Nineteen minutes
Ratings104
Average rating3.9
So many of my friends love Picoult so despite the fact that I've never loved one of her books, I keep picking them up to see if the next one will make me like her as much as others do. This is probably the best of hers that I've read. It was interesting, there were likable enough characters, but the story was a bit predicable and began to drag on after a bit.
I can usually get into a JODI PICOULT story from jump, and Nineteen Minutes was no different She really has an uncanny way of getting into the teen psyche. It was so raw and honest (typical JP) and you can't ask for more than that in a book.
One bonus from reading Jodi Picoult is that I usually learn a lot about things I never would have [thought] I would find interesting before. This story, in particular, deals with the subject of midwifery and I really enjoyed that POV. There were some difficult situations to deal with and she writes with such perfection that it is almost like you're there in the midst of it all. This made it a little tough at times for me being the mom of a teen with some issues, but all-in-all it was a great read.
Notes: I read half of this on my Nook, then I lost my charger during a move so a year later I grabbed the paperback at B&N. I also purchased the audio version on Audible, but only listened to a few early chapters to catch up to where I had left off the first time.
Wow. It was pretty intense, and to be honest, I wasn't expecting that ending. Very interesting book.
In a word? Wow.
This book is intense, thought-provoking and a definite page turner.
The author taps into every parent's doubts, feelings, fears so well, it's truly gut wrenching.
Interesting read. Picoult isn't afraid to tackle touchy subjects. The book took too long to read, though...Felt like it drug in places...
I have been an avid fan of Jodi Picoult since I read ‘My Sisters Keeper' about 2 years ago. Some I have loved, others I have struggled my way through but from the moment I read the synopsis of Ninteen Minutes inside the dust jacket of the hardback book I have been looking forward to this one.
As a parent with 2 young children this book really stayed with me, even days after I had finished it I found myself contemplating what their futures held for them at school, will they be like Peter - ostrecised and ridiculed, bullied perhaps daily, will they follow Josie's path - never quite feeling like they fit in but just trying to get by. What impact will this have upon their lives now and in the future.
No matter how you look at it this book talks about what for many children is a reality - waking up every day afraid of what faces you at school and a desperate desire to get by.
Woven throughout this book are the viewpoints of people including Peters lawyer, his parents, survivors of his attack on the high school, parents of victims and also Peter's own viewpoint - how can you not listen to his plea of ‘They started it!' without your conscience pricking you just a little.
I struggled to put this book down - by far the most emotional of Jodi's books since My Sisters Keeper and now a firm favourite.
Although her storylines are always very engaging and thought provoking, and although I think that one of Picoult's strongest talents is her use of point-of-view shifts, this book seemed like it could have been trimmed down a bit. She introduces characters and starts to flesh them out, then abandons them once they have played their (usually tiny) part in the story. I wish that some of these characters would have been translated into short observations on the part of others, and the book would not be lacking had they been left out entirely.