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What are readers saying about Nineteen Minutes?
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-08-08 10:56:17.
(Language: English)
 
wow...where to even begin? this the second book of her's that I read, My Sister's Keeper being the first, and I think Nineteen Minutes blows it away (no pun intended).this book is...intense. while reading it, I kept thinking, how could anyone write this? how can anyone write about something so crazy, so sad, so *disturbing*, and write it so well? I loved how the book shifted viewpoints so often -- it really showed how all the different characters were affected by the situation. and she did a great job going back and forth from past to present, showing the events that led up to the day of the shooting, and then the aftermath of it. I also loved the characters -- she did a great job bringing them to life, and I could identify with many of them. I found myself thinking about the situation and the characters during the day as if they were real, forgetting for a while that they were all part of a book. that's how good it was. I was also quite shocked by the twist at the end. I didn't see it coming at all. I knew *something* was going to happen, but I never ever guessed that would be it. unlike some other reviews I read, though, I think the twist made perfect sense, especially with the way the character explained her actions afterward. actually, I can identify with their relationship, as I was in a similar one. though I would never do what she did, I can see where she was coming from, and understand why she did it. now that I've rambled on long enough...this is an excellent book and I highly, highly recommend it to everyone. it's the first novel that's affected me deep enough to write a huge review about it, and I've read many, many books. that's how good this one is. 
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-03-06 05:49:29.
(Language: English)
 
(At risk of sounding pompous:) there's nothing inherently wrong with writing for the largest audience possible, provided the story the author puts forth rings true and provides a connection (good or bad) between the reader and the protagonist(s). Ms. Picoult's "Nineteen Minutes" comes pretty close to satisfying those requirements but ultimately implodes with a totally preposterous ending that just about undoes the 400+ preceding pages and leads a reader to believe that they've been had, so to speak.Picoult's Columbine-esque tragedy (sheesh, authors...ENOUGH with the Columbine crap already, please) of a mass-shooting at a high school in New Hampshire hooks in the reader with the conceit of providing a shooters-eye view of the tragedy. Let's just say it had me until the end.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-30 02:13:17.
(Language: English)
(20/50)How can nineteen minutes change your life? You may not think much can happen. This book changes that.This book is about what someone does when they are pushed to the brink. Peter is a teenage boy in high-school. He is the constant target of the "popular" kids ~ has been since his first day of school all those years ago. his former best friend has become of the those popular kids, dating the one guy that torments Peter the most ~ and that cuts Peter to his core. And one day, in nineteen minutes, Peter changes everything and everyone and enables someone he loves very much to do the same and keeps the secret.The story is told 2 ways ~ in flashbacks and in present time and then moves on to what happens in the aftermath. I felt this was a really good book ~ I was surprised by my emotions and how I felt about it and who I was rooting for. It was thought-provoking and brought back many scenes in High School. **VERY strong language**Some graphic sex scenes[read 2/25-27/08]
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Jennifer posted a review at 2009-11-15 05:13:58.
(Language: English)
Reviewed by Taylor Rector for TeensReadToo.com Peter Houghton had an extremely normal life. Raised in a normal town. Went to a normal high school. But he was always different. And because of that, he gets picked on. And then he retaliates. Many people are killed, and many more injured. I don't want to give the whole story away, so just read this because it's so real. Everything that happens in NINETEEN MINUTES could easily happen in an actual high school (and, in many cases, already has). I don't know what to say other then this is an amazing read. It is written in such a talented way that it could only be pulled off by Jodi Picoult.
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Bonnie posted a review at 2012-04-30 01:02:08.
