Reviews - Nineteen Minutes

3.62k reviews for:

Nineteen Minutes

Jodi Picoult

4.09 AVERAGE

taylor_randall's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

madisonrosehager's review

5.0

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

swimmer35112's review

4.0

emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

bitchcat's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

bookblurbist's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

𝐕𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬:

➤ Bullying/Mental Health

➤ School Shooting Investigation

➤ Multi POV

➤ Courtroom Drama

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:

As an educator in 2025 I don’t think it’s fair to rate a book published in 2007 on school shootings. Objectively, I appreciate that JP seems to take on controversial topics from all angles and pushes readers to challenge existing views. This book had several POVs to demonstrate these angles and they’re all so well organized and paced that the book never felt confusing or disjointed.

I do think that she projected onto her teen characters an awareness that is really only possible as an adult with hindsight rather than actual teenage characters. This made the bullying feel more like how we as adults deconstruct bullying and less like it actually exists. It also felt so odd to me that in a book with so many POVs that we wouldn’t get the POV of the bully.

Overall, I can appreciate this for what it was at the time which was undoubtedly an ugly look into the making of a school shooter, and a courtroom drama with unpredictable twists and turns.

Honestly, I can’t bring myself to form an opinion on whether I liked this book or not enough to rate it because I struggled to listen to a 21 hour deep dive into how something like this could possibly happen. The bullying, the neglect, the violent video games, angry music, isolation, emotionally absent parents and countless adults who fail these homicidal/suicidal teen boys who exist in every country but gun down their peers in only ONE.

In 2007 I’m sure it was quite controversial to see a school shooter as an actual child and human being that society failed. But in 2025 having lived through active shooter drilling as a student, teacher and now parent; it’s hard to entertain any thoughts not related to why this only happens HERE and what we’re protecting instead of whom.

redheadd2's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Overall, I enjoyed this story I just think it was some heavy subject matter and so I had to read it in increments. If only we all realized the ripple effects we have on others and were gentler with each other.