From the Bookshelf of 2015 Reading Challenge [Closed]…

Nineteen Minutes

Jodi Picoult

Discussion: . Week 22: Scary Book

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. Week 22: Scary Book

* Week 22: Progress Post
By Zaz , Mood Minion · 16 posts · 63 views

last updated Nov 01, 2015 12:18PM

* Week 22: Introduction
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last updated May 26, 2015 09:02PM

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What Members Thought

Mar 05, 2019 Lindsey rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Jodi Picoult tugs at your heartstrings, presenting two sides of an issue and helping you to emphasize with both. This is a theme of her writing and I love it. In this novel, the issue is a school shooting and bulling. We see the shooter as a child and follow him as he grows, we watch him being bullied and teased and made to feel like he is an outsider. We also see his mother, oblivious to her son’s troubles as a child and distraught when the unthinkable happens. Could it have been her fault? How Jodi Picoult tugs at your heartstrings, presenting two sides of an issue and helping you to emphasize with both. This is a theme of her writing and I love it. In this novel, the issue is a school shooting and bulling. We see the shooter as a child and follow him as he grows, we watch him being bullied and teased and made to feel like he is an outsider. We also see his mother, oblivious to her son’s troubles as a child and distraught when the unthinkable happens. Could it have been her fault? How can she atone for the sins of her son? On the flip side, we see the former best friend of the boy, how she grew apart from him and how these 19 minutes changed her life. We also see her mother, a judge of all things. We meet other character throughout the story and get their perspectives. In the end, who is to blame for these 19 minutes? The boy who spent almost 19 years being tortured on a daily basis by his peers, or the peers whose lives are forever changed by his retaliation?

I love Jodi Picoult’s books. I love how she forces you to really consider both sides of a issue. She writes both sides so well that you cheer along with the parents who want justice for their children, while also sympathizing with the parents who want to protect their son after he’s committed an unspeakable act, but need to come to terms with how to move on after their lives changes forever.

I did not love the end of this book. Come to think of it, I usually don’t love the endings of Jodi’s books, usually because there’s either some twist coming that I missed or the ending is too neat. In this case, I liked the twist that came at the end, but I did not like the quick conclusion that happened afterward. I almost want a sequel seeing the next court case, but knowing the outcome I think I would be too pissed to make it through.

Overall, 4 stars because it’s Jodi Picoult, and every once in a while I need to read a book that forces me to take it slow and reflect. Minus a star cause I was disappointed with the last fifty pages or so. ...more

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