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| Nineteen Minutes | 
 enlarge | Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $3.48
You Save: $11.52 (77%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  446 reviews
Sales Rank: 239
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
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Amazon.com Review
Best known for tackling controversial issues through richly told fictional accounts, Jodi Picoult's 14th novel, Nineteen Minutes, deals with the truth and consequences of a smalltown high-school shooting. Set in Sterling, New Hampshire, Picoult offers reads 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. As with any Picoult novel, the answers are never black and white, and it is her exceptional ability to blur the lines between right and wrong that make this author such a captivating storyteller. On Peter Houghton's first day of kindergarten, he watched helplessly as an older boy ripped his lunch box out of his hands and threw it out the window. From that day on, his life was a series of humiliations, from having his pants pulled down in the cafeteria, to being called a freak at every turn. But can endless bullying justify murder? As Picoult attempts to answer this question, she shows us all sides of the equation, from the ruthless jock who loses his ability to speak after being shot in the head, to the mother who both blames and pities herself for producing what most would call a monster. Surrounding Peter's story is that of Josie Cormier, a former friend whose acceptance into the popular crowd hangs on a string that makes it impossible for her to reconcile her beliefs with her actions. At times, Nineteen Minutes can seem tediously stereotypical-- jocks versus nerds, parent versus child, teacher versus student. Part of Picoult's gift is showing us the subtleties of these common dynamics, and the startling effects they often have on the moral landscape. As Peter's mother says at the end of this spellbinding novel, "Everyone would remember Peter for nineteen minutes of his life, but what about the other nine million?" --Gisele Toueg
Product Description
Jodi Picoult, bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper and The Tenth Circle, pens her most riveting book yet, with a startling and poignant story about the devastating aftermath of a small-town tragedy. Sterling is an ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens--until the day its complacency is shattered by an act of violence. Josie Cormier, the daughter of the judge sitting on the case, should be the state's best witness, but she can't remember what happened before her very own eyes--or can she? As the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show--destroying the closest of friendships and families. Nineteen Minutes asks what it means to be different in our society, who has the right to judge someone else, and whether anyone is ever really who they seem to be.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 441 more reviews...
 Picoult's best book yet! I've been rooting for her for a long time March 9, 2007
203 out of 220 found this review helpful
This time around, Picoult finally lived up to my hopes and she did so by tackling a difficult subject, one that has been in many novels thus far...a school shooting, a look at both the victims' world and that of the shooter (who is also a victim, in his own way), the alienation of kids who are on the outside and the interconnection between the popular kids and those who aren't. Although the novel is graphic, it would certainly provoke plenty of discussion and understanding between parents and teens, although parents may want to consider how ready their teen is to read a book so detailed and so complex and with graphic sexuality (including rough sex).
As a long-time reader of her books, my one disappointment with Picoult has always been how often her endings seemed to fall apart into stereotypical or "pat" solutions, when the rest of her writing, up to that point, would be so very, very strong. And yet, I KEPT buying her books, because she did everything else so well - solid, compelling characters, great plots (until those endings), riveting events. I kept rooting for her. I knew she had the chops to produce a solid book, from start to finish, without those letdowns at the end (and I'm sure others will disagree with me about the endings, as she IS a popular writer).
This time,with Nineteen Minutes, she pulls it off, does everything right...and I'm delighted to be able to say so. I wasn't able to stop reading, except for short periods when I had to stop and think about WHAT I was reading. I have raised three teenagers and her portrayal of teenage life, the cruelties of the bullies, the fears and insecurities suffered by even the most popular kids, was eerily accurate.
Buy this one, savor every word and take time to think about how you'd feel in a similar situation. This is the kind of book that can be life-changing and motivate readers to change things and make the world better for our children. How and why readers do that is up to them, of course but, at the least, they'll be haunted by this book long after they finish it.
As for me, I'm going to reread it - and soon. It is simply that good.
Much better than the last book... March 16, 2007
64 out of 74 found this review helpful
After a very disappointing THE TENTH CIRCLE, Jodi Picoult rebounds with the excellent NINETEEN MINUTES. This book, which centers on a school shooting, is one of her best yet.
Picoult really knows how to develop her characters. Each one is well defined and real. I totally believed the way the characters were portrayed, especially Lacy and Peter. And yes, I found myself having a great deal of sympathy for Peter. Some could say that the characters were a bit cliched (Matt, the abusive boyfriend, Josie, the wanna-be, Lacy, the mother without a clue, etc.), but I think these characters are reflective of a great many people in the real world. I also liked the way Picoult used Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a defense for Peter. Wonderfully done. I give credit to Picoult for always addressing issues in her books that are topical and thought provoking.
