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Ashton Himes

Mrs. Cramer

College Comp 1 Period 1

9 February 2018

Pushed to the Point

Since 2013, there has been a total of 284 school shootings. (Mosendz.) The book 19

minutes is written by Jodi Picoult. The story takes place on March 6, 2007 in a small town in

New Hampshire. (Picoult 3) On the first page, the story talks about all the things you can do in

19 minutes, then goes to tracking the lives of several characters on an ordinary day following a

normal routine day. (Picoult 3) Then suddenly a loud bang is heard from the parking lot. (Picoult

3) While the students are distracted by the noise, that’s when the gunshots are fired. (Picoult 3)

The main characters include Alex and Josie Cormier, Lacy, Lewis, and Peter Houghton,

Detective Patrick Ducharme, and several victims-to-be. (Picoult 4) The book 19 minutes includes

realistic characters along with a realistic plot.

The first realistic character was one of the main characters, Josie Cormier. Josie is a

junior in high school and the daughter of one of the other main characters, Alex Cormier.

(Picoult 37) The book starts with the Josie deciding whether to commit suicide or not. (Picoult

69 ) Josie compares her life to a room with no door or windows. (Picoult 70) She also states she

feels like she is someone she doesn’t want to be. (Picoult 67) She also talks about how she is in

love with her boyfriend and how he makes her head spin with seasons. (Picoult 54) Just like any

other high school girl, Josie has her insecurities. She loves that her boyfriend, Matt Royston, is

infatuated with her. (Picoult 65) She loves when he walks down the hall with her, when all the
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guys stared at her, she felt like she was on top of the world. (Picoult 129) Josie, is just like most

high school girls, she has her own problems with school and family.

Another realistic character in the book was Peter Houghton. Peter is the son of on another

one of the main characters, Lacy Houghton, who is also Alex Cormier previous good friend.

(Picoult 32) Peter is also the fifteen-year-old boy who decides to take a gun into the school and

shoots and kills 10 people, including one teacher and nine students, and wounds numerous.

(Picoult 39) The reader learns that in the past Peter and Josie use to be friends along with their

mothers. (Picoult 49) The reader also learns Peter was bullied by two of Matt's good friends,

Drew Girard and John Eberhard. (Picoult 76) Once Josie and Matt start dating, the bullying of

Peter gets worse. (Picoult 30) Peter is also like any other student. Bullying happens whether it's

seen it or not. Unfortunately, there are bad consequences that come from bullying like suicide

and a situation like this, a school shooting.

Transitioning to the plot of the book, the plot was realistic. The United States have had

284 school shootings in the past 6 years. (Mosendz.) A situation like this easily could happen

anywhere and probably still does. At the local high school, it's just an ordinary day. (Picoult 50)

Kids are in classes, in the gym, and the cafeteria. (Picoult 96) Then out of nowhere a loud noise

is heard from the parking lot which turns out to be a bomb the shooter puts in Matt Royston's car

to distract everyone. (Picoult 45) When the Sterling police force arrives at the school they start

searching the school to find the gunman, who happens to be a student. (Picoult 95) There are

situations like this that happen around the world way more than they should.

Also, throughout the book time flashes back and forth before and after the shooting.

(Picoult 82) The reader learns that Peter and Josie were close friends when they were little

(Picoult74) But as they grew up, Peter and Josie drifted apart. (Picoult 76) As Peter grows up he
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becomes an easy target for the bullies at school. (Picoult 42) Surprisingly, Josie stuck up for him

for a while. (Picoult 45) In Josie's and Peter's sophomore year the bullying gets worse once Josie

and Matt start dating. (Picoult 57) Matt is possessive when it comes to Josie. (Picoult 98) He

tries to keep Josie away from other boys, then when Peter approaches Josie after school and tries

talking to her, Matt beats him up. (Picoult 50) The flashbacks in the book also reveal several

subplots that affect the main plot. (Picoult.) For example, Peter escapes the bullying by playing

video games all the time. (Picoult 76) Also, Josie's fear of falling out of the popular crowd and

when she does she has a suicide plan. (Picoult 56) Another example is Matt's abusive behavior

toward Josie and Josie's pregnancy and miscarriage. (Picoult 90) An important one flashback is

Lewis Houghton's hunting lessons with Peter. (Picoult 90) All these subplots could easily happen

in an everyday life and lead to other things like in the story.

The book 19 minutes includes realistic characters along with a realistic plot. The main

characters are just like any other people. The main characters include Alex and Josie Cormier,

Lacy, Lewis, and Peter Houghton, Detective Patrick Ducharme, and several victims-to-be.

(Picoult 89) The plot is also realistic. This is a situation that the US has faced multiple times in

the last 6 years. (Mosendz.) The story starts by tracking the lives of several characters on an

ordinary day following a normal routine day. (Picoult 89) Then suddenly a loud bang is heard

from the parking lot. (Picoult 89) While the students are distracted by the noise, that’s when the

gunshots are fired. (Picoult 89) The main characters include Alex and Josie Cormier, Lacy,

Lewis, and Peter Houghton, Detective Patrick Ducharme, and several victims-to-be. (Picoult

126) 19 Minutes is a book that includes a realistic plot and has realistic characters.
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Works Cited

Mosendz, Polly. “Map: Every School Shooting in America Since 2013.” Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2016,
www.newsweek.com/list-school-shootings-america-2013-380535.

Picoult, Jodi. Nineteen Minutes. Pocket Books, 2013.