Jodi Picoult on "Small Great Things: A Novel" at Book Expo America 2016

Host Rich Fahle interviews Jodi Picoult about her upcoming book, “Small Great Things: A Novel” at Book Expo America 2016.
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
an African-American nurse, has worked at a CT hospital for nearly twenty years as a labor and delivery nurse. So when a young couple, Turk and Brittany, come into the hospital to have their baby, it is business as usual -- until Turk calls in Ruth’s white supervisor after the birth. He says, “I don’t want her or anyone like her to touch my boy,” and pulls up his sleeve to reveal a Confederate flag tattoo: he and his wife are Skinheads.
The hospital is used to meeting patient requests -- they have women who request female OBs, and others who don’t want to be cared for by a resident. So a note is placed on the baby’s file and all African-American staff are exempted from caring for that patient -- meaning Ruth, who is the only Black nurse on the ward. The baby is taken to the nursery a day after its birth so circumcision can be done. However, Ruth’s nursing colleague is called away on an emergency C section and Ruth is the only person in the nursery when the baby has cardiac/respiratory failure. After a brief hesitation - she intervenes - and yet, the baby dies. Not long after that, Ruth learns she has been charged with negligent homicide by the state.
Ruth’s attorney is a white woman Kennedy McQuarrie who would not consider herself a racist by any means. Like Ruth, she has a child. But unlike Ruth, her family has never had to think about race on a daily basis.
In spite of the evidence and the request of a Skinhead barring Ruth from doing her job, Kennedy knows she won’t talk about race in court, because she’d run the risk of polarizing the jury or the judge and losing the case. But to Ruth, that’s not justice.
As the two women form an alliance, and then an unlikely friendship, Kennedy begins to see that racism isn’t just about intent, but power. That even if Skinheads like Turk did not exist, Ruth would still be fighting an uphill battle. And she begins to seek a way to make a predominantly white jury see that they are responsible for the house they did not build…but in which they live.
Women authors, fiction, African Americans, lawyers, race relations, racism, legal fiction

[@michaeldemarco7193]

I read a Small Great Things twice . Great book

[@needsbeer]

That was a great read.

[@TheSandee88]

I love her! Her books are so incredibly thought provoking and force you to really reflect on important topics.

[@denimchiq87]

I can't wait to read this book. I love her so much.

[@johnmaccallum4387]

I think you got into your next topic. The view of women in this country. We are supposed to be so liberated but really look close!

[@rebeccaa7471]

For some reason I thought that this happened to a nurse recently... Could it be that I was hearing about this book? Or did she write the book based on a true story?

[@angelpuckett1444]

She wrote the book based on a 2012 event that happened to an African American nurse and the AA employees sued the hospital and prevailed. Jodi Picoult approached the book from the perspective of what would have happened if things went the other way. This book is excellent!

[@StrippedCoverLitMedia]

Seen a couple positive reviews, but never read Picoult.

[@prussedouce]

Stripped Cover Lit highly recommend!

[@familyklein5476]

I really enjoy your books. Just finished house rules. Great book. But I good do with less fucking. Unnecessary to push it in constantly.