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Nineteen Minutes | 
| Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy Used: $5.65
You Save: $9.35 (62%)
New (43) Used (85) from $5.65
Avg. Customer Rating:  433 reviews
Sales Rank: 286
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
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 creased, otherwise like new
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Amazon.com
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 428 more reviews...
 Mystified... September 2, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was the first of Picoult's books that I have read and I am confident that it will be the last.
I am genuinely mystified by the popularity of her books. I would understand it if they were directed at teens but I am surprised that adults are captivated by her simplistic and repetitive style. Most of the characters are extremely poorly drawn and the "insights" offered seemed ill-informed, naive, banal or all three. The plot is unconvincing and the trademark twist would have been laughable had it not been so tedious. I read this book for a book club and therefore felt obliged to get to the end - as a consequence it is the worst book that I have ever read from cover to cover.
 Interesting plot, characters were not believable September 1, 2008
While I thought the story was interesting and kept me engrossed enough to finish it, I could not suspend my disbelief over some of the actions of the characters, and not all the characters seemed fully developed enough to be believable. They all seemed to be invented to be played like chess pieces through the plot the author devised.
 "Nineteen Minutes" August 28, 2008
I read "Nineteen Minutes" for a book discussion book...the first by Jodi Picoult. I found the book fascinating and gripping. The author moved me along as she wished and I believed until the end that there would be a different scenario for the end. I will read more of her books. In fact, I have some already, but I will be forewarned about her different slant of writing...but I'm ready for it. I am also from NH, and I'm happy to have her as one of my new authors.
nineteen minutes August 27, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
It is true, Jodi writes a captivating story, but I just don't get the need for the vulgarity. She is a true vulgarian. John Grisham writes a captivating story and yet never uses the vulgar profanity that Picoult uses. I know that society is using the infamous "f" word with greater frequency, and I shouldn't be shocked, but it is offensive and I just wanted to be one voice that condemns the use of it.
 Tough to read, tough to put down August 25, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a story about cruelty and evil. Since it's about a school shooting, you'd assume the bad guy is the one with the guns. Think again.
What the shooter does is unforgivable, killing 10 kids and hurting many more. But he acts more as a reaction to cruelty and evil than because he is naturally that way himself.
Everyone has, at one time or another, felt like an outsider, like they don't belong. Peter Houghton is an oddball from the beginning, and school is a place where such kids are often tormented. In a series of searing vignettes, Peter is essentially tortured by other students. It reminded me of baby birds in the wild, who will sometimes peck weaker siblings to death.
The final pages have the requisite Jodi Picoult surprise ending, which left me wanting to read high-schooler Josie's narrative. It's not there, so the reader is left to wonder what she is thinking.
At first I was hesitant to read this book, because of the grim subject matter. Once I started, it was hard to put down. I wish the author had written more about the high school kids and less about the adults, but it's still a compelling read. I won't let my 9th-grader read it, because it has sex scenes way too raw, but it would be good for 12th-graders and older.
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