Just like Big Little Lies, Picoult's Small Great Things is on its way to getting an onscreen adaptation (starring Julia Roberts and Viola Davis, NBD). Ruth Jefferson is a seasoned Connecticut nurse specializing in labor and delivery, but a white supremacist couple refuses to let her touch their child (Ruth is African American). Ruth is assigned to other patients, but the very next day the baby has a medical emergency while Ruth is the only one on duty. Her hesitation to perform CPR leads to her being charged with a serious crime, leading her to public defender Kennedy McQuarrie. As the case becomes a media sensation and Kennedy (who is white) insists on leaving race out of the courtroom dialogue, Ruth struggles to maintain her own morals and a normal life for her family.
