Book Review: Nineteen Minutes

In the novel Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, the author writes about another difficult topic--a high school shooting in a small town. 

Here, we meet Peter Houghton, a 17-year-old high school boy, who has been teased and bullied by his classmates ever since the first day he got on the bus in Kindergarten.  Initially, Peter had one friend, Josie Cormier, to stand by him.  But by the 6th grade, even Josie dumped him and joined the others, in order to avoid being teased and bullied alongside Peter.

Eventually, Peter finds comfort in creating video games at home on his computer, where he is the one in control and is capable of blowing everyone else away.  What happens when real life at school becomes too much for Peter to bear?  He spends nineteen minutes shooting in the hallways at his school.

Caught in the middle of this disaster, Josie watches as her boyfriend and her classmates die in front of her.  Then, she finds out that her mother is scheduled to be the judge when the case goes to trial.  Even worse, Josie gets called to be a witness for the defense.  When will this nightmare end?

Given the subject matter, I initially wasn't sure if I wanted to read this book, but I found Ms. Picoult's writing to be thought-provoking and completely absorbing, as always.  It's a worthwhile read.

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