my take: When I asked a young friend what she likes to read, without hestitation she answered “anything by Jodi Picoult.” Hmmm. I’ve actually never read anything by Jodi Picoult. I think there was a general buzz about My Sister’s Keeper when that came out but I was busy reading other things.
She suggested starting with Nineteen because it was one of her favorites. She’s reading through Picoult’s works much like I am reading through Ann Patchett’s works.
What can happen in 19 minutes? The story opens with lots of options. The bulk of the novel is centered around the 19 minutes that one character uses to shoot his school mates. His mother, the girl who once was his friend, her mother, the shooter … as each character’s story is shared the reader gets the gut-wrenching insider perspective of what it might be like to live through this event.
It’s a fast and riveting read. It reminded me very much of Kristina Riggle’s The Whole Golden World. Which is a good thing. I can see why many people are drawn to these authors … current events, believable characters, quick read. I had one of my college boys read it to get his take … he thought it was good, but not as great as say “Cloud Atlas” … which makes me think of wines … lots of good ones and people have different palates. It’s fun to try all varieties. And we all tend to go back to our favorites. (That said, I’ll probably try another Jodi Picoult in the future when I need a vacation read.)
my source: Hillary ~ fabulous college girl dating said college boy
my verdict: good beach-y read
abookchick.com 
I'm not capable of reading a Jodi Piccoult book without a box of kleenex on hand. I've only read a handful of them because I tend to pick other books instead usually, I think because I know there is usually a pretty depressing element to the storyline. I do think she's a great storyteller and you can always count on a good twist that you didn't necessarily expect. Nineteen Minutes is probably my favorite that I've read so far.
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