Jodi Piccoult
No rating but a must read
WOW is all I can say. In light of recent events ,I hesitated to continue reading this book. I actually picked it up Sunday afternoon ( April 15) and read the first few pages on the bus the morning of ( April 16). I’m not sure if I can accurately give a review of this book, because the wound is raw ( so to speak) and because I enjoyed the book ,because it gave me a little insight and I actually cold look at Seung-Hui Cho as a person ( because regardless of how it feels- he was) or see his side of things if he was bullied.
In Nineteen Minutees, Jodi Piccoult takes us behind the scenes of a FICTIONAL* High School shooting from several points of view- the mother of the shooter, a survivor, the judge hearing the case and the story leading up to the shooter from the shooter himself. Two of the most chilling passages in this novel relate to how nineteen minutes could completely change everything. (Most of us know that it can actually take a lot less.) I agree that sometimes it seemed nerd vs. jocks or stereotyped the high school popularity heirachy, but in the end, people due to get hurt and some people do not ( cannot or won't be able to) look back on "that time" of their life and smile.
What I can say about this book is that it is true Jodi Piccoult. I can’t say it’s her finest because it my opinion that honor is reserved for "My Sister's Keeper". This is a great novel and the ending is one of the best (not in how it actually ends, but the suspense and how Ms. Piccoult got us to that ending). I can also say that this book is a great improvement over her last book The Tenth Circle, which I did not enjoy (no review- I was recovering from a tonsillectomy) but this book cemented Jodi Piccoult on my list of favorite authors. Ms. Piccoult tells all sides of the story with raw emotion, but yet a side of tenderness. It was real hard for me to read at times (due to recent events), I even put it down a few times, but I’m glad I picked it up and finished it. IT was actually quite healing.
I’ll probably read it again in a few months and update my review here. As for now, it gave me ( as a an American, a university employee,) as much closure as I will ever get.
Verdict: A Must read. Falls in my Jodi Piccoult spectrum right between "My Sisters Keeper" (# 1) and The Pact ( a tie).
* She actually had to take down her website forum because crazy Idiots actually tried to BLAME and slander her name and this book for this senseless act.
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