A review by caraeliz
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Good book. Not great. But absolutely hated how it was written with such long chapters. I’m talking one chapter was like an hour and a half long. 

The book has a good premise and kept me entertained. Super heavy topic of a school shooting. One that in a way I feel is overdone in a lot of books and shows and movies… the kid being bullied who’s driven to the point where he chooses gun violence to come ‘deal with who started it’. It honestly gets repetitive and is so freeking prevalent in todays world that I almost hated reading about it. It’s on the news constantly about things like this. Yes this book shows exactly what it’s like for many teenagers who go through bullying though. And that’s even more sad.

But this book also pissed me off because I have a firm belief that so much could be different and that starts with parenting. Peters mom Lacy truly frustrated me when she said she never really even bothered seeing what her son was up to. Like hello you’re a PARENT. Sure I get your other child died, but when she said “Peter was holding us together and us as the parents couldn’t function” it’s like yeah… that’s a problem you let that fall on your child. Nope. 

Also… so many things just felt really drawn out. Like this book could have been 100 pages shorter. But I enjoyed the ending yet that felt kind of rushed at the end. I wish there had been better balance with the ending and the content of the book.