Jodi Picoult Books Reading Group. discussion

I loved this book by Jodi Picoult, it was one of my all time favorites. I just saw the movie "The Life Before Her Eyes" and it seemed VERY similar to Ninteen Minutes. Has anyone seen the movie "The Life Before Her Eyes"?

I really enjoyed Nineteen Minutes too, the storyline was very interesting and I enjoyed the characters a lot too. I haven't seen that movie, sounds interesting though and maybe I'd like it if I liked the book and it's similar.

I thought that Nineteen Minutes was a very well structured book. The plot was good and the characters were interesting. I have never seen the movie, "The Life Before Her Eyes" before, but I might watch it. Thanks.

This has to be the best book I've read by Jodi besides My Sister's Keeper. I couldn't stop reading this book.

I loved this book!

I loved the book 19 minutes. i love all of the books that i have read by jodi picoult except for songs of the humpback whale. The storyline was great and very interesting. i couldnt put it down. The story about the trial and the boy's past made you want him to be found innocent, but you also felt bad for all the victims and their families.

Another comment i have about it is that the book lets you see it in a new perspective. In all of those police tv shows, they always make you hate the criminal or want him caught or want him convicted, but this one, you actually feel bad for the shooter, and you want him, as i said before, found innocent. I reccomend this to everyone, it shows you there are always multiple perspectives, so you should know the whole story, which you definitly realize when you read this book.

I'm reading Nineteen Minutes right now. It is taking me a while, I don't know why. I like it so far, but I guess I'm not as drawn in as I thought I'd be - maybe the whole plot of high school shootings is just something I subconsciously just don't want to deal with.

i totally agree with you sarah, another one of jodi's were i felt for the 'accused' was vanishing acts. i won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it. this woman, ms. picoult has a way of making you totally root for every character, even when the floor drops out and they are made out to be the villian. her visits to state pens make all the difference. it's so raw for these men she writes who have to remake themselves into something they are not in order to survive such conditions.

This book had me on my toes. I could not stop reading. Probably my favorite book I've read so far. Very very good!

The book definitely does show me new perspectives of all different sides. Not only do we get to see Peter's past and what he was going through, but we see his parents also, which is something we don't usually get in real like situations like this. The way Ms. Picoult ties Alex and Josie to the Houghtons as old family friends makes the story that much more interesting. I loved every minute of this book, and it definitely changed my ways of thinking with intense situations such as the one she write of.

Almost done - this is only my second Piccoult book so far - its so much more realistic than Keeping Faith, the first book I read. It's so true how seldom we consider what makes people do terrible things, focusing only on what they did and what punishment they should receive. Can't wait to see how it ends.

this is the 2nd book I've read by Jodi Picoult. I read MSK and then this one. It's such a good book! I couldn't believe what Josie said in front of the judge and jury. I can't believe she kept it all a secret and signed that paper and they still made her get up to testify. And when Alex told Josie to tell the truth, I don't think Alex expected what Josie said, that she shot Matt, and that she was lying to Jordan when she said Matt shot Peter and missed.

LOVE JORDAN. he was good in all his recurring roles.

what other books was he in?

he was jack's attorney in salem falls. another good 1. wasn't expecting the end, really fast read

Alli wrote: "this is the 2nd book I've read by Jodi Picoult. I read MSK and then this one. It's such a good book! I couldn't believe what Josie said in front of the judge and jury. I can't believe she kept ..."

and the cop in 19 minutes also has a recurring role in second glance. has alot of interesting history to go along with this 1 if u stick with it. the first few chapters had me draggin along a little.alot of back and forth with characters through time and trying to figure out how they tangle together. mercy was the same way for me. but that jodi, all u have to do is stick with her, she never disappoints!

Kim wrote: "Alli wrote: "this is the 2nd book I've read by Jodi Picoult. I read MSK and then this one. It's such a good book! I couldn't believe what Josie said in front of the judge and jury. I can't beli..."patrick?

no wait. not second glance. perfect match. with nina the prosecuter. i read everything this woman wrote starting with harvesting the heart in march. literally closed one and opened the next. on occasion they run into eachother. doesn't help that key words repeat in her titles lol. i was actually on the waiting list @ the library for msk when a friend introduced me to jennifer weiner's "good in bed" absolutely hysterical book. read her books too. funny funny girl

I read Nineteen Minutes in 2 weeks I think, which is pretty fast considering I'm almost blind (literally). I got the book on CD so I could listen to it.

I really like this book. I felt so sorry for Peter and hate the way the book ended.

I liked Nineteen Minutes but it wasn't my favorite Picoult book.

