Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

24 reviews

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

ocnlvr83's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, and Mass/school shootings

sandysmith's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.75

I find the authors books very compelling, and this is no exception. She has an easy to read writing style and is never afraid to tackle contentious issues.  The characters are well developed but centre around Peter the shooter, and Josie is his on-off friend who craves to be popular. Told from various points of view that enhance your understanding of the various characters, their feelings, and motivations. The book makes you question and empathise the basic scenario of a high school shooting. You go from feeling sorry for Peter, the sensitive bullied boy, to being completely outraged that he went into school with guns shooting, killing, and horrifically injuring students and adults and a twist at the end, which again gives food for thought. This was read as a book club read and picked as a banned book in some US states. Do I think this book deserves to be banned? Absolutely not. In fact, I would recommend that others read it and make up their own minds. A book that leaves you questioning what can be done, gun control, the quest to be popular, and more effective bulling procedures in school is not a bad thing. A brilliant book that is still on my mind, questioning and thinking about what I've read. Excellent.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Death, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

haleybre's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Murder, Blood, and Mass/school shootings

juleskr02's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

this novel. i was very excited to read, as this was the first book that was suggested to me when i started my jodi grind, and man it did not disappoint. 

i was a little wary at first because it was third person narration, and i wasn’t sure if it was going to be clear to follow with that plus the time jumps each chapter. but i was pleasantly surprised. i actually loved the formatting of narration and storytelling. 

that plot twist. woah. i predicted half of it but still was so shocked with the half i didn’t predict. this story was crazy and maybe an unpopular opinion, but i was really rooting for peter. i know i shouldn’t have but i felt really bad for him. 

i wish i saw more in terms of certain side plots, and i didn’t love how the story ended, so my rating lost a star. but overall, i quite enjoyed reading it, and found myself on the edge of my seat for big chunks. i want to own this book so badly and annotate the heck out of it because that’s how much i enjoyed it. brava miss picoult!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Child death, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Gun violence

Minor: Pregnancy

iamthelizardqueen's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This has been on my tbr forever and I'm glad I finally picked it up. Captivating and emotional to say the least. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Violence, Grief, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Outing, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Minor: Drug use, Pregnancy, Abortion, Miscarriage, and Panic attacks/disorders

beereads27's review against another edition

dark 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

This book is hard to rate. Is it well-written? Absolutely. Did I like the way the author handled the topics in the book? Not really. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Child death, Bullying, Mass/school shootings, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Blood, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Gore, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Pregnancy, Car accident, and Eating disorder

jen1804's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

This was a good read and a book which covered a really important topic, it was certainly very apt with today’s current affairs following the sad events that recently happened in Texas.
This is a story about a 17 year old boy who has been bullied all his life who one day snaps and opens fire on his high school, killing 10 people and wounding a further 19, all within the space on ‘nineteen minutes’.
It follows the events of that day and is written through the eyes of multiple characters; Peter himself, his mother, his father, his lawyer, his childhood friend who eventually became one of the ‘popular kids’, her mother, the detective on the case. And it goes back and forth in time each chapter, showing us how Peter was treated not only by his fellow students, but also by the teachers who did not provide much of an authority when it came to bullying, and by his parents who despite doing what they thought was best, didn’t always ‘see’ Peter the way he needed to be seen.
Reading about the events of the day and the effects on both the victims’ parents and also Peter’s parents is pretty difficult reading to be honest and can be emotional as you’d expect.
It is such an interesting book which explores gun violence and school shootings, holding Peter accountable for the irreparable damage and hurt he has caused and includes scenes of his trial after his arrest.
But this is also a book about the effects of bullying and how it is everyone’s responsibility to teach our kids how to treat each other and to protect children from going through the same things Peter did. Some of the things that happen to him are excruciating to read and my heart really wrenched thinking back to how much of a shitty time school can be for any number of people but especially anyone considered an oddball.
The book overall is a reminder to be a good human and treat others with respect, whilst simultaneously telling the story of the catastrophic consequences which can be experienced in the extremes should A) someone not get that respect just one too many times and B) has access to weapons.
Satisfactory ending? Mostly yes, just a tiny bit no.
Edit: I originally rated this book a 4.0 immediately after finishing but have increased it to a 4.5 because it’s one of those books which has stayed with me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Abortion, Sexual harassment, and Abandonment