Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

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.

raindrops333's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Mass/school shootings, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual assault, Bullying, Rape, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Suicide, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Pregnancy, Abortion, and Ableism

smackeykennedy37's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings and Abortion

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

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

abook4thought's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Suicide, and Pregnancy

proceduralbob's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Body shaming, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abortion, Miscarriage, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Animal cruelty

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

eevacasey's review

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Abortion, Blood, Homophobia, Bullying, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide, Gun violence, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Outing, Violence, Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual violence, and Racism

Minor: Medical trauma, Ableism, Abandonment, Addiction, Animal death, Classism, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Confinement, Dysphoria, and Fatphobia

cams_all_booked's review

dark emotional tense 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child death, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Abortion, Mental illness, and Sexual content