I've read some reviews that criticize Picoult for not having the character of Alex recuse herself as judge at the trial. This is totally becomes a non-issue as you will see as your continue reading. Also, regarding the "twist" ending I've seen some complaints about, it's not such a twist if you are paying attention as you read. It's actually quite obvious from very early on in the story.
I enjoy the fact that Picoult brought back characters from previous books (Patrick from PERFECT MATCH and Jordan from SALEM FALLS and THE PACT.) I understand that Ian from KEEPING FAITH makes an appearance in her next book. I definitely look forward to it.
 Not Picoult's best work April 14, 2007
42 out of 61 found this review helpful
The first problem I had with 19 MINUTES was the rampant author intrusion. For the uninitiated, author intrusion is when the author employs plot threads or has a character do things that would never happen in real life. For instance, on his first day of kindergarten, some fifth graders throw Peter Houghton's lunchbox off the bus. If through some miracle, this would happen, somebody would tell, or one of the many mother hens that accompany them would pounce on the offenders like Hulk Hogan on Kenny Jay. Picoult lets it happen at least three more times that year. The second example was Judge Cormier's unwillingness to recuse herself from the Houghton case. Even if the defense attorney had not called her daughter as a witness, Judge Cormier would've had more sense than that. Finally, there's the ending. Picoult must have been sick to death of the book is all I can say. The ending was totally unrealistic.
Then there are the cliches: Most jocks are bullies; even smart girls would do anything to be popular; computer fanatics are geeks. From my experience, athletes are too fixated on their sport to care about harassing some puny freshman. Besides, bullies generally are looking for validation, and athletes get plenty of that. Smart girls are more concerned with ACT scores and getting into the right college. Finally, just about every kid who goes to school these days knows computer programming.
Picoult also has the irritating habit of starting her book with seven or eight different viewpoint characters. I found myself paging back and forth trying to figure out who I was reading about. She also fools around with time. Throughout the novel, she moves from the school shooting to before the school shooting to after the school shooting. There were times when I didn't know where I was in this time sequence.
The above may sound like I didn't enjoy the book. I did, right up until the forced ending. Picoult kept me turning pages, and that's the test of any novel. I also liked the characters. Picoult visited many of the schools that have been traumatized by school shootings, one of them being Cold Spring, Minnesota, which is only thirty-five miles from where I live. Peter Houghton sounds a whole lot like Jason McLaughlin, the perpetrator behind the Rocori tragedy.
"they started it" March 15, 2007
27 out of 30 found this review helpful
These are the words that seventeen-year-old Peter Houghton says when he is found after a school shooting spree huddling with a gun in his hand by Detective Patrick Ducharme. An outcast who had been bullied since kindergarten, Peter kills ten, including a teacher, and injures many more.
At first glance, it looks like a straightforward act of revenge, but things are revealed to be more complex. One of his victims is Matt Royston, the boyfriend of his former childhood friend, Josie Cormier, and others are members of the in-crowd, but others have seemingly no relation. In the days before the trial, and in the days leading up to the shooting, we are given the backstory, told mostly from Josie's, Peter's, and their mothers' viewpoint. We learn of the incessant teasing this boy received, adults' unsuccessful attempts to help him fit in, and of the stormy relationship between Josie and Matt. During the trial, we hear from the victims who survived and the devastation the crime has wrought on their lives. In the end, the reader may still be undecided whether Peter is primarily a victim, perpetrator, loyal friend, or all three, but that is the point.
What this book has that others like it often don't is compassion not just for the bullying victims, but for the "in-crowd" as well. It is more complex than "We Need to Talk About Kevin" because Peter is capable of love and not just a run-of-the-mill sociopath. The end is a little odd, but not as jolting as the one in "My Sister's Keeper." Highly recommended.
Powerful Addition to Her Previous Work March 6, 2007
21 out of 31 found this review helpful
In 'Nineteen Minutes' Jodi Picoult takes on the subject of school shootings. In it she spins a tale of hatred so deep that it can only be called mental illness. She describes the killer, a high school student who has been bullied since kindergarten by his peers and his atheletic older brother.
In Ms. Picoult's story the child is captured (by a detective from one of her earlier stories) rather than killed as is more usual. This gives her a chance to investigate his motives, his thinking. The story is complicated by the interaction of the Judge in the case and the Judge's daughter being a key witness to the killings but who can't or won't remember what she saw. (Wouldn't that cause the judge to recuse herself - but if she did where's the story?)
'Nineteen Minutes' will continue to boost Ms. Picoult's reputation as it makes it to the Best Seller List.
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