Review: Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Wow, wow, wow. Now, I’ve heard on the bookworm grapevine, that Jodi Picoult work is pretty darn good. If her other stuff is like this book, then I’d better get into it, quick smart!!!

Goodread Blurb

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. Nineteen Minutes also features the return of two of Jodi Picoult’s characters—defense attorney Jordan McAfee from The Pact and Salem Falls, and Patrick DuCharme, the intrepid detective introduced in Perfect Match.

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?

My Review

You know at the beginning, I didn’t think i was going to like this one. I wasn’t a fan of the swapping from present to past with chapters, or the characters. However, I grew to actually love it. I don’t really have any other negatives! I loved this book. It was full of emotion, and so rich in research. The author did a wonderful job researching, I found myself getting lost in each and every character.  I think my favourite character was Peter. It’s a controversial topic,  and you’re often more inclined to to see his and his actions as ‘evil’ and you still may after reading this, but to me, I see Peter (and others who have acted like him) as human.  I think the author did a realistic, and gut-wrenching job at portraying the heartache and pain that the family of Peter, and real-life families in the same position, go through.  You can’t even begin to imagine how much your life could change if you were put in the same position. It’s almost unfathomable.

There’s no denying that Peter actions were wrong, however, it’s only natural to me, to feel empathy and sympathy for him especially at the author tells his story from kindergarten to the event.  It gave his character a face and emotion.  My heart broke for him in scenes that included his brother, and how he acted towards Peter.  The court scenes towards the end were fantastic. The dialogue between lawyers and witnesses flowed so beautifully, I flew threw it.  And started crying in the last three chapters when the little twist was revealed. Amazing. Definitely a book that makes you think and question life and being a parent.

I rate this book: 5/5

You can purchase this via Amazon ebook here

Happy buying and reading!

Nat

Advertisement