Summary, Analysis & Review of Jodi Picoult's Small Great Things by Instaread

By Instaread Summaries

Summary, Analysis & Review of Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things by Instaread

 

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Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult is the story of Ruth Jefferson, an African American labor and delivery nurse who is charged with the murder of the newborn son of white

• Language: English
• Publisher: Instaread, Inc
• Release date: Feb 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9781683785798

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Summary

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult is the story of Ruth Jefferson, an African American labor and delivery nurse who is charged with the murder of the newborn son of white supremacists. The novel is also the story of Ruth’s public defender, Kennedy McQuarrie, who learns to confront the criminal justice system’s racial prejudice.

Twenty years into her career at Mercy-West Haven Hospital in Connecticut, Ruth’s life changes in an instant when Davis Bauer is born. After Ruth examines Davis, the child’s parents, Brittany and Turk Bauer, tell Ruth’s supervisor, Marie, that they don’t want any African American staff caring for their son. Marie puts a note in the baby’s file saying so.

Turk became involved with the White Power Movement as a troubled teen. For his initiation, Turk’s recruiters took him to a gay bar and had him beat up a man. The man, Turk realized upon looking at him, was his father. Turk beat his father so violently that he needed to be hospitalized. As a result, Turk became a White Power celebrity. Soon after, longtime White Power leader Francis Mitchum took Turk under his wing and introduced him to his daughter Brittany. Turk and Brittany fell in love and eventually married.

When he’s three days old, Davis Bauer is circumcised. After the surgery, the nurse monitoring Davis is called away. She asks Ruth to look after him. Alone with the baby, Ruth realizes he’s not breathing. She listens to the baby’s heart and