(Language: English)
What Is Bullying? Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior that is intentional, hurtful, (physical and psychological), and/or threatening and persistent (repeated). There is an imbalance of strength (power and dominance). Jody Piccoult gives us a glimpse, herein, of what "Bullying" is, and how it affects of all. This is her 14th novel. She is no stranger to tackling controversial topics as the basis for her novels. This novel deals with the truth and consequences of a smalltown high-school shooting. Set in Sterling, New Hampshire, Picoult offers us a glimpse of what would cause a 17-year-old to wake up one day, load his backpack with four guns, and kill nine students and one teacher in the span of nineteen minutes. Try to imagine 16 60-something bookclub members discussing this novel. Its amazing how little "Bullying" affected our growing ups, but is now a focus of every-day school-life for our grandchildren and some of their friends.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-07-09 10:02:29.
(Language: English)
I love her writing. She gets you involved with in the first couple of pages. Then you feel like you have to talk about it for weeks afterwards. I usually feel haunted by her books after I read them. I question my parenting. She is great in getting you to ask the hard questions on everyside. I have often tried to be a better parent, person, even make better conscious decisions after I read her books. I read this one right after the Virginia Tech shooting. That was really freaky, It also helped me understand maybe why it happened, especially as they talked about it on tv. I definately am trying to raise my children to be secure, strong individuals who aren't bullied and who also stand up for those who can't stand up for them selves. We are always talking about what good deeds we have done for others all the time. Maybe it will stick!!!!
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-09-26 10:53:55.
(Language: English)
As a first foray into Jodi Picoult's written world, Nineteen Minutes had me literally gripped from start to finish. With a plot taken straight from current news headlines, the story focuses on a shooting massacre that takes place at a high school in a quiet North American town. As life’s are shattered, we the reader are juggled through the past and present of all the major characters involved from the young school shooter, Peter Houghton, to the Judge presiding over the case and her daughter Josie (a former friend of the accused) who succumbs to peer pressure and moves away from Peter to circle with the in-crowd at High School. Peter is perpetually tormented by this so called in-crowd making his life at school a living hell. One day in March he simply packs his bags, filled with hand and shot guns, enters the school and takes aim. The story also follows the desperation, disappointment and failure a parent feels when their own child, who they thought they knew, commits such random acts of violence. Though provoking and brutally honest, Nineteen Minutes is a harrowing parable on how well one can really ever know a person.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-22 04:29:26.
(Language: English)
This was an absolutely heartbreaking book. I felt as though the characters were real, not fictional. I found myself thinking about the situation throughout my day, momentarily forgetting that it wasn't real. I fought back tears while reading the book in public ... but I couldn't stop the wild emotions I experienced ... the story was too real ... too painful ... perhaps because of the frequency of school shootings within our society. Unlike some of Picoult's other novels, the story flowed beautifully. I could predict the ending, and yet that didn't bother me ... I was too involved with the characters to care. The book resembled "We Need To Talk About Kevin" (which I also loved), but had a different focus. It showed that it is our society that needs to change ... we are too disconnected from one another ... too caught up with our own lives to see what's really happening around us. I must admit that I was disappointed with the ending (then again, Picoult seems to have trouble with endings as a whole), but that didn't take away from the huge impact this book had on me. I'll carry this story with me for years to come.
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Sarah posted a review at 2011-12-27 11:24:38.
(Language: English)
Spellbinding. To watch as this story unfolded, to see the depth of the tragedy from the perspective of the entire town, to watch a mother grieve for her son, it was as if you were inside the book, feeling each event, living each moment. The way the author developed the story, showed the humanity of each character, was unbelievable. Parts of the story shocked me,parts saddened me, and yet even hope was somehow intertwined. I most enjoyed the reality and the perspective Ms. Picoult provided into such a devastating event.
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A Reader posted a review at 2012-03-09 06:22:14.
(Language: English)
Nineteen Minutes reminds us how quickly lives can be altered in a situation where everyone is the victim in a bullying situation-parents, siblings, friends, bullies, bullies' victims, and even the community. No one wins when the situation is taken to the extreme. The novel keeps the readers' interest by taking us back and forth through time from the distant past of the families involved, to the more recent past of the characters, to the current events. The raw emotions of the characters make you want to reach out and just hug the characters or tell them to stop because the outcome of certain behaviors will not be able to be reversed. And the ending is not what is expected. This is a great read for almost any group.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-04 12:46:02.
