Nineteen Minutes By Jodi Picoult

Not a kidlit book, but one that I know many teenagers and adults have been reading. I just finished it and WOW. It got me thinking about so many things, and since I have 3 children who will be going to high school someday, it really got me thinking, and scared!

This is the story of what happened in nineteen minutes at Sterling High School. When a boy, who had been bullied all his school days starts a rampage in the school and leaves 10 dead. The story is told in flashbacks and first person accounts of a Judge, her daughter, the boy, his mother and a cop involved in the case. It is a chilling tale, especially for parents because it asks the question, how do you as a parent know if you are doing a good job and how do you know if the actions your children take are because of what you did or did not do. I think that teens reading the book will identify with many of the emotions that are spilled out in the book by Josie (the daughter) and Peter (the boy).

I have never read anything by Jodi Picoult, but I really enjoyed how the story unfolded and how you got different perspectives throughout the book.

I think that because I have children, and I think everyday if I am doing things "right", I was really moved by this book, if not also terrorized by the thought that in an instant things can change, even in the "safe hallways" of my kids school.