Nineteen Minutes | Nineteen Minutes

Missing evidence | Nineteen Minutes | Jodi Picoult

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	• Nineteen Minutes Jodi Picoult Washington Square Press, 2008 - 480 pages average customer review:based on 549 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Haunting

I finished this book several days ago and it still sits with me. I was amazed at how Jodi Picoult could write from the perspective of all of the players involved and make you feel for each and every one. It is truly an eye opener as to how bullying can get so out of hand. A few kids can think they are having fun and destroy the life of another. The story is potent and oh so well written!!

Nineteen Minutes

I first listened to the book Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult on cd from the library and loved it so much I had to have it. Amazon made it possible - cost - choices - availability - condition of item and time to wait. The tracking emails were appreciated and the cd arrived in perfect condition before the scheduled delivery date. I'll definately order again! Thanks!

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Missing evidence

I loved this book in many ways. However, It is the holes in the story that bother me.

Why is there no reaction from Alex when she realises what a bully Matt was? He was her daughter's boyfriend and Alex was charmed by the signs of love in her daughter. Then we find out what a bully Matt was (the real monster of the story). Alex should have been horrified that her daughter was involved with a character who was capable of such cruelty. Picoult tells us nothing.

Then, how could Peter's mother not have realised that he was suffering so much? When he "loses" his lunchbox for the third time in first grade, does it not even occur to her that he may be being bullied? Apparently not. Her reaction is to punish her little boy! Punish him for being bullied! The book encourages us to ask questions about the role of parenting (or failures of parenting) in the creation of a "monster". Yet, this particular failure slips by practically unnoticed. Not only does his mother fail to recognise that he is in trouble, she punishes him for the consequences. That must be devastating for a child. The one person on whom he should be able to depend to protect him and vindicate him, effectively joins the bullies in undermining him. I can't believe that any mother so loving as Peter's could be so blind.

Next hole. No one seems to react adversely to details of the bullying Peter was subjected to. There is no sense that anyone looks at these "jocks" as monsters, which they truely are. This is emphasised in the complete lack of reaction of teachers (symbolised by the absense of any instruction to teachers in the anti-bullying policy document) when Peter is humiliated. In the canteen, after the "pantsing" incident, both boys are treated the same by the teacher in charge. In any school I know, such an incident, witnessed by a teacher, would lead to either the suspension of the perpetrator or his total expulsion from school. Is it really the case that such overt bullying would be passed over so casually by American High school adminstrators?

Near the end of the book, there are several comments to the effect that "nothing has changed". I am not surprised. The book, while appearing to be trying to winnow out the reasons why a child would be driven to such appalling actions, fails to challenge the adults in the story. Where were they and where were they looking when their children were in such trouble? The story line seems to suggest that when Alex gives up her judge position and gets a man, she suddenly begins to develop a bond with her child Josie. Can Picould be serious? Despite being obsessed with the idea of being a good mother, Professional single mothers cannot connect with their children? Neither, it seems can professional married women or their professional husbands. Maybe they need to spend less time on the idea of parenting and more on actually being parents.

Are American High Schools such shark infested waters? I would love to hear from young people currently attending such schools. Is the picture created by Picoult accurate? Are children tearing each other apart like this on a daily basis (and I don't mean the shootings)? Are parents really so blind?

One final hole. What was the purpose of Joey? He existed, he was favoured by his parents, he was a jock, he bullied his brother and he died. Why was he there in the first place? Beyond a few passing references to his death, we at not time are given a description of Peter's attitude to his brother and, most importantly, to his brother's death. Except for one incident, after being caught in a lift Peter mistakenly thinks (very briefly) his parents actually cared for and were worried about him, only to realise almost immediately that they were actually grieving for Joey. We are never given any insight into how Peter felt about Joey, alive or dead. One other thing is missing. Not only do Peter's parents punish him for being bullied, they never instruct the older son, the favoured golden boy, on treating his different younger brother with respect. It is left to Peter to either conform or to "toughen up".

It all seems a bleak picture. Fundamentally Picould appears to believe that Peter, and kids like him, are in fact the losers their peers see them as. In other words, it is not the responsibility of the "Jocks", the "popular set", the golden ones, OR of the parents, teachers or adults in general to practice tolerance. It appears that Picould shares the opinion of her characters that individuals like Peter or Derek need to become more like everyone else or be prepared to take the consequences.

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very pleased

shipping was super fast. Book was in gently used condition just like the product description said. I'm very pleased! great price!

A little to boring

This is the 1st book by Jodi Picoult I have read. After all the fanfare about how good she was I am sorely disappointed. Yes she can write there is no doubt about that but it is a very cliche' type story that has trouble holding my attention and I got very bored. I did persevere until the end just to find out if there was anything special about the ending. Alas no.

The writing style for this book was really geared up for teenagers. Therefore I personally would say that it is a great book for older teenagers but for adults? ... well I think it is rather lame.

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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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