(Language: English)
This book is a thinly veiled and well-subplotted twist on the Columbine High School incident. It explores school culture and satellite characters (parents, law enforcement, school teachers and administrators) and webs them all together believably, although not as shockingly as the dust-jacket text might imply. Plenty of things recommend this book. For one thing, happily, the author resists the temptation to give a pass to characters who defend their kids even when the kids themselves have been jerks (i.e., the mass-murderer's dad doesn't rush to his son's defense right away; several of the self-righteous parents of murdered bullies are depicted in a none too flattering light). In that respect, the parent/child relationships are dealt with honestly. Also, the flashbacking works really well, stitching in the foreshadowing in a way that never feels forced.The victim letter that really changes Peter, toward the end, is excellent. I believed utterly that reading such a thing could have an impact on him. But I was buying it somewhat less that Josie, who had lived all her life with That Mother, wouldn't understand the ramifications of telling the truth in open court. Also, her motivations were a little too much show-not-tell. Sometimes it's nice to have the moment of decision pondered a tad more than "So she did." (I might have misquoted that, but it's the pivotal moment for Josie, in the flashback near the end.) All us readers can assume her whys and wherefores, but not comfortably. I guess I didn't get Josie all that much.Which brings me to the negatives. First, as an expose of the public school culture itself, this book isn't really that hard-hitting. It takes itself too seriously to have the visceral impact of something like "Heathers," for instance. Plus there are all those scenes from adults' points of view. Blegh. If I have to hear from Josie's mom one more time, I think I'll scream. Of course, once she got her head out of her tookus and decided that maybe her kid was a mite more important than her career, she was somewhat more palatable. But just for reference: Picoult has a frustrating tendency to write mothers who have their priorities all out of whack. I have no sympathy for these characters, which makes it hard for me to enjoy the novels as much as I would like.Also, and this is a total nitpick: you can't program a 3D first-person-shooter using HTML. Picoult might have done a boatload of research on high-school shootings and legalese, but her technical research was lacking mightily. Pretty much everything she has to say about Peter's computer life (which, for him, is supposed to be important) is bunk. Just know that going in.For all that, though, I did enjoy the book. It was well crafted and plotted; it built to some powerful and/or intriguing bits (the aforementioned letter that Peter receives in jail; the grotesque subplot involving the homecoming queen; the gay math teacher subplot; the defense attorney's believable and amusing relationship with his wife and infant son). I read it all and liked about 85 percent of it, so that's definitely saying something.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-10-29 02:10:38.
(Language: English)
Fantastic, haunting and real. The amazing thing is that Picoult is able to make even Peter, the school shooter totally likeable and relatable. A masterful piece of fiction. One of the best books i've ever read. a touching, truthful and honest look at what isolation and loneliness in high school can drive seemingly average kids to do... This book is really good. The characters are well defined and the story is simple, but realistic. Reading this book i could relate to every character and as i remembered high school i realized how easy it would have been for that to happen at my school; it all seemed so famiiar, the cliques, the outcasts, everything. This book is really good, i haven't been able to put it down. a must read for everyone. i agree, the ending wasn't all that great, i felt that it was rushed and came out of nowhere, made little sense and was confusing to read. Also thought the prolouge was a bit bland and boring... Although i did end up enjoying the characters in the book, i'd love a book a few years from now that follows up on either the Houghtouns on on Alex and Patrick... This was my first Picoult book but i found myself literally captivated by it. I could not stop reading a single word of it. I found the characters to all be completley real and rootable. Josie, in particular seemed to be rooted in reality and truth. The world she created with this book is real and seems like a world in which i have lived. I do agree that the ending seemed a bit rushed and jumbled together; i had to reread several paragrpahs to understand what had just happened and i feel it wasn't the best way to end such a spectacular novel.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-01-04 06:03:29.