This was my least favorite Picoult book. And here is why.... Have you ever read Dave Cullen's Columbine? It is a NON-FICTION account of what happened at Columbine, written years after. Because it took years for all the information surrounding the Columbine tragedy to come out he waited to write his book. It is very accurate and very eye opening. The problem is.... Nineteen Minutes, though fiction is almost verbatim in some parts taken from Dave Cullen's Columbine. It almost pissed me off because Jodi has so much talent and I love her work. If you do not believe me go and read Dave Cullen's Columbine.

This is very interesting. I have never heard of Dave Cullen's Columbine but am interested to read it now. Of the Picoult books I have read, Nineteen Minutes was my least favorite too - I just didn't enjoy it all that much.

I highly reccomend reading Dave Cullen's Columbine.

I will put it on my "need to read" list. Thanks!

Nineteen Minutes was written years before Dave Cullen's book.

That may be but, hers is fiction where as Dave Cullen's is non-fiction. Real events. Exactly as they took place. The biggest problem I had with Nineteen Minutes was the scene where a students mom goes into a pawn shop and kills herself.....exactly the way it happened in real life. It was just disturbing to me that Picoult didn't change up the method in which the character committed suicide. Im sorry but I found it offensive. These were real people. I read Picoult because of her view on real issues. But I dont appreciate her using non fiction details when fiction details would have done just as good of job.

The events of Columbine occured before the writing of Nineteen Minutes. Dave Cullen didn't plagiarize Jodi Picuolt because, everything he wrote was from police reports, witness statements, court proceedings, news paper clippings, etc. etc. The reason why they have parts where they are verbatim the same may be that Jodi used some of these same resources for her book as Dave did for his.

My point is still the same. This is my least favorite book because it was too much like exactly what happened at Columbine. Change some details.

This was my least favorite book so far because I just didn't enjoy it as much as her other ones. Besides My Sister's Keeper, I really liked A Change of Heart. I thought it was a good and compelling story from start to finish.

This tv show Deadly women is this like a movie or a series? I think I might like to watch that. I may have to look that up.

I have never heard of the show Deadly Women either. Is it on cable? (which I assume) It sounds interesting. Nineteen Minutes is a good book in that it makes you think and realize just what you said. It should be a must read for high school students.

I don't understand why Nineteen Minutes would be a bad book because parts of it were based on what actually happened at Columbine. There is no logic to that statement.

I loved Nineteen Minutes - as I did My Sister's Keeper and Change of Heart. I think they are all thought-provoking looks at timely societal issues. That's why I love Jodi Picoult's work.

alisonwonderland wrote: "I don't understand why Nineteen Minutes would be a bad book because parts of it were based on what actually happened at Columbine. There is no logic to that statement.

I loved Nineteen Minutes - ..."

While I don't discredit anyone else's opinions, I agree with you Alison. Nineteen Minutes was the first JP book I picked up and I loved it. As I have said in other threads, I love how she gets you into every character and seeing things from a perspective that we don't usually get. While I would never condone the choices made by a school shooter, I have a child who is bullied at school and can understand how traumatic that can be. By the same token, I don't agree with the way Josie acted, but again she was protecting herself from the same treatment (I can't remember the shooters name off the top of my head). Kids can be so cruel and sometimes the only way to survive you have to join in simply as a matter of self preservation. Sadly our schools don't do much to correct the problems and more often than not going to a school official only brings more negative attention to the victim.

I also agree that JP always writes about hot topics, sensitive issues that others don't. And that is most likely WHY she wrote this book, to show readers all sides of the issue, to bring it to the attention of the schools and parents etc.

When I thinl about serial shootings, I can't imagine what would pur kids to do something like that. But while reading 19 Minutes, I really understood Peter and sympathized with him. I also really like Josie, because I found I could really relate to her.
Wow, and talk about a plot twist! When that thing happened with Josie and Matt (sorry, I don't want to do a spoiler!) I was like whoah! I definetly did not expect that!
Also sorry for the long post. And also, Amy, that is very deep and good advice!

Just finished reading Nineteen Minutes, and as with the previous 3 Jodi books I've read, this one did not disappoint.
I liked that she set it after the Columbine incident (and probably that was part of the basis for it).
I also liked that she told us the shooter's side of the story because you could feel that he was a victim too, that he was pushed too far.
Of course, I'm not condoning what he did, but I understand it. And I think the ending was fair, he was convicted as he should've been. Then he took matters into his own hands.
I always feel sorry for the parents in Jodi's books, the ones that lose kids. Lacy was no exception.
I was surprised by the twist with Josie's story, but right before I got to that part, I figured it out. It totally made sense that she would retaliate against Matt since he was treating her so poorly (battered woman syndrome).
In the end, Peter and Josie were still friends and I thought that was beautiful. I felt sorry for both of them, but in a way, they had each other at the end.
I also liked that Jodi still finds a way to put romance and love and sex into her books. I loved Patrick and Alex's relationship, and really enjoyed reading about Jordan marrying Selena (they were in the book The Pact). Can't wait for the next read!

after i read 19 minutes, i can't stop thinking of it for about a month...this book really have an effect on me..

