up, I was done. It was a clear teaching moment for white people, and made it more obvious that this is a book written by a white person and meant for other white people. Can white people write POC characters? Of course, but white people writing books with protagonists of color and getting these books published means publishers are overlooking/ignoring books about POC written by POC. I don't want a book about a black woman written by a white woman when I could read a book about a black woman written by a black woman. You're taking up space that doesn't belong to you, Jodi. You're claiming this story when so many black women aren't given a chance. You want to help people understand racism? Help a black woman get published. Find a black teen to co-write a book with your daughter. You are a well-known author who can do something like that, and getting a black girl published would do far more than writing a book like this yourself.
Publishers: do better.