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Nineteen Minutes is a book you can get lost in. Much of the horror that the nation experienced after the Columbine shootings has dissipated with time, an
d Picoult’s plot, with its many similarities, can bring that horror rushing back to mind. This is a multidimensional story with vivid characters, a story that propels the reader into the pain and sensibilities of everyone involved. and stimulates the consideration of important questions. Does American culture foster violence? Is violence ever justified? When victims retaliate, who is to blame? What is, or isn’t, happening within our families? What is the nature of friendship?
Those who view Picoult’s depictions of high school life as stereotypic are sadly mistaken. The subculture is cruel, affecting all students, and this is nothing new. Reading Nineteen Minutes is not a comfortable experience, but it is a memorable one.
Filed under: Book Review | Tagged: books, fiction
