Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
My enjoyment rating: 1 of 5 stars
Book source: Library copy
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Objectionable material: I'm trying to forget all of the material
July Book Club selection
Summary from the publisher:
"In Sterling, New Hampshire, 17-year-old high school student
Peter Houghton has endured years of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of
classmates. His best friend, Josie Cormier, succumbed to peer pressure and now
hangs out with the popular crowd that often instigates the harassment. One
final incident of bullying sends Peter over the edge and leads him to commit an
act of violence that forever changes the lives of Sterling's residents. Even
those who were not inside the school that morning find their lives in an
upheaval, including Alex Cormier. The superior court judge assigned to the
Houghton case, Alex - whose daughter, Josie, witnessed the events that unfolded
- must decide whether or not to step down. She's torn between presiding over
the biggest case of her career and knowing that doing so will cause an even
wider chasm in her relationship with her emotionally fragile daughter. Josie,
meanwhile, claims she can't remember what happened in the last fatal minutes of
Peter's rampage. Or can she? And Peter's parents, Lacy and Lewis Houghton,
ceaselessly examine the past to see what they might have said or done to compel
their son to such extremes. Rich with psychological and social insight,
Nineteen Minutes is a riveting, poignant, and thought-provoking novel that has
at its center a haunting question. Do we ever really know someone?”
This was our book club choice for July.
I hated every page.
Was it author Jodi Picoult’s fault? No…she was a master at weaving a story of angst and conflict and emotion among multiple characters.
However masterful she was, I couldn’t tolerate the subject matter or the absolute cruelty inflicted by so many people on one another. It was misery in 500 pages.
Surely there are teenagers out there that are not intent on shooting their classmates, or hating their parents.
Regardless of my dislike of the book – our book discussion was electric with commentary.
So, if you want an engaging discussion – I recommend this book.
August book choice:
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1 comment:
Of course you hated it b/c I really liked it! Not necessarily the content, but you'd be proud- it brought out a more 'liberal' side of me that normally does not exist. (where I actually felt like I would payer a lil higher tax if it would go to helping kids like this in a correctional facility...) Also, I do have a brother that is a "lost sheep" right now, into drugs, dealing and most the time when we hear from him he is in jail. I found myself remembering back to my childhood about how he was bullied VERY OFTEN (he was more overweight) and how we always tried to make him tougher by pushing him into things. My mom seems a lot like the mom in the book (always happy and naive to so many things, along with blaming herself when she was indeed a great mother.) So I guess I liked it because it made me take a step back and send my 'weyward' brother a text letting him know I loved him and had been thinking about him and it reminded me to try to be a better & more aware friend, sister, mother, wife, daughter etc... IT def was a hefty read though- THANKS FOR AN AWESOME NIGHT! I hope to get there more often!
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