Nineteen Minutes

It's hard to believe that another month has passed and the holidays are behind us. Happy New Year to my blogging friends. At January's book club meeting Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult was discussed. The book brought about some very strong feelings from members. One member had a first hand experience with bullying.

So without getting too far ahead of myself for those of you not familiar with the book. Nineteen Minutes begins with a high school shooting and goes back and forth from current day (what's happening with the trial and the kids) to what happened to them growing up. The 'back' brings in lots of background information on characters and creates character development. Basically, Peter, the shooter, was a bullying victim from his first day of kindergarten through high school. He was bullied on a daily basis. In my opinion, the specific incidents were extreme. Peter's attorney said that Peter reacted because of post traumatic stress disorder.

What I liked about the book was Picoult's method of fairness. Picoult writes the book so the reader is able to understand each character's point of view. Not only that, her ending is believable.

One of our members felt this book should be required reading by parents and educators. I would like to add that it should be required reading for those that bully others. So that they may realize their effect on their victims. And that 'victim' is not an exaggerated word.

One of the other major topics discussed was the impact of violent computer games and movies on children. We all know the issues involved with that. Another tangent that evolved from that is the fact that parents allow their children to watch and/or play those games. Which further evolves the discussion into the role of parents. And that can be a major discussion.

So that's where this book led us. It is a great discussion book. Please feel free to add any comments to my blog. A Fine Balance is the next book. Join us on Thursday, February 21 at the library or check out the blog after the meeting. Remember it's 'The Thursday Night Book Club' at the library.