New York Times-bestseller Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult is a fascinating novel about an African-American labor and delivery nurse, Ruth Jefferson, who works in a mostly white neighborhood in Connecticut. Ruth comes from a poor family and grew up as one of the only African-Americans in her neighborhood who graduated with a professional degree. Ruth, now a widow of a veteran and mother of a smart teenager named Edison, works long hours to pay for his elite education. After almost twenty years of experience as a nurse, she encounters a troublesome family. Ruth does a routine check-up on a newborn of a white supremacist family that was anger that an African-American touched their child. The parents demand she not touch their baby, Davis Bauer. When the baby falls ill and passes, the family accuses Ruth of killing Davis and sues her. Ruth has her medical license revoked and fights to get her licenses back. The book shares her personal struggles and her public fight for African-Americans all over America, showing how racism exists, and proving that she was only accused because of her race. This novel highlights important and deep rooted issues including race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion, all of which resonate today. Jodi Picoult has a unique writing style in Small Great Things. Picoult paints a vivid picture. She uses flashbacks to helps the reader understand the character’s back story. At one point, Ruth invites her caucasian attorney, Kennedy, to go shopping. While shopping, Ruth is followed around by a security guard and is asked for her ID before leaving. Kennedy gains insight into Ruth’s experiences as an African American woman living in a white society. Kennedy is struck with empathy and develops a stronger desire to fight for Ruth’s cause. I too had a realization when reading of how blatantly racist our society can be. A simple trip to the store can be uncomfortable and complicated for others simply because of their skin color. This moment in the novel demonstrates how powerful “little things” can affect someone’s life. Shockingly, Kennedy discovers an unlikely piece of evidence that uncovers the truth and changes everyone’s fate. When Kennedy finds this information, we see her empathy, compassion and loyalty to Ruth. I found this intriguing and was thankful for the unexpected turn of events. Before the end of the trial, Edison tries to protect his mother and ends up in jail, showing his unconditional love and his willingness to risk his college bound future. The deep love he shows for his mother is relatable for me and possibly other readers. The novel delves into important topics that are relevant today such as racism and white supremacy loosely connecting to events from this year, including the recent tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia. This story raises awareness to the many people who do not understand what it is like to be in Ruth’s position and do not face the everyday challenges which she and other African Americans may experience. It demonstrates how people of color or other minorities are marginalized, and though all loose ends were tied up in the novel, in reality this may not have had lasting effect on society. I recommend this page-turning novel because and it was interesting to hear more than one person’s perspective on the various issues presented. I feel that this book is best suited for anyone from young adults to adults. Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. Ballantine Books, 2016. Buy the book here and support Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? If so, comment below!
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NBA Tanking
By Austin Bjornholt [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), from Wikimedia CommonsWhen the Chicago Bulls announced that Cristiano Felício and David Nwaba would start in place of Robin Lopez and Justin Holiday, it was not so that they would win more games. It was exactly the opposite. In the NBA, every bad team tanks. Tanking is losing games intentionally so that you get a higher draft pick. When you get a better draft pick, you get a better player. When you get a better player, you have a better team. When you have a better team, you win a championship. When you win a championship, more fans come. When more fans come, the owner gets more money. Basically, tanking is for billionaire owners to get even richer. Tanking is supposed to be illegal, but the NBA doesn’t enforce the rule. During prohibition, law enforcement knew that speakeasies existed and didn’t do anything. When Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said that his team should lose games, Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, fined him $600,000. That may seem like a lot, but Cuban has a projected net worth of $3.7 billion. If you want to know why the NBA does not punish teams for breaking the no-tanking rule, you must know why the rule was created. In other leagues, like the NFL, there are powerhouses (like the Eagles) and teams like the Browns (0-16 last season). If the Browns play the Eagles, it will most likely not be competitive. The reason that the NBA established the no-tanking rule is that they hope that more fans come to games, thinking it will be too über-competitive. Again, when more fans come, the owner gets more money.
The Winds of Change
As I stepped into the morning sun, I found that it was not as cold out as it had been these past few months. I went back inside to quickly change out of my jeans and sweater into shorts and a t-shirt. My boots felt unusually hot as I pulled them on and walked out the door into my yard. And there I felt the wind. But I realized it was no regular wind, but rather the Winds of Change. And upon them rode Spring. I walked towards the barn, breathing in the fresh air. A smell mingled with the oxygen, the smell of new blossoms on a tree, a little pungent, but not altogether unpleasant. Reaching the barn, I opened a stall door, for in the stall was a small chicken house, and within the chicken house, month-old chicks. It was that season. Chicks could only be bought in spring, where I lived, and to our family, they were one of those cute little miracles that are one of the things in life that makes us happy. They were gifts of the season, just for us. A little while later, I was watching our burn pile crackle and pop as it burnt up old logs we didn’t need. My dog Lucy was sniffing around in the grass next to me, and suddenly I heard a squeak. At first I thought it was one of the many birds that were singing their hearts out around me. But then it became obvious that it was close – and right behind me. I turned and saw Lucy pawing at a small hole in the ground. I bent down for a closer look. To my astonishment, I found a mole frantically digging to get away from her. It disappeared, and I turned away. But then I noticed that Lucy was still nosing around, and at a nest of woven grasses. What I saw melted my heart. Two small mole babies, who hadn’t even yet opened their eyes, were nestled comfortably into the dried grasses. I shooed my dog away, and picked the nest up. I was astounded to find two more mole babies nestled in a different part of the grass. I gently picked them out of the spots they were in, for otherwise they would have fallen to the ground, and put them with their siblings. I looked to the ground, searching for any other mole pups who might have fallen from the refuge of the grasses. And I found two more. I hurriedly put them with the rest of their family, and began to study the way they looked. Their paws were definitely a digger’s paws, sharp claws at the tips of tiny toes. The moles’ small heads had rounded noses with multiple tiny whiskers protruding from them. No ears poked out from the heads; I couldn’t detect any earholes either. Their fur was a dark brown color, and was very soft to the touch. All in all, they were hardly as big as my thumb. And, hard as it is for me to admit, I found them very, very cute. An hour later, I found their mother. She was in the same hole. I gently set her offspring down into the hole, and watched as she took them one by one to wherever she lived. I was sad to see them go, but luckily I had made a couple of pictures. As the mole mother took the last of her babies away, I thought to myself, The Winds of Change are here, and they are bringing much new life, among other things. Goodbye, little moles. I will miss you. The Winds of Change truly are here, Mother Nature slowly rebuilding what was lost in the past year. And when the Winds leave, they will have left a better Earth.
