Reading Group Guide
Nineteen Minutes
Jodi Picoult
Introduction
In this emotionally charged novel, Jodi Picoult delves beneath
the surface of a small town to explore what it means to be
different in our society.
In Sterling, New Hampshire, seventeen-year-old high school
student Peter Houghton has endured years of verbal and physical
abuse at the hands of his classmates. His best friend, Josie
Cormier, succumbed to peer pressure and now hangs out with the
popular crowd that often instigates the harassment. One final
incident of bullying sends Peter over the edge and leads him to
commit an act of violence that forever changes the lives of
Sterling''s residents.
Even those who were not inside the school that morning find
their lives in an upheaval, including Alex Cormier. The superior
court judge assigned to the Houghton case, Alex -- whose daughter,
Josie, witnessed the events that unfolded -- must decide whether or
not to step down. She''s torn between presiding over the biggest
case of her career and knowing that doing so will cause an even
wider chasm in her relationship with her emotionally fragile
daughter. Josie, meanwhile, claims she can''t remember what
happened in the last fatal minutes of Peter''s rampage. Or can she?
And Peter''s parents, Lacy and Lewis Houghton, ceaselessly examine
the past to see what they might have said or done to compel their
son to such extremes. Nineteen Minutes also features the
return of two of Jodi Picoult''s characters -- defense attorney
Jordan McAfee from The Pact and Salem Falls and
Patrick DuCharme, the intrepid detective introduced in Perfect
Match.
Rich with psychological and social insight, Nineteen
Minutes is a riveting, poignant, and thought-provoking novel
that has at its center a haunting question. Do we ever really know
someone?
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. Alex and Lacy''s friendship comes to an end when they
discover Peter and Josie playing with guns in the Houghton house.
Why does Alex decide that it''s in Josie''s best interest to keep
her away from Peter? What significance is there to the fact that
Alex is the first one to prevent Josie from being friends with
Peter?
2. Alex often has trouble separating her roles as a judge and a
mother. How does this affect her relationship with Josie? Discuss
whether or not Alex''s job is more important to her than being a
mother.
3. A theme throughout the novel is the idea of masks and
personas and pretending to be someone you''re not. To which
characters does this apply, and why?
4. At one point defense attorney Jordan McAfee refers to himself
as a "spin doctor," and he believes that at the end of Peter''s
trial he "will be either reviled or canonized" (250). What is your
view of Jordan? As you were reading the book, did you find it
difficult to remain objective about the judicial system''s standing
that every defendant (no matter how heinous his or her crime) has
the right to a fair trial?
5. Peter was a victim of bullying for twelve years at the hands
of certain classmates, many of whom repeatedly tormented him. But
he also shot and killed students he had never met or who had never
done anything wrong to him. What empathy, if any, did you have for
Peter both before and after the shooting?
6. Josie and Peter were friends until the sixth grade. Is it
understandable that Josie decided not to hang out with Peter in
favor of the popular crowd? Why or why not? How accurate and
believable did you find the author''s depiction of high school peer
pressure and the quest for popularity? Do you believe, as Picoult
suggests, that even the popular kids are afraid that their own
friends will turn on them?
7. Josie admits she often witnessed Matt''s cruelty toward other
students. Why then does it come as such a surprise to Josie when
Matt abuses her verbally and physically? How much did you empathize
with Josie?
8. Regarding Lacy, Patrick notes that "in a different way, this
woman was a victim of her son''s actions, too" (53). How much
responsibility do Lewis and Lacy bear for Peter''s actions? How
about Lewis in particular, who taught his son how to handle guns
and hunt?
9. At one point during Peter''s bullying, Lacy is encouraged by
an elementary school teacher to force Peter to stand up for
himself. She threatens to cancel his play dates with Josie if he
doesn''t fight back. How did you feel, when you read that scene? Do
you blame Lacy for Peter''s future actions because of it? Do you
agree or disagree with the idea that it a parent''s job to teach a
child the skills necessary to defend himself?
10. Discuss the novel''s structure. In what ways do the
alternating narratives between past and present enhance the story?
How do the scenes in the past give you further insight into the
characters and their actions, particularly Peter and Josie?
11. When Patrick arrives at Sterling High after the shooting,
"his entire body began to shake, knowing that for so many students
and parents and citizens today, he had once again been too late"
(24). Why does Patrick blame himself for not preventing an incident
he had no way of knowing was going to happen?
12. Dr. King, an expert witness for the defense, states that
Peter was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result
of chronic victimization. "But a big part of it, too," he adds, "is
the society that created both Peter and those bullies" (409). What
reasons does Dr. King give to support his assertion that society is
partly to blame for Peter''s actions as well as those of the
bullies? Do you agree with this? Why or why not?
12. Why does Josie choose to shoot Matt instead of shooting
Peter? Why does Peter remain silent about Josie''s role in the
shooting? In the end, has justice been satisfactorily dealt to
Peter and to Josie?
13. Discuss the very ending of the novel, which concludes on the
one-year anniversary of the Sterling High shooting. Why do you
suppose the author chose to leave readers with an image of Patrick
and Alex, who is pregnant? In what way does the final image of the
book predict the future?
14. Shootings have occurred at a number of high schools across
the country over the last several years. Did Nineteen
Minutes make you think about these incidents in a more
immediate way than reading about them in the newspaper or seeing
coverage on television? How so? In what ways did the novel affect
your opinion of the parties generally involved in school shootings
-- perpetrators, victims, fellow students, teachers, parents,
attorneys, and law enforcement officials?
15. What do you think the author is proposing as the root of the
problem of school violence? What have you heard, in the media and
in political forums, as solutions? Do you think they will work? Why
or why not?
Tips to Enhance Your Book Club
Watch Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore''s Academy
Award-winning documentary, in which the filmmaker explores the
roots of America''s predilection for gun violence.
Have a roundtable discussion on the nonfiction aspects raised in
the book, such as the role of defense attorneys, peer pressure and
the quest for popularity, victimization and bullying, and how
school shootings are portrayed in the media.
Read "10 Myths about School Shootings"
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15111438/). Which ones apply to Peter
and other characters in the book?
View a timeline of worldwide school shootings since 1996 at:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777958.html
For information about school bullying, visit the website of the
National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center at
www.safeyouth.org, as well as www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov, a site
designed by and for kids and teens.
For resources on school violence and prevention, visit:
www.whyfiles.org, www.crf-usa.org/violence, www.ncpc.org/,
www.keepschoolssafe.org/,
www.kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/bullying/school_violence,
www.ncdjjdp.org/cpsv/,
http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/schoolviolence/.
Visit teenadvice.about.com for articles, fact sheets, crisis
hotlines, web links, and additional resources on peer pressure,
violence and bullying, and other topics.