Just like many of Jodi Picoult's novels, "Nineteen Minutes is a New York Time's bestseller. I believe it is reasonable for it to be lauded for its great use of detail, suspense, and imagery, but as it was my third novel by Jodi Picoult, I was not that much impressed. There were many fascinating points, twists, and my favorite, chapter closers that keep you thinking, but I had too much familiarity with it all. Jodi Picoult has many motifs, which I can easily list from having read three of her novels: law, court trials, pregnancy, ruined relationships, and a child as the protagonist.

In "Nineteen Minutes", most of the above motifs can be seen. Josie Cormier is the dynamic main character. She is popular, pretty, smart, and is half of the "perfect couple" at Sterling High. There are many flashbacks throughout the story that show that she was close friends and it could even be said a personal bodyguard to Peter, the accused of a horrible crime. As she enters high school and it becomes more "important" to fit into the right crowd, she changes because of love. She completely breaks off communication with Peter to spend more time with her boyfriend and her other friends. The boyfriend ends up being abusive, but like victims of abuse, Josie hides it. Still, she continues to love him and stays faithful to him. After Peter's shooting spree at the school and many court sessions, there is a shocking twist; it is totally ironic and completely unexpected. This thrilling new discovery and the resonating quote in the prosecutor's opening statement are, I believe, examples of the best part of the book; "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. In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world; or you can just jump off it."

"Nineteen Minutes" is a pretty good book if you are looking at the specifics of it and making an in-depth analysis. It takes on the lives of teenagers and speaks against bullying and puts the reader in the position where they must choose a side. One can look at Peter's case and say that it was a plausible decision for him to go into a shooting rampage, but others can rebutt and say that it was unjustifiable. "Nineteen Minutes" is relatable in a sense that we can all think back on moments we have been teased and gives an insider look of all those in-school shootings we hear about, especially one that happened not too long ago in Virgiana. In my opinion, "Nineteen Minutes" was not my top favorite of my few Jodi Picoult books, but it is still recommendable.