19 MINUTES POST # 3

I'm about 200 pages into the book and its getter better with each page. I have really begun to like how Jodi Picoult switches the time period around in the book. I think that this helps the reader understand more about the story and can help the reader understand the characters more. As I read further into the book I'm learning more about Peter Houghton's personal and family life. We learn a lot more about Peter's relationship with his older brother Joey who died by getting hit by a drunk driver. Because of Jodi Picoult's way of changing the time period and doing throw backs the reader can actually see how Joey acted and thought instead of just trying to imagine him from the reactions and thoughts of others. I'm also learning that Josie and Peter were actually friends or at least casually talked sometimes up until the shooting. One thing that I really want to find out is why Peter "saved" Josie, why he wrote "Let Live" under picture in his school yearbook. I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot of secrets revealed at the trial. I think that the end of this book its going to be very surprising and I'm excited to finish it. But most of all I want to know why Peter did the shooting. I know he was picked on and he was bullied but I think there's a different reason why he did it. 

19 MINUTES post #2

Well as I have continued reading this book I've began to love it more and more. I love Jodi Picoult's writing style, more specifically how she has the time period move around, sometimes the certain chapter you're reading were events that happened 5 years ago or sometimes its just in the present tense. This makes the book even more entertaining. So now that I have read more of the book it is clear that Peter Houghton was the one who did the school shooting. The book has progressed into more of the actual legal part of the book. Peter is charged with 10 counts of murder and 13 counts of attempted murder. His mother Lacy, knew it would be bad but when she finally hears this news she's devastated. Peter's trial will soon began and a lawyer is hired. It is now clear that Josie doesn't remember anything about the shooting. She knows that her boyfriend was one of the kids killed and that she was with him in the locker room at the time but after that she says she doesn't remember what happened. Personally I don't believe her, I think she does remember but for some reason she's pretending not to. I think that it could maybe be because she's trying to help Peter, her old childhood friend. I'm not quite sure why she would want to do this but I'm really excited to see what unfolds. I also find it very interesting that Josie's mother will be the judge in the case. She used to be good friends with Peter's mother and also the fact that it was at her daughter's school makes it even more interesting and more controversial. I hope that Josie will testify in court and say something shocking. Then there will be a lot of drama and Josie's mother will have to deal with it. 

19 MINUTES post #1

For my outside reading this quarter, I chose to read 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I had already read My Sisters Keeper and The Tenth Circle so I was very excited to start reading this book. The first time I heard about 19 Minutes was when I was at camp last summer and a girl in my cabin was reading it. She said it was her favorite book so far she's ever read so I decided to read it when I got back home, unfortunatly I never got around to reading it. Luckily now I get to read it! So far I have read up to page 93 and so much has already happened. Throughout the book the time is constantly changing from present to past and back to present again. I think that this makes the book even more enjoyable and the reader can really start to understand the character because they can see what happened before the main event or climax happened. This book is basically about a small town, Sterling,  in New Hampshire. This small town is suddenly shocked by a devastating school shooting where 10 people end up dead and many more wounded. Josie Cormier and her mother Alex, the judge who will be judging the case in relation to the shooting, seem to be the main characters. There is also Lacy Houghton and her son Peter, the kid who did the shooting, who are also main characters. It seems that Lacy and Alex are best friends or at least used to be when their kids were younger and played together. Also as far as I can tell Josie and Peter are were no longer friends when the shooting happened. It is interesting to see the different points of view and emotions the characters express. I'm really excited to read more and see what happens next.