(Language: English)
“In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn, color your hair, watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five. “Nineteen minutes is how long it took the Tennessee Titans to sell out of tickets to the play-offs. It’s the length of a sitcom, minus the commercials. It’s the driving distance from the Vermont border to the town of Sterling, New Hampshire. “In nineteen minutes, you can order a pizza and get it delivered. You can read a story to a child or have your oil changed. You can walk a mile. You can sew a hem. “In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it. “In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge†(pg. 5). Jodi Picoult’s fourteenth novel, Nineteen Minutes is a mesmerising 455-page work of contemporary realistic fiction. Peter Houghton has endured the wraths of verbal, psychological, and physical bulling since his first day of kindergarten. The only person Peter ever felt comfortable with, Josie Cormier, eventually gave way to peer pressure, and began hanging out with the ‘cool crowd’. This group often instigates harassment, particularly targeted on Peter. At seventeen, not able to handle the pain anymore, Peter lashes out in a fit of anger, shooting nineteen people in his school. In total, ten were killed. Josie’s boyfriend, Matt Royston, is one of the ten deceased, however an un-answerable question remains: why was Matt shot twice? This intriguing novel has an extremely realistic plot, is full of vibrant characters, and contains a bold theme. Nineteen Minutes is a gripping novel; a definite late-night page-turner for any reader who can handle believable tales about the darker side of real life. In my opinion, the plot of Nineteen Minutes is exceptionally plausible. To modern-day teenagers, being ‘cool’ and fitting in is sometimes the most important objective in their lives. Obtaining the desired social status often results in them giving way to peer pressure, acting in ways and doing things that they would not normally. As depicted in Nineteen Minutes, teenagers, and sometimes adults as well, usually behave in a manner that is not like the true person they really are on the inside. On pages eight and nine, the story is told from Josie’s point of view: “She understood how she was supposed to look and supposed to act. She wore her dark hair long and straight; she dressed in Abercrombie & Fitch; she listened to Dashboard Confessional and Death Cab for Cutie. She liked feeling the eyes of other girls in the school when she sat in the cafeteria borrowing Courtney’s makeup. She liked the way teachers already knew her name on the first day of class. She liked having guys stare at her when she walked down the hall with Matt’s arm around her.â€These ‘popular’ crowds seldom mingle with other groups. There is, however, one exception: to bully others who they feel are ‘lower’ than they are. Like Peter in Nineteen Minutes, there is often one particular individual who is singled-out as the person to pursue, and he or she is picked on unremittingly and without any mercy. For example, on Peter’s first day on kindergarten, his mother gave him a brand-new Superman lunchbox. On the bus ride to school, a boy asks Peter if he wants “to see Superman fly†(pg. 66), after which the boy proceeds to throw Peter’s lunch out the window. This aggravation continues every time Peter brings a new lunchbox to school. I have witnessed situations similar to these a countless amount of times in my nine years of school. As depicted in Nineteen Minutes, I have also observed in my own experiences that some bullying victims handle their situation better than others. There are still, however, those who feel that they cannot hold the constant abuse any longer once they reach a certain point. The results are often ill-fated. At times, such as in the circumstances of this powerful novel, the results can even be devastating and catastrophic. Peter shoots nineteen people in a single school-shooting rampage that lasts only nineteen minutes. I believe that Picoult has taken a real situation in our society and made an outstanding work of fiction; I feel that the only separation between this novel’s plot and similar real-life situations are the people and the places.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-09-06 03:09:52.
