Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

10 reviews

lexithelion's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Wow, what a captivating novel. I went into it not really knowing what it was about or how intense it was going to be. I was a bit caught off guard in the first 3rd of the book because of how blatantly head-on it is on the topic of racism. As a white person myself, I feel the same way Jodi did writing this book as I was reading it; I want to understand and adjust my perspective to better face the injustice in this world and after reading this I feel as though I am less lost on how I can help. This story is not only based on a true one, but the fictional characters feel so real as if this did actually happen. Every character has a fully fleshed-out backstory and motive for their present actions. Every character feels as though they were written by a different author, creating incredible character diversity. They feel authentic and make the story feel well-timed and not rushed. I do wish that more was written about Edison, however, as we started to see his character change throughout the novel without really an answer as to why or what triggered this. I thought it would have been interesting to read how Ruth and Edison's dynamic changed as Edison faded out of being this 'perfect American high-school scholar' archetype.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Antisemitism, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Death, Islamophobia, Pregnancy, Gore, Medical content, Suicide, Racial slurs, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Cursing, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Infertility, Medical trauma, and Sexism

Moderate: Miscarriage, Excrement, and Blood

savreads28's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Death, Murder, Racial slurs, Gore, Hate crime, Suicide, Violence, Body horror, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Mental illness, Racism, Blood, Cursing, Gaslighting, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

katreena's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Self harm, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Violence, Child death, Classism, Death, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Gore, Mental illness, Hate crime, Murder, Misogyny, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Cursing, Slavery, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Toxic relationship

b_spiin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Medical trauma, Cursing, Hate crime, Racism, Self harm, and Racial slurs

izzy_v's review against another edition

challenging dark informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I was hesitant about this book in which a white author focuses on racism, but I am very glad I read it. Much of the commentary feels a little “Racism 101” and much simpler or less groundbreaking than I’d like it to be. However, in remembering that this book came out in 2016, before the Black Lives Matter movement and a lot of the most recent racial awakening, coupled with the fact that I think the target demographic is white people who have implicit biases despite firmly believing they’re not racist, I think the author did a good job for what she was trying to accomplish. I enjoyed the story and getting invested in the characters!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Child death, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Police brutality, Self harm, Suicide, Antisemitism, Cursing, Homophobia, Grief, Death, and Murder

sparklyengineer's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Cursing and Medical content

Minor: Sexual content

lcl_reads's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative inspiring sad

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

As a Black woman living in the United States who has read several novels by Jodi Picoult, I was curious to consider how this one would be handled, particularly because of what I know of Picoult's background. I must admit, I was a little shocked when the first "nigger" was dropped, but as I read I appreciated the way Picoult confronted her subject head on and without flinching.

As I was reading, I felt a bit conflicted about rating the book. I really appreciated this part of the author's note at the end: " I was writing to my own community - white people- who can very easily point to a neo-Nazi skinhead and say he's racist... but who can't recognize racism in themselves." I think my conflicted feelings are because this book is not written for me.

This book was bold in its pursuit and the amount of research and thought Picoult put into the topic was evident to me.

Some critiques I've read of the book are that Ruth's story is not as developed and I actually appreciated that. I would have loved to have more of the respectibility politics, colorism, and relationships between Ruth, her mother, and her sister explored. I also think Picoult was smart in identifying that that was not her story to tell nor was that the point of this particular book.

I think it is important to remember that no book can be everything, so, yes, this book is not everything, but it is the story I think was right for Picoult to tell to the audience she has, from her position, with the support of the research she did and for what it is, it was executed as well as it could have possibly been.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Hate crime, Medical content, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, Violence, Racial slurs, Child death, Homophobia, and Death

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Suicide

cielo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Antisemitism, Gaslighting, Grief, Racism, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, and Violence

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexism, Antisemitism, Body horror, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Self harm, Blood, Violence, Child death, Cursing, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Alcoholism

tristinrose's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child death, Violence, Homophobia, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Cursing, Antisemitism, Bullying, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Suicide, Animal cruelty, and Animal death