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gbooks29 's review for:
Nineteen Minutes
by Jodi Picoult
4.5 Stars
Premise: A school shooting happens at a high school in nineteen minutes, about ten dead, and the shooter on trial. But not every victim nor the shooter are exactly what they appear. Delving into the history and childhood of the shooter and the victims, the case of Sterling High shooting is one of intrigue and suspense.
Positives:
-Alex and Lacy- These are both very strong mothers. Alex is a judge in court, as well as the mother of one of the teens at the shooting, and Lacy is the mother of the shooter. I loved their strong personalities, as well as their commitment to being a good mother to thier children.
-The case- The actual trial takes most of the stage, with countless point of views from the victims, the victim's parents, the police, the defense attorney, all to make the story more real. Towards the climax, which is ultimately the trial, is was so good to see the entire thing fold out.
-The shooter- I'm not going to spoil who it was, though I might have already. Anyway, I think he had a very interesting backstory. It felt like I've seen it before, but it still felt new, somehow. At first, I hated him, but as you keep reading, he does have a sad story, while it doesn't commend his actions, you can sympathize with the person he was before he fired the gun.
-Josie- I wasn't sure what to say about her. At first, I didn't like her. She's the girl who follows the populars, she does whatever it takes to be the top, whether it means abandoning her real friends, or being with an abusive boyfriend just to hold her popularity. It said a lot about high school and teens themselves. Josie represents every pressured teen, who wants nothing more than to fit in, and she knows that the only way is crushing those who don't fit in. After the shooting, I just felt she was overreacting, I mean, yes, grief, of course, I get it, but she was crying all the time, and it just felt a bit much. But towards the end, I understood fully what happened and why she was so grief stricken and so upset. I liked her arc.
-the defense- of course, there was the defense attorney. At first, I didn't like his job, as I knew the shooter was guilty, and didn't get why he wouldn't be, or why someone would defend him, and one character points this out. But towards 2/3 of the book, you start to see that the defense actually have a very good job. They aren't like the victims or the public. They get insight into the criminal, and proves there are logical reasons, not just homicidal tendencies or random reasons. Which I liked. It added depth to the court case and the shooter.
Negatives
-Length- It isn't a long book page wise, though I did feel it was too long for this story the author wanted to tell. I think it had too much details that were somewhat irrelevant. I think it needed to be cut about fifty pages to deal with the next negative.
-Loose ends- A lot of the story was wrapped up, yes, but there were several things that started, that just weren't resolved. And this is a stand alone, so I assume they won't get resolved, but if felt weird starting one subplot, but not finishing it.
-voting-the novel doesn't actually have the jury vote, it is mentioned what the outcome was, but there was no tension when it came down to deciding, it sort of brushed over what happened towards the most climatic point in a trial, which is the verdict. Just more tension needed to be built for the verdict, and there needed to be an extra scene or an extra paragraph to write it in.
Conclusion: I loved Nineteen Minutes. As an aspiring lawyer, I think it did great in the court case. I don't know if it did realistically portray high school, but it did a good job of illustrating how school's do or do not handle bullying and popularity, as well as the inner minds of teenagers who deal with it. At the end of the day, it was a memorable story, with some strong characters, a very interesting villain, and a powerful message.
Premise: A school shooting happens at a high school in nineteen minutes, about ten dead, and the shooter on trial. But not every victim nor the shooter are exactly what they appear. Delving into the history and childhood of the shooter and the victims, the case of Sterling High shooting is one of intrigue and suspense.
Positives:
-Alex and Lacy- These are both very strong mothers. Alex is a judge in court, as well as the mother of one of the teens at the shooting, and Lacy is the mother of the shooter. I loved their strong personalities, as well as their commitment to being a good mother to thier children.
-The case- The actual trial takes most of the stage, with countless point of views from the victims, the victim's parents, the police, the defense attorney, all to make the story more real. Towards the climax, which is ultimately the trial, is was so good to see the entire thing fold out.
-The shooter- I'm not going to spoil who it was, though I might have already. Anyway, I think he had a very interesting backstory. It felt like I've seen it before, but it still felt new, somehow. At first, I hated him, but as you keep reading, he does have a sad story, while it doesn't commend his actions, you can sympathize with the person he was before he fired the gun.
-Josie- I wasn't sure what to say about her. At first, I didn't like her. She's the girl who follows the populars, she does whatever it takes to be the top, whether it means abandoning her real friends, or being with an abusive boyfriend just to hold her popularity. It said a lot about high school and teens themselves. Josie represents every pressured teen, who wants nothing more than to fit in, and she knows that the only way is crushing those who don't fit in. After the shooting, I just felt she was overreacting, I mean, yes, grief, of course, I get it, but she was crying all the time, and it just felt a bit much. But towards the end, I understood fully what happened and why she was so grief stricken and so upset. I liked her arc.
-the defense- of course, there was the defense attorney. At first, I didn't like his job, as I knew the shooter was guilty, and didn't get why he wouldn't be, or why someone would defend him, and one character points this out. But towards 2/3 of the book, you start to see that the defense actually have a very good job. They aren't like the victims or the public. They get insight into the criminal, and proves there are logical reasons, not just homicidal tendencies or random reasons. Which I liked. It added depth to the court case and the shooter.
Negatives
-Length- It isn't a long book page wise, though I did feel it was too long for this story the author wanted to tell. I think it had too much details that were somewhat irrelevant. I think it needed to be cut about fifty pages to deal with the next negative.
-Loose ends- A lot of the story was wrapped up, yes, but there were several things that started, that just weren't resolved. And this is a stand alone, so I assume they won't get resolved, but if felt weird starting one subplot, but not finishing it.
-voting-the novel doesn't actually have the jury vote, it is mentioned what the outcome was, but there was no tension when it came down to deciding, it sort of brushed over what happened towards the most climatic point in a trial, which is the verdict. Just more tension needed to be built for the verdict, and there needed to be an extra scene or an extra paragraph to write it in.
Conclusion: I loved Nineteen Minutes. As an aspiring lawyer, I think it did great in the court case. I don't know if it did realistically portray high school, but it did a good job of illustrating how school's do or do not handle bullying and popularity, as well as the inner minds of teenagers who deal with it. At the end of the day, it was a memorable story, with some strong characters, a very interesting villain, and a powerful message.