Shine ~ by Jodi Picoult

Shine ~ by Jodi Picoult, 2016, fiction (short story), 10/10

Jodi Picoult tackles issues of race and privilege in this eBook original short story, a prequel to her novel Small Great Things.  This story introduces readers to the unforgettable Ruth Brooks.  Today is Ruth’s first day of third grade at Dalton.  The prestigious institution on New York’s Upper East Side couldn’t be more different from her old school in Harlem.  Despite being the smartest girl in her grade, Ruth suspects that her classmates and teachers only see her dark skin.  She also notices that Christina, the daughter of her mother’s employer, treats Ruth very differently when they’re hanging out with the popular girls rather than playing together.  Ruth must navigate between two worlds, never losing sight of the dreams she has for herself — in hopes that someday, someone will see her for who she really is.

Quote

"What if they liked you more than they like me?"
Ruth didn't know what to say.  It was the first time she realized that a person might look like Christina, and live in a fancy home, and dress in designer clothing, and have everything her heart desired, and still go to sleep at night worrying.
Maybe we are more alike than we're different, Ruth thought.
(loc. 392)

The butterfly effect

"A Sound of Thunder" is a 1952 science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury about a man who wants adventure, so he pays Time Safari to take him back in time to hunt a Tyrannosaurus Rex.  There are rules — like stay on the path, don’t touch the dirt, and only kill the dinosaur right before its natural death — so they don't do anything to radically alter the future. But the appearance of T-Rex is so terrifying that Eckels loses his nerve and runs away — and off the path.

Is it a spoiler if I tell you part of what happened?  (I won't explain "a sound of thunder.")

"Eckels felt himself fall into a chair. He fumbled crazily at the thick slime on his boots. He held up a clod of dirt, trembling ... Embedded in the mud, glistening green and gold and black, was a butterfly, very beautiful and very dead."

I read the story online, free.  It's illustrated with cartoon characters, like this.  But I like my butterfly illustration better.