(Language: English)
Wow...where to start... I found it confusing and difficult in the beginning with so many characters introduced, to remember who was who, etc. I had a difficult time with this, as I have children in school, and how this topic could easily happen anywhere, in any school. At some points I felt bad for the shooter...for what had brought him to the point to shoot. Its difficult to understand what can drive someone to that point...so many factors. Bullying happens everywhere, even in adulthood. It's always been around and unfortunately always will be. All I can do, as a parent is teach my kids to respect other people, whether they are friends or not....not to judge, etc. The sad part to that is, that so many parents dont teach that. Society as a whole is to blame, in the grand scheme of this, and it makes me sad. Did those kids deserve to get shot? absolutely not. Is it realistic to think that bullying will ever stop? unfortunately...no. Did he deserve to go to jail? YES. I obviously just finished this book, so my mind is reeling right now...I'll have to come back and add to my review later. It's just a sad sad reality. I would recommend this book to every parent to read, and hope that it would help change things...for the ones being bullied, and the ones doing the bullying. It took me a good week before I could start another book.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-12-22 02:46:45.
(Language: English)
Forget what you thought you knew about school shootings. In Jodi Picoult's novel, "Nineteen Minutes", a small New Hampshire town is rocked to its core by a sudden and violent outburst by young, normally quiet member of the community. Picoult explores the impact this violent rampage has on all members of the community: the shooter, the other students, parents, teachers, cops, and lawyers. Through this character exploration, Picoult effectively proves the point that the world was not meant to be seen in shades of black and white, but in shades of gray. She also poses a frightening, unthinkable question: While everyone in a school shooting is, in some form, a victim, is it not possible that almost everyone involved in a school shooting should be responsible for some of the blame as well?
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-01-20 06:32:27.
(Language: English)
Nineteen Minute is absolutely and with no more doubts deserves to be one of the greatest books that I have ever read. The book is just more than amazing, at least to me is a masterpiece. Surely, this judgment may differ quite a lot, but most of the reviews praise Jodi Picot for this book .She successfully managed to influence and drag the reader deep down to the novel. Knowingly or unwillingly, I may not be surprise to see tears streaming down your face by the book’s end; anger seethes its way through your vein in some part or clueless to resist the magnetism of the events. This is how deep you will be emotionally involved in the book. It may be difficult sometimes to set aside your feeling and be a neutral or a fair judge. The character development is brilliantly amazing and coherent. The Plot line is very simple. Peter woke up, went to school, shot 29 students, 10 dead others serious injuries. For no more lines this is a Must READ BOOOK.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-31 12:13:26.
(Language: English)
My first Picoult novel. It is rare that, at base, not much can happen in a book, yet the characters are so vivid I cannot stop reading. True, horrific things DO happen in the novel, yet Picoult's characterization skills actually propel it. This is rare in mainstream fiction, and a welcome change. Further, she seems to be a talented writer, with an eye for well-crafted prose. Not surprisingly, her skills with dialog are topnotch. You might find yourself lost in this book simply because a large number of the characters seem quite real, instead of only wanting to know "what happens next." As one might expect, the male characters, however, do not have much depth. Often, the reverse holds true for male authors creating female characters (Wally Lamb is an exception). If she did not want me to feel much for Peter, she succeeded. It became much easier to sympathize with Lacy, but not Peter's father, so much. The bullying was rough, sure, but I find it hard to believe Peter would have acted on that issue alone, no matter how long it went on. Something just seems to be missing, yet I don't know what, so cannot fault the author. I did not find the twist surprising, as there are many clues well before the 200th page as to what will happen. In fact, I figured it out from one sentence, but won't say what page number. It was before p. 200. The twist itself was satisfying, yet, like many, I felt as if Picoult suddenly grew tired of the novel, and ended it ASAP, in an almost sappy manner. Or that her editor/publisher removed the last 30 or 40 pages, and condensed them into 4 or 5. The way in which she leaves one of her deepest characters was quite annoying; almost as if she has a sequel planned. But the overall quality of the book makes up for such flaws. Too many people read to get to the end, but enjoying the world she creates here should be the reader's first priority. One note. Though she was certainly free to write her book as she pleased, I believe she missed an opportunity to try her hand at a little bit of discussion of morality. Not in a preachy way, of course, but there was not a single mention of Peter's actions, in context to our society's (not necessarily religious) code of ethics, and even morality, beyond mere laws. Murder is murder, and is a crime, yes, yet why did he find himself able to end ten lives? We know ONE reason why he chose to do what he did, a response to bullying. But why else? Many of the "real life" Peters seem to have been motivated by the culture of moral relativism around them, within and beyond their schools, in which they believed themselves to not be responsible for their own actions, or accountable to no one but themselves. And, considering the topic Picoult chose to tackle (and did so tastefully), this could have been an interesting, non-biased, deeper element to the book. But, of course, too many "should haves" distract from what is, in the end, a good read. It is rare to come across a bestselling author who puts characters before plot, yet does not bog you down with so much backstory you find yourself not caring. She picked her characters' histories well, and intertwined the past and the present perfectly. A recommended read, and I'll be checking out her other works.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-04-23 12:00:30.
