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Ben Marshall

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Nineteen Minutes

by Jodi Picoult (Goodreads Author)

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Ben Marshall said: " Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult is a compelling read that hits just about every emotion in your body, even emotions/opinions that one would not know they had. This book focuses on the lives of students before, after and during a school shooting tha Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult is a compelling read that hits just about every emotion in your body, even emotions/opinions that one would not know they had. This book focuses on the lives of students before, after and during a school shooting that changed the way everyone in this New Hampshire town valued life. The main character, Josie, is not the typical protagonist. She carries her fair-share of flaws stemming from her unhappy relationship with Matt, her abusive boyfriend who was killed in the school shooting.
Nineteen Minutes is different in the way that there is no real protagonist or antagonist. It is set up that Josie is the protagonist and Peter is the antagonist but as we see throughout the book, neither of them are perfect. Josie is not always good and Peter is not always bad. This layer of characterization creates a more honest and realistic story. These names are not characters, they are people, and that is what made this book stand out so much. Even the adults in the book proved to be complex individuals with more than one personality or trait. Alex, the mother of Josie, struggles deeply with balancing her work with her parenting. This creates conflict proving that adults cannot fix everything. Many books focus on parents trying to help and fix their kids’ issues, but this can be deceiving because this is not always a healthy or applicable option.
Many Goodreads readers claim they loved this book because they could not put it down. Personally, I could. There were some parts that slowed down and had an odd pace while other significant parts had to be re-read because they went by so fast. Unlike the Goodread readers, I did get bored during this book, mostly during the flashbacks. This is interesting because I also read My Sister’s Keeper by Picoult which used the same flashback/present writing style, and I loved it. Some of my favorite parts in that book were the flashbacks. I unfortunately did not feel the same impact in this novel.
Do not get me wrong, I believe this was a very important and powerful read. I just think I would have liked it more if I had not read her other books. This book had great messages for everyone to learn. I think anyone who is looking for a psychological and twisted book should read this. You will consistently feel morally conflicted and will often find yourself angry at yourself for siding with people you never thought you would agree with.
This was a great book that should be read with an open mind, you will learn that everyone has their own story and you will constantly face the question: should one’s past forgive their actions in the present? ...more "

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(page 310 of 440)
"(Visualization p.2 continued) and I find it interesting that she still vividly remembers this smell and this feeling." — Oct 10, 2016 11:22AM

Oct 10, 2016 12:14PM · see review