Nineteen Minutes (Eric Loubriel) (Sam Holt) (Joe Brousseau)

Title: Nineteen MinuetsAuthor: Jodi PicoultNumber of Pages: 464
Where did you find this book? I found this book in my sister’s car and she recommended it to me.
Summary:
In a town in New Hampshire called Sterling, a 17-year-old high school student Peter Houghton had been teased and tormented throughout his entire life. From getting his lunch box got thrown off the bus in the first grade to getting his pants pulled down in high school, his life was not easy. After his best friend, Josie Cormier, was transformed by peer pressure and now is hanging out with the popular group, Peter faces even more harassment. After holding in all his anger and rage, Peter began to cause some violence. Due to being picked on he went into his school and shot it up. Harming a lot of people might not have been what he intended, but it was what happened. Even people that shouldn’t have been involved inevitably were. He even ended up killing some people and wounding others. Eventually, Peter was taken into police custody where he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else. Peter was put through many trials, and throughout every single one he saw the people he changed for forever. They claimed he had a serious disorder, but it didn't work out in his favor. Peter got charged with murder of several people and put in jail for many years. The audience for this book, I believe would be teenagers. The author expresses that bullying is a serious problem that can ultimately lead to a tragedy. Nineteen Minutes is not just about a school shooting. Jody shows other themes such as the search for and identity, but the principal theme she shows the most in the book is expectations and how they shape our lives. The authors writing style is one that helps shape the novel. She uses various flashbacks throughout the entire book. The story ultimately deals with school violence, and what can eventually happen. The novel also deals with the events leading up to the violence and how the lives of people can change in unexplainable ways. Passages:“If we don’t change the direction we are headed, we will end up where we're going."

-This passage struck me in regards to the way the world works. At times we are all afraid to show each other what we really are. In doing this we stray down the wrong path and ultimately end up as the total opposite of what we want to be.

“I've always sort of wondered, though; if everyone else's opinion is what matters, then do you really have one of your own?"

-I chose this quote because it questions the importance of our own personal thoughts and it is something that I have once asked myself as well.
"In nineteen minutes, you can order a pizza and get it delivered. You can read a story to a child or have your oil changed. You can walk a mile. You can sew a hem. In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it. In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge."

-This passage struck me directly simply because it explains that there is so much more that you can do in a matter of nineteen minuets, but Peter chose to shoot people in the school and seek revenge. He thought that in order for the bullying to stop he would have to take charge and show everyone that he was sick of it. He chose to spend nineteen minutes of his day ultimately destroying his life and the lives of others rather than doing something to positive to change the situation.My Relationship: I really enjoyed this novel because it related to situations that happen in our everyday lives. It showed what could really happen to someone who is being teased and tormented. It also shows that people should really express their emotions, in a healthy way, when something serious like bullying is happening instead of bottling it up so long that it eventually leads to such extremes like harming people. It also shines a light upon how we, as humans, shouldn’t treat others like dirt, because we can never tell what people are feeling and thinking.

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Title: 19 minutes
Author: Jodi Picoult
Pages: 480

I found this book in my sisters room, she highly recomended it and told me i would enjoy reading it.

Audience: I think the audience would mostly be teenagers. I think teenagers could relate to the high school environment since everyone at one time in their lives has been bullied before.

Writing Style: This book is from the different points of views from the characters. The author made multiple narrators.

The book is set in a small town in New Hampshier called Sterling. One of the main Characters is named Peter ever since kindergarten he has been bullied. Growing up he had one friend named Josie, once in high school she joins a new group of friends who are the popular kids in school. Peter holds all his anger inside from getting teased and finally snaps when he brings multiple weapons to school and starts shooting fellow students and teachers in the hallways. One of the students that was killed was Josie's boyfriend who used to bully Peter a lot. Josie's boyfriend was the last person killed and the only people who saw was Josie and Peter. This book has flash backs to what happend in those 19 minutes on that terrible day. It shows different sides of the story and has a unsuspect twist at the end.

Passages:
1.) "Isn't it amazing how, when you strip away everything, people are so much alike?"I chose this passage because I really agree with it. I believe that everyone is similar. Everyone in high school wants to fit and when something drastic like a school shooting happens kids seem to relate to eachother more.
2.) "But then again, maybe bad things happen because it's the only way we can keep remembering what good is supposed to look like."
This quote struck me because when something bad happens people usually realize what they are thankful for and how lucky they are. When something bad happens I always remeber how it once was good and I appreciate it more.
3.) "In nineteen minutes, you can order a pizza and get it delivered. You can read a story to a child or have your oil changed. You can walk a mile. You can sew a hem. In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it. In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge."
This passage struck me because you realize how much can happen in just 19 minutes. Everyday simple things can happen in 19 minutes or in this case something drastic can happen in 19 minutes.

My Relationship: I really like this book. I was hooked I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult. I felt really sympathetic towards peter. I would recomend this to a lot of high school students. I think that this is relatable and shows how one person's actions can change a whole society.

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The book that I have been reading is Nineteen Minutes by Jody Picoult. I found this book very interesting, it kept me at the edge of my seat urging to know what was going to happen next. Many of my friends had read this book and strongly recommended it for me. They knew that I didn’t like boring books, this book is anything but that. Nineteen Minutes is 464 pages long. Sterling High School stood in a small peaceful town in New Hampshire. Sterling High School becomes the center of attention when student Peter Houghton comes to the school with a gun. He killed 10 and injured 19 students. Peter was a social outcast who wanted to be recognized and noticed. Nobody ever paid attention to him and he was fed up. Peter’s main targets were the popular kids, who never gave him a chance. To me, the book was not all about the shooting, it was about how people react to the way that they are treated. Treating somebody as if they are less of a person than you can lead to something big. Anything can happen, it only took 19 minutes for all of these students’ lives to be changed and affected.
This book is perfect for ages 15 and up. Anybody mature enough to read about all of the killing would absolutely love this book. It touches you, it really makes you think. "One day Peter, I promise you, everyone will know your name." This was the reason for the shooting. Peter felt unimportant, and worthless. He had lost hope in himself and didn’t know how to handle it. "In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn; color your hair; watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five.” This quote tells me that absolutely anything can happen. Expect the unexpected; don’t think that anything is impossible. You can do something as routine as mowing your lawn, or you can watch 10 of your friends be shot in 19 minutes. “Even though those people died today, Peter Houghton was dying for 17 years” All of Peters life, he was rejected and put down. All of his life his anger was building up and he chose that day, that morning to let all of it out.
This book taught me a lot about life. It sent me a message, to never treat people as if they are not as good as me. It also showed me how quickly things can change, or how quickly something as devastating as a shooting can occur. This book spoke to me and taught me a lot about life, I would never treat anybody how people treated Peter.