(Language: English)
Recently finished reading this. This book follows the events leading up to and the aftermath of a small town Columbine-type school shooting. It gives the narrative from many personal points of view from the high school shooter, to the detective on the case, to the judge who will preside over the case as well as her teenage daughter who was a victim in the shooting and a former best friend of the shooter. The title refers to the actual time it took to complete the shooting massacre and this book does describe it as if you are actually there, in chilling detail. The story is told in such a way that we come to almost sympathize with the shooter and the traumatic events that led up to him deciding to follow through with the shooting. There is a twist to the end of the story that starts to show up somewhere in middle of the book that I quickly figured out. This actually might have been better left out, it seemed a little contrived, like something out of a Lifetime Channel movie-of-the-week. Otherwise the story pulls you in and keeps you there to the very end.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-02-27 04:22:54.
(Language: English)
In this hauntingly timely novel, Picoult tells the story of a high school shooting, and the story of all of the kids involved....including the shooter. Peter Houghton has been a victim all of his life; always the kid that didn't fit in. His best friend Josie accepts Peter for what he is, and doubles from the very beginning as both friend and protector. But sometime in their middle school days the two part ways...Josie finding it much more palatable to be part of the popular crowd than it was to be Peter's friend. Life for Peter doesn't change much, however...he is continually abused and humiliated; the only difference is the absence of Josie, his protector and the friend that he loved. And then one day in high school, after having been bullied by the same group of children virtually his whole life, Peter simply decides that he just can't take it anymore....... In an eloquent literary voice that will make it difficult for readers to decide on the obvious aggressor, Picoult tells a tale that is heartbreaking in its honesty and its ordinariness. There is something in the way that this author pens a story that simply renders her work completely addictive.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-11-06 09:24:02.
(Language: English)
I don't typically wake up in the morning and think, "Hey, I'd like to read a novel about a school shooting!" But during the two weeks I listened to the audio book of Nineteen Minutes in the car, I would do just that. Just as in My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult writes about complicated issues. I suspect different people reading this novel will disagree about Peter, Matt and Josee. But things are presently fairly and you can decide for yourself. Picoult again tells the story in the present with flashbacks to the past. It is very effective storytelling. While the characters are well drawn, the story itself is enough to keep you reading. Above all, this is a story about the relationship of parents and their kids, and kids and their classmates. This makes it sound really lame. But it doesn't feel that way as you read the story. You won't want to stop until the end. P.S. This is not a chick book or an Oprah book.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-09-08 05:51:50.
(Language: English)
And that is what this book is about: a bullied teen goes on a rampage at school and shoots 10 classmates dead, wounding 19 others. It goes through time, back and forth, where we meet the killer, his best friend, and their parents - when he is born, in Kindergarten, the days before the shooting, and the time after it. Jodi Picoult does something very controversial, IMO: she has the reader (or just me) sympathizing with the killer. In at least one case, there is no love lost for one of the dead. http://blog.yourpointismoot.com/2010/09/nineteen-minutes-by-jodi-picoult.html
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-03-01 09:26:00.
