Nineteen Minutes

Bibliographic Information: Picoult, J. (2007). Nineteen minutes. New York: Atria Books.

Plot Summary: Peter Houghton, a seventeen-year old student, just opened fire at his Sterling, New Hampshire high school, killing nine students, one teacher, and wounding several others.  At the scene of the arrest, two bodies lay in blood- Josie Cormier, and Matt Reynolds.  Matt, is dead, but Josie, suffering from shock, can’t remember anything.  The novel progresses between flashbacks and the aftermath of the shooting.  We learn that Peter and Josie used to be close friends, but as they grew up, Peter suffered at the hands of bullies, and Josie gravitated towards the popular crowd.  When Matt and Josie started dating her sophomore year, Matt focused a lot of his bullying on Peter, calling him “fag,” beating him up, and pulling his pants down in front of the entire cafeteria.  Peter’s home life didn’t help his situation.  His parents were still mourning the loss of Peter’s brother, a popular, straight-A student who made Peter’s life a living hell.  Peter’s homicidal switch flipped the morning he turned on his computer and accidentally opened the email he sent to Josie confessing his love to her-an email that was sent around school turning him into a laughing stock.  That morning, he took out his revenge on those who mistreated him.  

Critical Evaluation: One technique Jodi Picoult successfully utilizes in Nineteen MInutes  is flashback.  The story begins when Peter Houghton kills ten people on a shooting rampage at his high school.  The subsequent chapter alternate between flashbacks and the aftermath of the shooting.  In each flashback we learn a little more about the characters, like how Josie and Peter used to be close friends.  We learn about the complexity of Josie and her mother Amy’s relationship, and start to understand why they are so distant.  We learn about Peter’s own troubled life at home dealing with parents still mourning the death of his brother, and about how his brother mistreated him.  We learn about the dynamics in Josie and Matt’s relationship, and we learn about the motivation behind Peter’s horrific act of violence.  Through these flashbacks we start to feel a little sympathy for Peter because of all the unkindness he experienced, although it doesn’t justify his course of action.  Picoult also does a great job resolving her story in an unexpected way.

Reader’s Annotation: In nineteen minutes Peter Houghton changed the lives of the people in his community.  

Information about the author: Jodi Picoult has a huge repertoire of successful novels- twenty three to be exact.  She studied creative writing at Princeton, received a master’s in Education from Harvard, and worked as a technical writer, copywriter, editor, and 8th grade English teacher.  

    Picoult has received numerous literary awards for her writing, four of her books have been made into television movies, and one, My Sister’s Keeper, was made into a full-length film released in 2009.  In 2012, Picoult released Between the Lines, her first YA novel co-written with her daughter, Samantha Van Leer (Picoult, n.d.).   

Genre: Fiction

Curriculum Ties: English (literature), Psychology

Booktalking ideas (one or two):

1. Peter’s perspective.

2. “News report” about the shooting.

Reading level/Interest age: 15+

Challenge Issues: This novel contains violence, murder, sex, bullying, and some strong language.  

To defend challenged material I would:

1.    Read/watch/listen to the material to become familiar with the content.

2.    Familiarize myself with the Arizona Common Core curriculum standards http://www.azed.gov/azcommoncore/teacher/ to defend how the material can support the learning of these standards.

3.    Refer to the Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

4.    Refer to the collection policy of my library.

5.    Collect reviews from staff/students/patrons who have used the material

Why I included this book:  I included this novel because Jodi Picoult has written over 20 novels that have all been very successful.  Nineteen Minutes discusses a lot of teen issues many young adult readers can relate to: bullying, high school relationships, complex parent-child relationships, and revenge.  

References:

Picoult, J. (n.d.). About Jodi Picoult. Jodi Picoult. Retrieved 7 May 2013 from

    http://jodipicoult.com/JodiPicoult.html