Nineteen Minutes: Book Review

Well it's been a few days, but I honestly haven't had much to post about lately. We had a fun night at Lodo's and the Rockies game on Saturday with Nick and Carlene. We had great seats and were among KU people, which is always awesome. Sunday, Matt and I were back at work. I didn't stay as long as I planned because the building was uncomfortably warm. I don't think they keep the air on during weekends, which makes sense because not many people are there. I went home after about 2.5 hours, went for a run and did laundry, which was way more productive than I would have been at work in the heat.
I really wanted to comment tonight on a book I've been reading. It's called Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. She is one of my favorite authors. This book started off almost exactly like The Pact so I was a little bored at the beginning, as I felt like I had read it all already and knew where the book was going. To give a brief premise of Nineteen Minutes, it is mostly about a kid named Peter who is tormented and bullied every day at school by "cool" kids. He doesn't fit in anywhere and only has one "friend" to talk to. He gets driven over the edge and takes guns to school where he shoots and kills many of the kids who have bullied him. The book covers all of the events leading up to that day and also covers the trial and emotions that occur after the shooting from many different angles.
There is no way I thought I would actually be on Peter's side after what he did. He seemed so cold and uncaring at the beginning. But as the book begins to detail all of the constant humiliation he endures and the feelings he encounters, it really played on my emotions. Here is a kid who doesn't know who he is in any facet (he even goes to a gay bar because he thinks may be attracted to men) and he has to try and figure it out while the whole school taunts him and beats him up. He gets average grades and has no athletic talent so he has no "group" to associtate with.
Now, I don't think it was okay for him to take guns to school and shoot people in retaliation, but the kid really didn't have anyone to turn to for help. He didn't know how else to cope. His parents were still reeling from the death of his "perfect" older brother and his one childhood friend has abandoned him for the popular crowd. He gets fired from his job. His teachers turn a blind eye when he gets bullied, so he literally has to take all this weight on himself. Nothing can go right for this kid!
I think what got to me the most was when Peter realized that despite all the pain he caused to the students and families through the shooting, that things hadn't really changed and he would still never fit in to their world. I cried and cried at that part.
After reading this book, I realized how lucky I was to have so many wonderful friends and family to turn to when things got rough in my life. I was lucky to never have to endure "bullying" at school. I do remember one time in junior high, a kid handed me a razor he had fashioned out of notebook paper. I didn't really get it at the time, but I hadn't started shaving my legs and I had some peach fuzz on my upper lip. When I figured it out, I was mortified because I realized they'd been laughing about it forever. Kids can be so cruel, and I admit that its much easier being the one to tease than the one being teased. Nineteen Minutes really stressed that point. I know I did my share on the teasing end as well, unfortunately.
I would recommend this book, and I'm not usually one for law thrillers. It is a pretty standard Jodi Picoult style book, so it traps your emotions and gets you really wrapped up in the drama.
There...my first official book review! Next up, I'm going to read the Twilight series that everyone is raving about by Stephanie Meyer. I ordered them off Amazon and they are on my bookshelf waiting to be read!