Another book that used Columbine as part of the storyline is Wally Lamb's The Hour I First Believed". It is a super long book--when I read Wally I sometimes separate the historical story (this time letters from a relative) from the rest of the book and then reread that part. It involves telling the story from the viewpoint of a teacher who should have been at the school and his wife who was the nurse and suffers PTSD. Much more to the story as he ties in a bunch of things (reminds me a little of an ensemble show or movie and the ties of people to each other and world events).

Sarah, I agree that seeing the crime and the people involved from various perspectives made the book intriguing and memorable. Although the boy was guilty if a heinous crime, we was a victim before that and we can't forget that. The ending surprised me and I'm glad Jodi went with it.

I loved this book. I loved seeing both sides of the story. The ending definitely surprised me. I hate that Peter handled the situation like he did, but I see how he would think it was the only way to do it. I was bullied in elementary school and the beginning of middle school. But for different reasons than Peter. Luckily, the reason I was being picked on saved me from further bullying. Someone eariler said it best, Picoult makes you root for every character.

Farhah, I so agree with you. I finished this book about two weeks ago and have already finished a different book since (not by Picoult), but I've still been thinking about Nineteen Minutes! It's just a captivating story..

I could relate with Pater as well. This book was scary, for me, because it felt like something that could happen at school any day.

ACtually my youngest daughter came to a few days ago about NOT going to the high school that is in our area. We live in a city with 3 public high schools, as well as a couple of parochial HS. The reason, one particular girl. The girl is one year older than Kyli and will be a freshman this year, Kyli in 8th grade. They have gone to school together since Kyli was 3yo. Kyli's father was in her parents wedding and I have known both of her parents long before they knew each other. That is the saddest part. Her parents are no longer married, which I believe is huge part of her problem...big drama and hate there between the parents.

anyway, this girl really does make life miserable for many kids. She is equal opportunity hater, but boy when she turns up the hate on you, it is awful. I have intervened a few times, but that just causes things to be worse for Kyli. I really, honestly believe that other kids go along, simply so this girl won't turn her hate on them. Her parents have no control. Supposedly, in 8th grade she became pregnant 2x, once supposedly causing herself to miscarriage and once her mom's friend took her for an abortion (parent's don't know!!!). She is also reportedly selling marijuana. The sad thing is this girl is extremely smart, high track classes and could really be something...but unfortunately I don't see that happening!

Amy: I agree and think that middle school & high school kids should be informed.

Dara: That's really sad. I hope that Kyli turns out ok in the end.

Kyli will be fine...she is a good kid with a strong personality...just at that lovely age of 13 now when these things are so traumatic.

It's sad to me. I know she's upest but she doesn't have to be doing something like this. She should see someone... like a school councilor or maybe even a psychian?

She's 13?

My daughter is 13yo, the other girl is either 14yo or maybe she won't be 14yo until September. Not sure. It makes me very sad for her...I don't know why she is such a bully. But they have gone to a small school that is Pre K through 8th grade. So she has been around the same kids forever, they will go to high school at one of the public HS that has 1400-1500 students...I am thinking someone will put her in her place there.

Oh... wow.

Yeah...we will see how it goes! And Kyli has a whole year of no Whitney!!

Hi, I'm sorry I couldn't help interrupting here. I actually feel really bad for this girl despite the fact that she's a bully. Not that I'm excusing her behaviour in any way, but I wonder if this is the only way she sees herself in control of a situation when everything and everyone else has failed her. I mean pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage and drugs at 14? Someone really needs to help this girl.

Dara, I hope Kyli is ok. I have a feeling she will be because you are aware of the situation.

It has been a year or so since I read Nineteen Minutes, but I can't remember if the bullies home situations were discussed? With Dara's real life situation some of the girl's actions are related to ASB (attention seeking behavior)--I would also worry about adult sex abuse due to her early sexual behavior.

In Nineteen Minutes Peter had a brother who hung with the "bully" crowd before his death. Was his brother's bully behavior due to his parents? the school culture of idolizing jocks? The girl bullies--was it due to the need to be recognized as a jock groupie?

Nineteen Minutes was HS and I really remember more of the taunting in middle school--it was the "mature" boys commenting on the lack of puberty of the smaller boys. Today it seems like boys will toss around sexual orientation slurs or disrespecting girlfriends.

Our town recently had a trial--a 17 year old murdered a 16 year old at a gas station in front of the brother of the 16 year old and girlfriend and toddler. He had two weapons (16 year old and brother were unarmed). Altercation was over alleged disrespect (did not actually involve the person). The price for murdering the 16 year old? 8 years with possibility of parole in 4 years.