Nineteen Minutes

A lot can happen in just nineteen minutes...
This is one of my new favorite books. Just looking at the cover, I thought it would be kind of dull and boring... but it was anything but that. In "Nineteen Minutes", Peter Houghton, an unpopular boy who was alway picked on, goes to his school one day and decides to shoot people. The whole time, you think he's a cold, heartless murderer until you figure out the truth about what compelled him to act with such violence. Every day, he was threatened to be killed, called names that were reserved for gay people, and even had his body made fun of in the locker room because it hadn't quite started to develop yet. Through this book, you also learn about Josie Cormier, the judges daughter and the most popular girl in school. How are these two connected? Not at all. Well, in nineteen minutes, they become something more... their lies separated by a single bullet and a powerful hatred that could be the daming life sentence... The innocent are revealed as wicked and the wicked are revealed as innocent.
Grade: 100%
Things to look out for: Though this was a great book, there is a lot of mature content that younger readers should look out for. There is a scene in a gay bar where a guy tries to "take a boy home". A boy's penis is made fun of since it doesn't have pubic hair, and unpopular boys are called "gay" and "homo". Josie has sex with her boyfriend throughout the entire book and it describes him forcing her against her will. One girl is continuously called a whore. One of the teachers is gay. Josie gets pregnant and gives herself and abortion with vitamin C pills. There is a lot of the use of the "F" word.
Things that made this book worth it: This is a very powerfully written book that I think everybody between the ages of 13-40 should read. This book explores the bond between child and parent while keeping the pages turning with gripping suspense.
This is the author, Jodi Picoult. I think she has an amazing writing style that is not only filled with suspense, but meaningful. You can tell she likes children because of the way she talks about them in such a loving way. She also makes sure that the book is unisex: not just a male or female novel filled with romance like some authors have to do to try to make theirs a bestseller. This is one of the few pure, good books I have ever read. Now, I'm starting "My Sister's Keeper", and already, I can't put it down. Jodi Picoult, you rock! Thanks for writing such good books.