(Language: English)
This is another thought-provoking book by Jodi Picoult. Whose fault is it now that there's a school shotting? Everyone points to the shooter. They want him dead. They call him evil. Who has ever thought from his perspective? What has he been through to lead him to a point where he stands up and does something? We cannot find an answer who starts the whole ordeal. The mother, a midwife who helps giving birth to a lot of babies but not being able to raise his son properly? The children who grow up with him teasing him and bullying or sometimes even humiliating him? The teachers who see that and not help actively? His only friend, a girl who grows up with him and was once his friend leaving him later on as the only outcast? The shooter? The society? The law? There are tons of questions that you cannot stop pondering after reading the book. When you think you figure out there may be a twist, Jodi Picoult keep surprising you with more and more.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-06-14 04:42:20.
(Language: English)
WOW. I have read three Picoult novels, and this one absolutely blew the other two out of the water. If you love Picoult's style, you MUST read this. Peter (the protagonist) is a loner and is picked on from the first day of school at 6 years old. At 17, after 11 years of daily abuse and neglect, he turns into a high school shooter, and kills ten people during his rampage at Sterling High. Nineteen Minutes takes us back to show us how a sensitive young boy turns into a cold, hard, vengeful murderer, and how it could have ended differently. An utterlly THRILLING twist at the end will have you reeling, but this is just an amazing novel and you will not regret takin the time to devote yourself!
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-07-30 08:11:28.
(Language: English)
This book had an interesting concept of the underdog fighting back after being bullied his entire life. It was definitely captivating and one was very sympathetic to him, however, it seemed to move along soooo slowly! I personally wasn't a fan of the beginning, how it moved around from one character to the next practically every page. As the story progressed I got the hang of it and I became familiar with the pattern. I still just felt that there were too many details that weren't needed in order for the story to barrel forward. It could have been edited nicely so it was more condensed. I actually think if they made this a movie it would be a GOOD idea, because some details could be left out which weren't vital to the plot. The last 10 pages were sort of predictable, and yet, I found my heart beating so quickly! The "I don't remember what happened" deal the entire book was a little too cliche for my taste. So overall, interesting read with sympathetic characters, but the pace was too drawn out for my liking.
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Danielle posted a review at 2010-04-20 08:55:35.
(Language: English)
I’ll admit that I do tend to judge books by their covers, and perhaps this is why I’ve never read a Jodi Picoult novel. The cover art of nearly all of her books convey a sensitive, after school special-y feeling, which I think tend to turn some people (like me) off. But I ended up being pleasantly surprised as I read 'Nineteen Minutes'. Besides writing about a timely and rather controversial topic, she really holds nothing back, making the story somewhat gritty and highly charged with emotion. Her character development in this novel is extraordinary, and is, what I think, sold me on the book. I will admit that I wasn’t too interested in reading this book when I learned it was centered around a school shooting. It just simply does not peak my interest. But I was quickly sucked in – and realized just what an amazing storyteller Picoult is. Her method, in this book, is to use chapters to cut back and forth in time – from the day of the “incident” (the shooting) to different points in the shooter’s life, from when he was a baby up to the morning of the violent act. She reminds you that, while this boy may now be seen as a monster, he started out just like any other child. Picoult gives some amazing insight into what it is like to be the victim of bullying, and the effect it can have on a child. This makes the shooter something of an antihero – I found myself feeling sympathy toward him and even understanding his actions, even if I don’t condone what he did. The book provides a beautiful and fascinating social commentary about high school, exploring popularity and self-worth. Picoult unearths some horrific truths on just how painful being a high schooler can be for some. And yet, she leaves her readers with a hopeful message in the author Q & A: “If I could say one thing to the legions of teens out there who wake up every morning and wish they didn’t have to go to school, it would be this – and I’m saying it as both a mom and a writer: Stay the course. You will find someone like you; you will fit in one day. And know that even the cool kids, the popular kids, worry that someone will find out their secret: that they worry about fitting in, just like you do.”
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