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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“If you spent your life concentrating on what everyone else thought of you, would you forget who you really were? What if the face you showed the world turned out to be a mask… with nothing beneath it?”
4.5 ⭐️
This book is HEAVY but so necessary. I don’t typically read books of this genre but I appreciated how Jodi wrote such an emotionally raw story that connects with the real world. I don’t want to say too much about the characters but all of the different POVs really helped show all sides of a situation as severe as this.
This is also the first book I’ve read by Jodi and I would like to explore some of her others.
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a story that was hard to put down. It is the story of a teenage outcast that takes matters into his own hands. You see the story from all sides as the author skips around from childhood to trial, ending with a twist.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
There was many twists to the plot. It amazes me that something that happens in a short time can impact a community. Was very shocked at every turn. Amazing story.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was told Nineteen Minutes was one of Jodi Picoult’s best novels, and if that’s truly the case, I don’t think I’ll be reading another.
I won’t apologize for spoilers here; this book is nearly two decades old, which feels like more than enough time for readers to catch up. And yet, despite its age, I didn’t expect it to feel so dated. From the outdated cultural references to the harmful clichés, Nineteen Minutes reads like a relic from a time that hasn’t aged well at all.
At its core, the book attempts to grapple with the aftermath of a school shooting. But as a Canadian reader, where mass shootings are extremely rare, the entire premise felt off. The narrative leans hard on tired and discredited excuses: violent video games, heavy metal music, social alienation. We consume the same media north of the border, but we don’t have the same epidemic of school shootings. Using these justifications in a courtroom setting felt not only unrealistic but dangerously misleading.
The book also leans into harmful tropes and tired stereotypes. A teenager has sex for the first time, and of course, it hurts because heaven forbid young women receive any kind of accurate or sex-positive messaging. Glasses make a character ugly until they come off. A character “lets out a breath they didn’t know they were holding.” There’s rampant homophobia, use of the r-word (which was already offensive and unacceptable in 2007), and absolutely no likeable characters to anchor the reader.
The courtroom subplot is equally frustrating. A supposedly principled lawyer manipulates the system in a way that completely undercuts her own sense of ethics. The judge, who never wanted to be a mother and who is actually portrayed as a competent professional, ends up quitting her job and embracing motherhood as some kind of redemptive arc. Not only is that regressive messaging, it’s also completely out of character. Her unexpected pregnancy, and the suggestion that this baby might "save us all", was the final eyeroll-worthy moment in a book full of them.
As for the twist? Painfully predictable. Josie’s amnesia was obviously a device to hide what she remembered, and the abusive relationship angle felt gratuitous and manipulative. If she didn’t shoot Matt, what was the point of introducing that abuse at all, especially when we already knew he was a bully?
And let’s not forget the bizarre instance involving a midwife guilt-tripping a woman out of choosing adoption, because apparently this book also wanted to weigh in on reproductive choices, but without any nuance or respect.
In short, Nineteen Minutes tries to be a thoughtful examination of a tragedy, but ends up relying on fearmongering, stereotypes, and outdated messaging. Instead of offering insight or empathy, it delivers moralizing and melodrama.
If this is Picoult’s best, I’m not interested in the rest.
I won’t apologize for spoilers here; this book is nearly two decades old, which feels like more than enough time for readers to catch up. And yet, despite its age, I didn’t expect it to feel so dated. From the outdated cultural references to the harmful clichés, Nineteen Minutes reads like a relic from a time that hasn’t aged well at all.
At its core, the book attempts to grapple with the aftermath of a school shooting. But as a Canadian reader, where mass shootings are extremely rare, the entire premise felt off. The narrative leans hard on tired and discredited excuses: violent video games, heavy metal music, social alienation. We consume the same media north of the border, but we don’t have the same epidemic of school shootings. Using these justifications in a courtroom setting felt not only unrealistic but dangerously misleading.
The book also leans into harmful tropes and tired stereotypes. A teenager has sex for the first time, and of course, it hurts because heaven forbid young women receive any kind of accurate or sex-positive messaging. Glasses make a character ugly until they come off. A character “lets out a breath they didn’t know they were holding.” There’s rampant homophobia, use of the r-word (which was already offensive and unacceptable in 2007), and absolutely no likeable characters to anchor the reader.
The courtroom subplot is equally frustrating. A supposedly principled lawyer manipulates the system in a way that completely undercuts her own sense of ethics. The judge, who never wanted to be a mother and who is actually portrayed as a competent professional, ends up quitting her job and embracing motherhood as some kind of redemptive arc. Not only is that regressive messaging, it’s also completely out of character. Her unexpected pregnancy, and the suggestion that this baby might "save us all", was the final eyeroll-worthy moment in a book full of them.
As for the twist? Painfully predictable. Josie’s amnesia was obviously a device to hide what she remembered, and the abusive relationship angle felt gratuitous and manipulative. If she didn’t shoot Matt, what was the point of introducing that abuse at all, especially when we already knew he was a bully?
And let’s not forget the bizarre instance involving a midwife guilt-tripping a woman out of choosing adoption, because apparently this book also wanted to weigh in on reproductive choices, but without any nuance or respect.
In short, Nineteen Minutes tries to be a thoughtful examination of a tragedy, but ends up relying on fearmongering, stereotypes, and outdated messaging. Instead of offering insight or empathy, it delivers moralizing and melodrama.
If this is Picoult’s best, I’m not interested in the rest.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings
slow-paced