(May Contain Spoilers)
To be honest, this book would never have been my first pick. I’m so used to escaping into magic, high‑stakes romance or twisty mysteries — realistic dramas about race and justice aren’t what I reach for. But when my TBR wheel landed on Small Great Things, I decided to give it a shot, fully convinced I’d set it aside after a few chapters. I even told myself: “I’ll DNF it. I won’t get into it.” I couldn’t have been more wrong — from early on, it had me in a chokehold and refused to let go until the very last page.
📖 The Story
We follow Ruth Jefferson, a skilled African‑American labour and delivery nurse with years of experience. One shift, she enters the room of new parents Brittany and Turk Bauer — and quickly learns they are unapologetic white supremacists. They make it clear: Ruth is not to touch or even come near their newborn son. She follows the rules… until the moment tragedy strikes. While Ruth and other medical staff are attending the baby, he goes into distress and dies. To the Bauers, and to many around them, there is only one explanation: Ruth is to blame.
What unfolds is a gripping, heart‑wrenching trial that lays bare the deep roots of racism in everyday life. What struck me most is how prejudice hums quietly in the background — unspoken, denied, disguised — until it is dragged into the light and proven true. It’s uncomfortable, raw, and impossible to look away from.
💭 My Thoughts & Observations
- Medical details: There’s a lot of technical language about procedures, conditions and hospital protocols. I admit I got a bit lost here and there — it’s very specific, and without medical knowledge, some of it just went over my head. Still, it never stopped me following the emotional core of the story.
- Timeline confusion: This was the one thing that pulled me out occasionally. The book references the Black Lives Matter movement, which feels very modern, yet also describes attitudes toward LGBTQ+ people that feel decades older. I couldn’t quite pin down exactly what year or era it was set in — it felt like it spanned different moments in time, which made the context tricky to place.
- Biggest surprise: Brittany Bauer’s death completely caught me off guard. I’d built a certain image of her, and that twist changed everything about how I saw her side of the story and the trial itself.
✨ Quotes That Stayed With Me✨
“It just goes to show you: every baby is born beautiful. It’s what we project on them that makes them ugly.” — p.13
This line hit hard. It sums up the whole heart of the book — how we come into the world without bias, and learn it all later.
“‘No, the point is you can do as the Romans do all you want, but it don’t mean the Emperor will let you into his palace.’” — p.61
Such a sharp, true way to describe what Ruth faces: doing everything “right”, fitting in, working hard… and still being kept out.
Final rating: 5/5
It’s not my usual world, but it’s one I’m glad I stepped into. This story asks big questions about who we are, what we believe, and the small choices that add up to something huge.
Have you read this? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments!
Love&Pages,
J💛
Books For The Soul 