Hodder Paperbacks Small Great Things: The bestselling novel you won't want to miss

As many reviewers have said, this is a thought provoking read. Racism and whether or rather, how far we are all racist, is such a difficult subject for discussion, but Jodi Picoult’s book should enable us in some measure to begin that debate.The reviewer who said she stopped reading after the point of Ruth’s arrest because it was “unrealistic “, should perhaps familiarise herself more with the American legal system and be grateful she doesn’t live there! Which is turn makes me think an interesting discussion would be how far different are things in America? I was shocked that the presumption of free speech in the USA would allow an organisation such as a hospital to forbid an African-American nurse to treat a white child. Unless I am very wrong, that would be illegal here.But as many other readers have also said, I found myself questioning my innate racism. I hope this book will stay with me and keep challenging me to face up to deep-seated and ingrained prejudices.

Bought this book on a whim. And so glad I did. A really stimulating read! My first Jodi Picoult novel and I wasn’t disappointed. She wove the story perfectly. I liked the way the chapters jumped back and forth between 3 different characters - Turk (the father of the baby who died) Ruth (the nurse accused of killing the baby) and Kennedy (Ruth’s public defender).It isn’t a courtroom drama as such - I found the courtroom aspect enough and not long winded or boring. It kept you gripped. The story is based on a baby of a white supremacist who dies in hospital shortly after being born. The nurse accused of killing him is African American. I highly recommend this book. It kept me turning the pages!

I have enjoyed a number of Jodi Picoult’s novels but not this one. I was very disappointed and only read to page 95.I did not like the racial undertone nor the medical abbreviations and jargon. I was not happy with the narrative and did not like any of the characters.I could see where the story was going and did not want to go there. Once I start skipping paragraphs (which I did frequently during Turks narrative) I know it’s time to give up.Disappointing

My overall opinion on this one is that I liked it, but mainly because it was such a good discussion book, not because of the actual story. Now, that may sound controversial, that I didn’t enjoy the bulk of a book all about racism, but that’s not what I mean. Let me explain…I think this book did an amazing job at opening up the topic of racism to the reader. As a white woman, living in a pretty middle class existence, I know for a fact that I have unfair privileges and I will never fully understand the complexities of racism, as much as I try to educate myself. This novel certainly has opened my eyes to the some of the more subtle aspects of racism that I hadn’t even thought about before. While there were the obvious racist themes in this novel, it wasn’t those that shocked me the most, it was the parts that you don’t often think about when you think of racism. So for that, for opening my eyes and my mind, I applaud Picoult for writing such a difficult and controversial book.However, I think the teachings of this book could have been done in a more compelling story. At the end of the day, there was nothing inherently wrong with the plot, but I didn’t quite connect with it. I found a lot of it unexciting and the “twist” at the end, that Picoult just has to add into each one of her books, was so blatantly obvious it didn’t surprise me at all and kind of made the rest of the book feel a bit cheap?Picoult’s writing isn’t my favourite, it doesn’t suck me in as much as other authors, but its still weaves a pretty interesting story. I think the characters in this book were far stronger than the plot.My favourite part of this novel was watching Ruth and Kennedy’s relationship grow. I loved seeing how Kennedy steadily grew to understand Ruth’s frustrations and her plight to bring race to the forefront of people’s minds.Overall, I did enjoy this book, mainly because of what it taught me and how it’s made me see things in a different way. But, it’s not the most exciting story I’ve ever read and I’m not big on the writing style.

As a Picoult fan of old, I was a little disappointed with Lone Wolf and wondered if perhaps her writing had had its day. Not so. This is stunningly well-written, demands to be taken notice of and pricks at every moral conscience ever felt by any human being. Ever. Did I say it is also masterfully structured, beautifully driven with characters everybody can relate to and an ending which blew my mind? Well it is. Read it and you will never feel the same again. I have since passed it to my daughter to read and she tells me it is a revelation for her as well. Brilliant work, Ms Picoult.