Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

14 reviews

gtsantos83's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book is really sad and emotional. I had to set it down and remove myself from the story for a while, as getting too wrapped up in it for too long was difficult at times. The story is gut-wrenching, but so well written. Readers come to understand how we all have a role to play in treating one another with fairness and empathy. What struck me most was the mothers in the story; their fierce love for their children in the face of unimaginable tragedy was heartbreaking and real. And the teen main characters! Josie's clinging to superficial friendships out of fear of not fitting in is almost as heartbreaking as Peter's complete lack of fitting in with anyone. The story's drifting back and forth between past and present helps readers understand exactly how characters and their relationships came to be. Great book, but proceed with an open mind.

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage

While centered around an awful fictional school shooting, this book does such a great job at humanizing everyone involved, from the teen perpetrator to the lawyers involved in the case. It's a complicated look at societal expectations and how we all have an impact on one another, for better or for worse.

good_names_dont_exist's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Blood, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Suicide attempt and Medical content

mimamia's review

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Bullying, Grief, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Car accident, Child death, Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

malise's review

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was an intense read. I felt all the emotions and could not put the book down. The subject of a school shooting was handled thoughtfully and delicately by the author, giving the perspective of the young shooter, his family, and victims.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, and Blood

Minor: Drug use, Mental illness, Body shaming, Car accident, and Alcohol

markedwithanm's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Murder, Bullying, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic friendship, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Grief, Medical trauma, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

jenniferbbookdragon's review

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Powerful and surprising,  with a twist at the end. Picoult takes us into a school shooting,  the events leading up to it and the aftermath. This brought up a lot of feelings about bullying,  parenting,  education,  and guns in a way that defies the politics and focuses on people. There are no winners,  only survivors,  and a community forever scarred and changed. The equal focus on the high schoolers, parents, police, and lawyers highlighted the humanity of all the characters and reminded me that we all contribute to the environment that creates tragedy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, Homophobia, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Blood, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Grief

The main focus is a school shooting with bullying over 10 years.

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

cultbyproxy'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

blovesbooks80's review

emotional tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Gun violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, and Bullying