Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

28 reviews

nicole_cob_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide attempt, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Gore

beesneysbooks's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Confinement, and Violence

xomandymoo's review against another edition

I did not like the constant time jumping, the story did not feel connected enough for me and it took too long to get into. 

The  shooting was also very heavy to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Physical abuse, Gore, Eating disorder, and Death

stellabyproxy's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

“Something still exists as long as there’s someone around to remember it.”

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult tells the story of a beaten down 17-year-old and the 19 minutes which change the reality of his entire community as he went through his highschool, shooting fellow classmates. 

An aspect of Picoult’s writing that is ever present is her multiple narration, which we see through the process of the school shooting, investigation, and trial. Whilst this is usually done in a more cohesive manner in her later books, this made the reading of Nineteen Minutes quite chaotic, with no definitive switch in narration. This was made more confusing in the never-ending list of characters who were introduced, only to never resurface. As much as this was a negative, it did help in outlining just how broad of a scope the impact of school shootings have on the students, the parents, the community and the country at large; how no one is untouched and the grief divides but also unites people eternally. Picoult’s nonlinear timeline also makes an appearance, as we jump between a pre-shooting and post-shooting society, putting the pieces of the story together leading up to the shooting, as well as the trial (like solving a mystery, or trying fixing something broken?). 

There is mass criticism into Picoult’s writing style, as having the shooter’s perspective and reading his thought process and justifications can come off as sympathetic or defensive of his position and actions. I believe, however, that this was simply a way of portraying the sea of nuance that divides such a polarising issue. That in the aftermath of tragedy, there are those who will look at impact and those who will look at reasoning, and both can bring closure. 

As much as I blitzed through these pages and got completely engrossed in the story, I do find that other Picoult novels were more impactful for me. This could, however, be due to the lack of personal experience I have with the subject matter growing up in a country that does not experience mass shootings, much less school shootings. 

I did find a lot of relatability in the issues of conformity and the pressure to maintain appearances in positions of authority. The removal of the masks we all wear and how beneath them we are all simply people trying to do our best. And how to continue loving someone who has caused harm to so many. I think it is a story about kindness, to other and ourselves. And how the smallest acts usually have an everlasting effect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, Bullying, Blood, Murder, and Mental illness

Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Car accident, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Death

Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide

sarahannmac21's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

I’m not really sure I want to rate this book. How do you put a rating on enjoyment on a book about a school shooting? 

I will say I think this book should be read by every student, teacher, principal, and parent of a child in high school. There is absolutely no reason this book should be banned. It’s crucial our students and adults in the public education world read and understand this book. 

This book made me cry and sick to my stomach. 

Side note: I didn’t not enjoy the little romantic sub plot that occurred at the 70% mark, and felt like a good 100 pages could have been edited out (they felt like filler that distracted from the story). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Murder, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

books_withblooms's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Gore, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Bullying, Death, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

shyleek's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was my second time reading the book but is my first time rating and reviewing.

Jodi Picoult has never let me down. She isn't afraid of the tough stuff. You always know there is a twist coming but can rarely figure out what that twist will be. Even though being a second read through I knew the Ending was coming it still Blows my mind how she built the story to that point. 

In today's society this book is a heavy hitter. It is emotional and controversial but so worth the read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence

nadia_luq's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Car accident, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Death, and Miscarriage

phantomgecko's review

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

There's a lot in this novel. Because it tackles the issue from multiple perspectives, the nuance is appreciated. I could write an essay about bullying here, but suffice it to say that bullying is a problem without an easy solution, and the book really really explores that. An exchange between a lawyer and the principal really nailed it with these back-to-back (paraphrased) sentences.

Bullying is not tolerated at this school / Disciplining the bullies makes things worse

Moving on, the characters felt real. Peter was neither a monster nor a simple victim but a fleshed out teenager. His mother wasn't a perfect mother nor a failure but someone trying her best and making a lot of mistakes. Tbh, these are the only characters that I really empathized with. But that's not to say that the many other characters weren't also three dimensional.

idk, I won't read this book again, but I wouldn't deter anyone else from reading it. It's upsetting but the message is important, poignant and more realistic than other books I've read about school shootings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Miscarriage, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault

willowruth's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It was really engaging as a book but I found the end to be really disappointing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings and Gun violence

Moderate: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship