Nineteen Minutes
Encyclopedia
Nineteen Minutes, published on March 9, 2007, is a novel by Jodi Picoult
. It was her first book to debut at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list
.This book is about a school shooting, and focuses on the events leading up to and following the incident.
, tracking the lives of a number of characters on an "ordinary day." The characters include Alex Cormier, a superior court
judge; her daughter Josie, a junior in high school; Lacy, Lewis, and Peter Houghton; Detective Patrick Ducharme; and several victims-to-be.
At the local high school, Sterling High, the story follows a routine day of students in classes, at the gym, and in the cafeteria. Suddenly, a loud bang is heard from the parking lot, which turns out to be a bomb set off in Matt Royston's car. As the students are distracted by the noise, gun shots are fired. When Patrick, the only detective on the Sterling police force, arrives at Sterling High, he searches the school to seek out the gunman, who is alleged to be a student. After passing several dead and wounded victims, Patrick traps and arrests the shooter, Peter Houghton, in the locker room, where he finds two students, Josie Cormier and Matt Royston, lying on the floor surrounded in blood. While Matt is dead, having been the only victim shot twice, Josie is not seriously injured, but only shocked: she cannot remember what happened.
The shooting kills ten people (nine students and one teacher) and wounds many other people.
Throughout the book, time flashes back and forth between events before and after the shooting. In the past, the reader learns that Peter and Josie were once close friends. Peter was frequently the target of severe bullying at school, and Josie often stuck up for him. The friends slowly drifted apart as they got older: Josie joined the popular crowd in order to protect her own interests, seeing her relationship to Peter as embarrassing. The story pictures Peter as an outcast at home as well; Peter believes his older brother Joey is favored by their parents. Joey is a popular straight-A student and athlete, but feels it necessary to ridicule Peter to protect his reputation, even fabricating a story that Peter was adopted. When Joey is killed in a car accident in 2006, Lacy and Lewis Houghton are too upset to pay attention to their remaining son, causing a bigger rift between Peter and his parents.
In their sophomore year, Josie begins dating Matt, a popular jock who leads his friends Drew Girard and John Eberhard in bullying Peter. Matt often calls Peter "homo" and "fag," leading Peter to question his sexual orientation. The bullying intensifies once Matt begins dating Josie, in his possessive efforts to keep her away from other boys. On one occasion, Peter approaches Josie after school to try talking to her. Matt beats him up, leaving Peter humiliated in front of the school.
The flashbacks also reveal several subplots: the difficult relationship between Josie and her single mother Alex, Alex's dilemma of being a judge and a mother, Peter's escape from bullying into to the world of video games, Josie's fear of falling out of the popular crowd and her suicide back-up plan when she does, Matt's abusive behavior toward Josie, Josie's pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage, as well as Lewis Houghton's hunting lessons with his son Peter.
One month before the shooting, Peter realizes that he has feelings for Josie, and sends her an email expressing his love. Courtney Ignatio reads this email before Josie and has Drew forward it to the entire school. Courtney then convinces Peter that Josie likes him. Peter asks Josie to join him later during lunch, only to suffer public humiliation as Matt pulls down Peter's pants and exposes his genitals to a cafeteria full of students, which is probably the event that triggered Peter's psychotic breakdown and the ensuing shooting.
After the shooting, Peter is sent to jail while the trial proceeds. The probable cause hearing is waived as Peter admits to killing ten people and wounding nineteen others. Jordan, Peter's defense attorney, uses battered person syndrome
caused by severe bullying and abuse as a basis to convince the jury that Peter’s actions were justified as a result of his suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder
. Jordan argues that he was in a dissociative state at the time of the shooting. In the final stage of the trial, Josie reveals that she was the one who shot Matt the first time after grabbing a gun that fell out of Peter's bag. Peter later fired the fatal second shot. Peter promised her he wouldn't tell anyone what she had done, and he kept this promise, happy to have Josie as his friend again.
Peter is convicted of eight counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder (manslaughter
) and is sentenced to life in prison. A month afterward, Peter commits suicide by stuffing a sock into his throat.
At the end of the book, one year from the date of the massacre, Josie has received a five-year sentence for accessory of manslaughter and is regularly visited in jail by her mother. Throughout the book, Josie never told the whole story, instead repeating, "I can't remember." When Josie admits to killing Matt, Peter's sentence is reduced. Alex and Patrick, who are expecting their first child, walk the halls of the high school. Sterling High has been extensively remodeled after the shooting. The cafeteria, the gym and locker room where the massacre took place have been replaced by a large glass atrium with a memorial to the dead in the center, a row of ten white chairs bolted to the floor. A plaque declares the building "A Safe Harbor."
, suicide, video game violence, single parenthood and communication barriers between adolescents and adults.
The Associated Press
acknowledged that although Peter's guilt cannot be in doubt from a legal perspective, it is hard for readers to know where to put the blame as the story unfolds. Rocky Mountain News
agreed, stating that while the beginning shooting scene makes it "painfully clear who the victims and killer are. As the novel unfolds, Picoult succeeds in lifting those assumptions up for scrutiny, until villains and victims seem to blend into a motley jumble of alliances and rejection."
The Free Lance-Star mentioned that Nineteen Minutes created a two-sided story that helps readers understand everything about the school shooting, which is more than what normal media coverage will provide about this type of tragedy. The New York Times praised Picoult's writing, commenting that she "writes articulately and clearly, making her all too much of a rarity among popular authors." The Washington Post called the book not only a thriller that is "complete with dismaying carnage, urgent discoveries and 11th-hour revelations" , but also a source of serious moral questions about relationships between children and adult, and among children themselves. The Boston Globe considered Nineteen Minutes "an insightful deconstruction of youthful alienation, of the shattering repercussions of bullying, and the disturbing effects of benign neglect."
An ambiguous point in the story is the identity of the author of the handwritten journal entries at the start of the book chapters, with New York Times saying this writer may or may not be Peter, although "it doesn't sound like him", and Hippo Press
analyzing that whether or not the writer is identified "doesn’t matter"; the author maybe either Josie or Peter, and the point is that the diary pieces "provide insight into the workings of the teenage mind", showing that they are "not all that different." Peter, the shooter, is also noted by USA Today
as a lonely bullied student more similar to the offender in Heath High School shooting
in Paducah, Kentucky
than the offenders in Columbine High School massacre (Both shooting incidents are mentioned in the story and used by Picoult as researching materials).
Jodi Picoult
Jodi Lynn Picoult is an American author. She was awarded the New England Bookseller Award for fiction in 2003. Picoult currently has some 14 million copies of her books in print worldwide.-Early life and education:...
. It was her first book to debut at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
.This book is about a school shooting, and focuses on the events leading up to and following the incident.
Plot summary
The story begins on March 6, 2007 in the small town of Sterling, New HampshireNew Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, tracking the lives of a number of characters on an "ordinary day." The characters include Alex Cormier, a superior court
Superior court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...
judge; her daughter Josie, a junior in high school; Lacy, Lewis, and Peter Houghton; Detective Patrick Ducharme; and several victims-to-be.
At the local high school, Sterling High, the story follows a routine day of students in classes, at the gym, and in the cafeteria. Suddenly, a loud bang is heard from the parking lot, which turns out to be a bomb set off in Matt Royston's car. As the students are distracted by the noise, gun shots are fired. When Patrick, the only detective on the Sterling police force, arrives at Sterling High, he searches the school to seek out the gunman, who is alleged to be a student. After passing several dead and wounded victims, Patrick traps and arrests the shooter, Peter Houghton, in the locker room, where he finds two students, Josie Cormier and Matt Royston, lying on the floor surrounded in blood. While Matt is dead, having been the only victim shot twice, Josie is not seriously injured, but only shocked: she cannot remember what happened.
The shooting kills ten people (nine students and one teacher) and wounds many other people.
Throughout the book, time flashes back and forth between events before and after the shooting. In the past, the reader learns that Peter and Josie were once close friends. Peter was frequently the target of severe bullying at school, and Josie often stuck up for him. The friends slowly drifted apart as they got older: Josie joined the popular crowd in order to protect her own interests, seeing her relationship to Peter as embarrassing. The story pictures Peter as an outcast at home as well; Peter believes his older brother Joey is favored by their parents. Joey is a popular straight-A student and athlete, but feels it necessary to ridicule Peter to protect his reputation, even fabricating a story that Peter was adopted. When Joey is killed in a car accident in 2006, Lacy and Lewis Houghton are too upset to pay attention to their remaining son, causing a bigger rift between Peter and his parents.
In their sophomore year, Josie begins dating Matt, a popular jock who leads his friends Drew Girard and John Eberhard in bullying Peter. Matt often calls Peter "homo" and "fag," leading Peter to question his sexual orientation. The bullying intensifies once Matt begins dating Josie, in his possessive efforts to keep her away from other boys. On one occasion, Peter approaches Josie after school to try talking to her. Matt beats him up, leaving Peter humiliated in front of the school.
The flashbacks also reveal several subplots: the difficult relationship between Josie and her single mother Alex, Alex's dilemma of being a judge and a mother, Peter's escape from bullying into to the world of video games, Josie's fear of falling out of the popular crowd and her suicide back-up plan when she does, Matt's abusive behavior toward Josie, Josie's pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage, as well as Lewis Houghton's hunting lessons with his son Peter.
One month before the shooting, Peter realizes that he has feelings for Josie, and sends her an email expressing his love. Courtney Ignatio reads this email before Josie and has Drew forward it to the entire school. Courtney then convinces Peter that Josie likes him. Peter asks Josie to join him later during lunch, only to suffer public humiliation as Matt pulls down Peter's pants and exposes his genitals to a cafeteria full of students, which is probably the event that triggered Peter's psychotic breakdown and the ensuing shooting.
After the shooting, Peter is sent to jail while the trial proceeds. The probable cause hearing is waived as Peter admits to killing ten people and wounding nineteen others. Jordan, Peter's defense attorney, uses battered person syndrome
Battered person syndrome
Battered person syndrome is a physical and psychological condition that is classified as ICD-9 code "Battered person syndrome" NEC. The condition is the basis for the battered woman defense that has been used in cases of physically and psychologically abused women who have killed their abusers...
caused by severe bullying and abuse as a basis to convince the jury that Peter’s actions were justified as a result of his suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
. Jordan argues that he was in a dissociative state at the time of the shooting. In the final stage of the trial, Josie reveals that she was the one who shot Matt the first time after grabbing a gun that fell out of Peter's bag. Peter later fired the fatal second shot. Peter promised her he wouldn't tell anyone what she had done, and he kept this promise, happy to have Josie as his friend again.
Peter is convicted of eight counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder (manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
) and is sentenced to life in prison. A month afterward, Peter commits suicide by stuffing a sock into his throat.
At the end of the book, one year from the date of the massacre, Josie has received a five-year sentence for accessory of manslaughter and is regularly visited in jail by her mother. Throughout the book, Josie never told the whole story, instead repeating, "I can't remember." When Josie admits to killing Matt, Peter's sentence is reduced. Alex and Patrick, who are expecting their first child, walk the halls of the high school. Sterling High has been extensively remodeled after the shooting. The cafeteria, the gym and locker room where the massacre took place have been replaced by a large glass atrium with a memorial to the dead in the center, a row of ten white chairs bolted to the floor. A plaque declares the building "A Safe Harbor."
Characters
- Peter Houghton: The male protagonist. Josie's ex-best friend. He is the school shooter.
- Josie Cormier: The female protagonist. Once Peter's best friend, she stops hanging out with him in middle school for the popular crowd. She is Matt's girlfriend
- Alex Cormier: Josie's mother. The judge assigned to Peter's case, until Josie is called in as a wittness.
- Patrick Ducharme: Detective on the Sterling Police Force and Alex's love interest. He is a recurring character, appeared before in Perfect MatchPerfect Match (novel)Perfect Match is a novel by Jodi Picoult. It deals with family issues and crime, primarily child sexual abuse and murder. It is one of Picoult's only novels not to follow her typical back-and-forth flashback format.-Plot summary:...
. Is the head detective on the Sterling High case. At the end of the book, he and Alex are romantically involved and expecting their first child
- Lacy Houghton: Peter's mother. She is a midwife, and struggles to understand her son's actions. Also, when she discovers Joey was a heroin addict, she disposes of the evidence, as she cannot bring herself to accept her deceased son was anything other than perfect.
- Lewis Houghton: Peter's Father. A happy economist and college lecturer. He owns many guns in his house and frequently goes hunting. Lewis tried to introduce Peter to hunting, and often took him on trips, but Peter never liked the sport. When Peter was in jail, he never visited him, instead, he went to the grave of the victims of the shooting. It is revealed that he favored Joey over Peter, but he only acknowledges it at the end.
- Matt Royston: Josie's boyfriend. He is the most popular boy in school and is an aggressive hockey player. Matt and his friend Drew always would bully Peter from kindergarten, pulling his pants down and calling him names. He is very abusive to Josie, causing her to break her leg one time. The final victim in the shooting, and the only victim shot twice.
- Jordan McAfee: Peter's defense attorney. He is a recurring character, appeared before in The PactThe PactThe Pact is a novel by bestselling author Jodi Picoult about a possible suicide pact between two teenage lovers.-Plot summary:"Chris and Emily, teenagers from the same neighborhood and very close families, have been as close as siblings since birth, but as teenagers their relationship develops...
and Salem FallsSalem FallsSalem Falls is a 2001 novel by Jodi Picoult about what happens to a person when he is given a label and not allowed to escape it.-Plot summary:Jack is a highly educated high school teacher at a private school for girls in New England...
. Has a baby son and an older son Thomas (also appears in the Pact and Salem Falls) and is married to Selena McAfee.
- Selena McAfee: Jordan's wife who assists with her husband's case and one of the few people who are sympathetic towards Peter. She appeared before in the same books as her husband did, along with Jordan's child from his first marriage, Thomas.
- Drew Girard: One of the popular kids and Matt's best friend. He, along with Matt, would constantly bully Peter and is considered a secondary antagonist.
- John Eberhard: One of the popular kids who was wounded in the head during the shooting. He is left with severe brain damage, and possesses the mind of a very small child.
- Brady Price: Another popular kid who dated Haley Weaver. He and Haley were considered "The Brangelina of Sterling High." He was injured protecting Haley in the shooting.
- Haley Weaver: Girlfriend of Brady Price and Sterling High senior. She and Brady were considered the "it" couple. She was badly injured in the shooting, resulting in many plastic surgery operations on her face.
- Derek Markowitz: Peter's only friend after Josie leaves him for the popular crowd. He and Peter met when their mothers forced them to play soccer together and became friends since. Derek enjoys making computer games, several were co-created with Peter.
- Ed McCabe: A closeted gay math teacher who ends up dying during the shooting. He offered support for Peter, who was confused about his sexuality during the book.
- "Courtney Ignatio": Popular girl who hangs out with Josie after she and Peter have a falling out. Courtney dies after being shot in the chest in the shooting. She badly bullied Peter; convincing him that Josie still had feelings for him and then publicly humiliating him.
- Joey Houghton: Peter's dead brother. Joey was the "all American son", good grades, great athlete, etc. He was killed when he got hit by a car driven by a drunk driver, despite the fact that he was well liked, Peter was shown to utterly despise him. We also find that after his death his mother finds out that he was using heroin.
- Logan Rourke: Josie's biological father. Married, and not interested in Josie's life.
Victims
In order of death:- Maddie Shaw, Josie's friend and a popular student.
- Courtney Ignatio, Josie's friend and a popular student, she and Matt Royston were the catalysts that caused the shooting.
- Whit Obermeyer Shot in the hallways
- Topher McPhee, the school's pot dealer.
- Grace Murtaugh, daughter of the town's minister.
- Kaitlyn Harvey, a freshman with down syndrome.
- Edward McCabe, the only teacher killed and Peter's former math teacher.
- Noah James, senior and a jock.
- Justin Friedman, fluent in Elvish and unathletic
- Matt Royston, a popular jock, Josie's boyfriend.
Reception
The book received generally favorable reviews by critics, for the writing, character development, plot twists, and the moral issues raised, including peer pressure, popularity, self-image, school bullying, betrayal and deception, sexual orientation doubt, teen dating violenceTeen dating violence
-What is teen dating violence?:Teen dating violence is defined as the physical, sexual, or psychological/emotional violence within a dating relationship. According to the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the prevalence of teen dating violence is often misunderstood...
, suicide, video game violence, single parenthood and communication barriers between adolescents and adults.
The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
acknowledged that although Peter's guilt cannot be in doubt from a legal perspective, it is hard for readers to know where to put the blame as the story unfolds. Rocky Mountain News
Rocky Mountain News
The Rocky Mountain News was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As of March 2006, the Monday-Friday circulation was 255,427...
agreed, stating that while the beginning shooting scene makes it "painfully clear who the victims and killer are. As the novel unfolds, Picoult succeeds in lifting those assumptions up for scrutiny, until villains and victims seem to blend into a motley jumble of alliances and rejection."
The Free Lance-Star mentioned that Nineteen Minutes created a two-sided story that helps readers understand everything about the school shooting, which is more than what normal media coverage will provide about this type of tragedy. The New York Times praised Picoult's writing, commenting that she "writes articulately and clearly, making her all too much of a rarity among popular authors." The Washington Post called the book not only a thriller that is "complete with dismaying carnage, urgent discoveries and 11th-hour revelations" , but also a source of serious moral questions about relationships between children and adult, and among children themselves. The Boston Globe considered Nineteen Minutes "an insightful deconstruction of youthful alienation, of the shattering repercussions of bullying, and the disturbing effects of benign neglect."
An ambiguous point in the story is the identity of the author of the handwritten journal entries at the start of the book chapters, with New York Times saying this writer may or may not be Peter, although "it doesn't sound like him", and Hippo Press
Hippo Press
HippoPress is the publisher of the free weekly newspaper Hippo, based in Manchester, New Hampshire. Hippo, which is independently owned by Jody Reese, Jeff Rapsis and Dan Szczesny, started in January 2001. In 2004 it launched a second edition in Nashua and in 2005 it started a third in Concord...
analyzing that whether or not the writer is identified "doesn’t matter"; the author maybe either Josie or Peter, and the point is that the diary pieces "provide insight into the workings of the teenage mind", showing that they are "not all that different." Peter, the shooter, is also noted by USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
as a lonely bullied student more similar to the offender in Heath High School shooting
Heath High School shooting
The Heath High School shooting occurred at Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky, United States, on Monday, December 1, 1997. Fourteen-year-old Michael Carneal opened fire on a group of praying students, killing three and injuring five more....
in Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...
than the offenders in Columbine High School massacre (Both shooting incidents are mentioned in the story and used by Picoult as researching materials).