Book Title: Nineteen Minutes Author: Jodi Picoult
Pages: 451 Publisher: Washington Square Press
Why did you decide to read the book?
I was recommended this book by my teacher, and also I have read reviews of this book written by other students, and they made it seem like an interesting read.
Brief Summary of Book (6-8 sentences):
Nineteen Minutes is a book about an ordinary, small town in New Hampshire. It is just like every other town, nothing seems to happen and it is usually a boring place to be. Then one day, tragedy strikes for the main character Josie Cormier. There is a shooting at her school, and it takes the lives of many people including some that were particularly close to her. Ironically Josie’s mom is the judge sitting in on the case. For some reason Josie can not seem to remember what exactly had happened at her school that was such a tragedy to her community, even though it happened right in front of her face. Follow this story as it goes through the many rough steps of life, and hopefully wins the most important court case in this small town’s history.
Audience: This story was intended for students usually at the high school age, both boys and girls, but it could be read, and enjoyed by anyone.
Writing Style: The writing style of Jodi Picoult is very descriptive.
Description - She writes so that you know exactly what is going on, and what the characters are going through.
Passage – “Sweat broke down his back and on his forehead, and he could feel his cupped hands shifting on the butt of the gun as he aimed, determined to lace the kid with bullets if he had to.” (pg. 23)
Vocabulary:
Word Definition
Sumptuous- “It was a sumptuous room, sure- a room half the kids in Sterling High would have given their right arm to enter.” (pg 8) Extremely costly, rich, luxurious, or magnificent.
Ensconced- “She would be ensconced here for six months.” (pg 13) To establish, or settle.
Passage #1: “In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it. In nineteen minutes you can get revenge” This passage stuck out to me because it was identifying what could be done in so little time. Also it makes me believe that something dramatic will happen in the book, either something great, or something tragic.
Passage #2: “The state championship tournament in hockey began this afternoon, and Matt played right wing. Sterling had won last year, and had every expectation to do it again.” This passage stuck out to me because I can exactly relate to what Matt is going through. My hockey team was also in the state championship this year, and we were expected to win again because we won last year. I also play right wing, the same as Matt.
Theme: The theme of this book is the value of life. No one really knows how valuable life is until someone isn’t able to appreciate it anymore.
Letter Grade: If I were to give this book a letter grade I would give it a B. the only reason that it is not an A is because sometimes during the reading I got a little bored. For example when they do the court cases, yes it was very informational, but it made a book that was a fast read, a little bit slower.
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i think this book sounds amazing. the rivetingplot twist turns from peace to intese murder. the amazing description really shows how the charcters felt and comprehended what was going on.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds great.It seems like a wicked good book to read. the description is what makes it sounds this way.
ReplyDeleteI've read this book and it was completely amazing. Like all of Jodi Picoult's books, it has meaning and the plot surprises you in every chapter. It's a book that you can't put down, and I think everyone should read it. People should see how certain actions affect others, and how it destroys their life.
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ReplyDeleteI have read this book and Jodi Picoult is a well know writer. This book is very interesting. Jodi makes you not able to put it down it was a quick read for me. People need to understand that words hurt and what happened in this book could happen anywhere. I lovedthis book and recommend anyone to read it.
I read My Sister's Keeper this term and absolutely loved it, along with the movie (just a side note). And I fell in love with Picoult's writing style, and the fact that she writes on many controversial topics really grabs my attention. I feel like this book would be a comparison to the Columbine High School incident in 1999, though I could be completely wrong. I think I would enjoy this book just because I love the author.
ReplyDeleteI could see myself enjoying this book because things like this do happen. With things the way they are in the world today things like this happen way to often. there are always people loosing control. This book seems interesting to me because i enjoy stories that are based on true events or could just as easily have happened if they havn't.
ReplyDeleteI agree that nobody understands the value of life until their chance is gone. This does sound like a great book for high school students because of the content. I agree that the first passage is an intense quote because of what can be done in a little amount of time. Anything can happen in nineteen minutes if you really think about it. It is difficult to anticipate a school shooting because the point is to catch people off guard. I would hope that people try to prevent a tragedy, such as this.
ReplyDeleteI read this book for one of my summer reading books a few years ago, and thought it was really good. I liked how the book went through the different time periods of the characters' lives. In my opinion, it made the book more interesting and fun to read. Also, because of the content of the book, I, too, believe that it is a great read for high school students. I would recommend it to any high school student--boy or girl.
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ReplyDeleteI love the author Jodi Picoult, she writes very well. This book is a book that i would love too read. Maybe i will read it for the fourth quarter.