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| Nineteen Minutes | 
 enlarge | Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $3.96
You Save: $11.04 (74%)
New (59) Used (113) from $3.96
Avg. Customer Rating:  452 reviews
Sales Rank: 442
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 1.3
ISBN: 0743496736
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780743496735
ASIN: 0743496736
Publication Date: February 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Cover wear and may contain some marks or writing. Keen Northwest ships in 2 business days or less. Refunds for any reason if item returned within 30 days of shipment.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Drivel. August 12, 2007
21 out of 32 found this review helpful
This was a complete waste of time; I only suffered through all 455 pages because I kept hoping against hope that it would somehow redeem itself at the ending. I read on other reviews about the "surprising twist" at the end, but I figured this out about 3/4 of the way through the book. Not much of a twist. Not only does the author lack basic knowledge of the legal system, she also doesn't know very much about teenagers. The characters are cartoon-like, and the entire novel is episodic, like a bad TV crime show.
I should have heeded my usual prejudice against buying books with huge glossy pictures of the author on the back cover! This book is manipulative in so, so many ways (and not even cleverly so!)
Nineteen Minutes, 400 pages too long September 16, 2007
21 out of 29 found this review helpful
Jodi Picoult, an author of teenage fiction, does not know what a teenager is. Her most recent book, Nineteen Minutes, is five hundred pages of stereotypes, sex, abuse, abortion, bullying, school shootings, single mothers, homosexuality, and suicide. How does she fit all of these issues into one book? The answer is, with unnecessary and dropped plots. It is the story of a girl, Josie, and of an ex-friend, Peter, and how he grows up to become the resentful killer he is. Jodi Picoult tries to give an insight into the mind of a murderer, how he was affected by those around him and how he influenced others. But she took on too great a task, carried too heavy a load, and her arms have fallen off leaving nothing but awkwardly scattered words bound together between two covers.
Jumping back and forth between past and present, Nineteen Minutes looks through several peoples lives who have connections to the school shooting. Every chapter opens with a small part of a cliche letter, assumed to be from Peter, the shooter. It goes slowly through Peter's life, Josie's life, and the lives of several other students affected. While surprising the reader at the end of the book, most of the book can be easily surmised before it happens.
Picoult wastes no time getting down to business with what she thinks every teenager is going through. By the tenth page she has already introduced the idea that Josie is going to commit suicide, but she drops this plot quickly. There are several subplots that are also quite irrelevant. The love interest between the detective of the school shooting, Patrick, and Josie's mother, Alex, does not affect the author's purpose or the main story. It doesn't add to the book in any way, except for adding to the amount of stories and people you need to follow and remember.
Nineteen Minutes tries to use the vernacular of teenagers in the present setting so they will relate to it, but no one honestly uses "Brangelina" or thinks that the most popular music is "Dashboard Confessional and Death Cab For Cutie". Picoult tries too hard to connect to those reading her book. What she doesn't realize is that it is overwhelming to read a book so packed full of difficult issues.
Nineteen Minutes is possibly a bad introduction to Jodi Picoult. Perhaps some of her other novels such as The Tenth Circle and Vanishing Acts don't include an overpowering amount of plots and ideas to deal with. But the first impression of Jodi Picoult is a woman in over her head with issues and feelings that she doesn't understand.
 Readable But Not a Barn Burner! June 27, 2007
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
Jodi Picoult is generally a good storyteller. She does not let us down in her latest novel, Nineteen Minutes. This is solid writing and gives the reader one glimpse into the minds and lives of some young folks who wind up on the cutting room floor. Jodi deftly shows how its not always the ones you think will wind up in trouble that often get overlooked and in the process run adrift of the world, winding up in terrible circumstances that even the most vigilant parent may not see coming.
I felt Josie's mother's character seemed a bit shallow for a judge and didn't symbolize the career woman that she was representing--changing her clothes three times before her first day on the bench and then throwing up twice before going to the courthouse. No one knows what she's wearing under her robes! She's supposed to be an accomplished attorney who has tried hundreds of cases! Also, not immediately recusing herself from this case was another stretch too far. And, what about Peter's brother? This was an area that could have been delved into deeper and may have helped with the overall understanding of Peter's actions. Since it was not developed, it may have been better let out??
The stereotypes of the various cliques were probably a bit pedantic but characteristic of what goes on in schools. I can still remember the ones who were picked on and made fun of when I went to school. But I actually believe, with all the litigation and the restraints on teachers, children today could actually be crueler than in years gone by. And, with all the blended families and dysfunction in general, it's fortunate that children are more resilient than we truly know or this could be an even greater problem than it already is.
I almost felt that the added twist near the ending was a plot device constructed to provide a "shocking" turn of events. It seemed a bit forced. While it may have been alluded to, it was not developed enough to be believable and therefore probably could have been eliminated for the sake of flow and consistency. Also, it was incongruent with Josie's actions before and after the shooting, as well as her character generally. While she was always Peter's protector, this act was way out of character for her and just didn't fit.
I haven't decided if I really liked all the bouncing around the book did. While this often works for plots that cover long periods or different timeframes, it was almost distracting in this storyline. However, I believe Jodi did her research and I imagine that a story of this kind would be hard to tell. Unfortunately, we'll never know in many cases what actually leads up to final shoot outs because the shooters generally do not live to stand trial. But human nature wants to know why and we'd also like it to be a BIG why, (physical abuse, sexual abuse, deranged parents, religious zealots with misguided beliefs, etc.) not the seemingly "usual" harassing climate that permeated Nineteen Minutes.
Overall, this was a tragic story and worth the read, especially for high school and junior high students who might not recognize the long term effects of their everyday actions. I can't quite express what it is about this book that made it less than the sum of its parts, but I wasn't as impressed with the writing as I would have expected considering the topic. However, while this is not my favorite Picoult book, I admire Jodi's willingness to tackle contemporary, relevant, and highly charged themes with compassion.
Nineteen Minutes is too long to spend on this book. August 7, 2007
16 out of 23 found this review helpful
I have read quite of few of Picoult's books, but this will be my last. Her style has become too predictable - a tragedy occurs, we flash back to find out how it happened, and a shocking twist at the end. These characters were not believable. Could the boy's mother really have been that clueless? Is the girl's mother so in need of approval that she condones the sexual practices between her daughter and her jock boyfriend in their own living room? Could every teacher been that unobservant and uncaring? Is every popular kid a monster and bully?
This topic is too serious to be treated in this fictional account. Shame on Picoult for manipulating her readers. She should know better, and the readers deserve better!
People have lost their minds November 20, 2007
16 out of 23 found this review helpful
I cannot fathom how so many people gave Nineteen Minutes good reviews. It is complete emotionally manipulative trash. This story was nothing more than an attempt to pad Jodi Picoult's bank account than give us something thought-provoking to read.
I did read it through to the end and was absolutely **disgusted** at its completion. There was no resolution. There was nothing new to think about. It was pointless telling of tragedies just to make a buck.
Let's also talk about the formulaic storylines. Jodi picks a tragedy that is sensitive to most people, exploits it in a story, throws in some "good" parents and troubled kids to increase the emotional manipulation and then ends it with a completely unbelievable quick tie-up.
I'm sick of hearing about jail, prison life, court room dramah, kids killing eachother, raping eachother or being raped. There are people who say she "tackles" serious issues. I don't agree. She uses serious issues to fatten up her wallet.
This book is a waste of paper. I have read four total now of her novels. The first being My Sister's Keeper which I enjoyed thoroughly. The rest were garbage. I won't be reading anymore. Apparently My Sister's Keeper was an anomaly.
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