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eg: Chapter 1
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To discuss a chapter you are currently reading please use large font in bold writing so those that are not up to that chapter can skim past your post. If you are replying to someone else about a certain chapter please do the same.
eg: Chapter 1
WARNING - SPOILERS
The following questions are from the Jodi Piccoult website. They're based on the assumption that you have read the book so if you haven't finished it yet you may want to do so before reading the following questions.
Of course we don't have to answer all these questions but they provide a starting point for discussion :)
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Book club discussion questions for Nineteen Minutes
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 daughter 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 or not 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 playdates 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?
13.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?
14.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?
15.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 impact your opinion of the parties generally involved in school shootings—perpetrators, victims, fellow students, teachers, parents, attorneys, and law enforcement officials?
16.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?
The thread is open for posting :)
Now I just have to figure out which chair my copy of the book is under :doh:
12 Years Before
I'll probably mention aspects of later chapters so if you haven't read the whole book you might want to skip this post.
I just thought I might start by addressing this question because it was one of the passages that I found to be the most shocking.:
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 playdates 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?
I found the concept that it was Peter's responsibilty to stop the bullying by fighting back abhorrent. To me it's basically blaming the victim and by going along with it Lacy became complicit in the bullying of her son. In particular it struck me that she merely gave him an order without giving him the tools to carry it out. She failed to provide him with words that he could use or physical skills. I think that Lacy didn't do enough, she could have enrolled Peter in martial arts and been more proactive in pushing the school to find solutions. To a certain extent one could argue that she allowed the teacher to bully her. Any school that responds to bullying by saying that the victims need to fight back more is failing thier students. There are many programs that are effective in reducing school bullying, placing responsibilty upon the victim to prevent the bullying without support doesn't play a part in any of them
Of course, it's kind of ironic that Peter's legal defence also rested on the concept of blaming the victims.
Of course I don't blame Lacy for Peter's future actions, no-one has a crystal ball and it's impossible to trace everything back to this one point however I think at this point Lacy's relationship with Peter was terribley damaged. For a little boy being told that his mother would punish him for being bullied when he had no means to prevent it would be heartbreaking and cause a great deal of his trust to vanish.
I think that parents do play a role in equipping thier children with the means to prevent bullying but schools also have to accept that they need to be pro-active in reducing bullying. It's one of those areas where the community needs to work together rather than trying to do that thing where it's someone else's responsibility.
12 Years Before
Chloe, that's a great point you make. I have to say that I have found reading the book has scared me a little. How easily a mistake we make as parents can have far reaching effects. I agree that Lacy totally did the wrong thing, but I think she honestly believed she was doing the right thing. Sometimes when we don't have the answers, it is too easy to trust what "experts" tell us, even when our gut isn't totally convinced.
BBL (hopefully tomorrow) to come up with another answer! I'm too tired now!!
Entire book
Thanks for answering Melanie (or do you prefer MantaRay now?), I was beginning to think I'd be talking to myself in here.
I agree, it's worrying to think that seemingly minor mistakes can have massive consquences.
I found it quite scary reading too. I think that one of the scariets issues the book raised for me was the way that loving parents could just lose the ability to communicate with thier children and not even realise how poorly they were communicating or the impact of lack of communication until too late. It struck me that one of the things that nearly all the main characters shared was thier inability to communicate. In Josie's case she had reached a point where it seemed that she couldn't even communicate with herself any longer.
Entire Book
I finished reading the book a few days ago. What a full on book! I found it so incredibly sad and the main characters in the book really touched my heart.
High school can be such a small place- you keep seeing the same people day after day! This book reminded me of the movie 'Heathers' as the characters cant see beyond life at school. When I was at school I didn't feel like I was popular at all. I was very happy to get out and meet a diverse range of people at university. So great to get out and meet people who lived outside my suburb!
Its sad that Peter didn't feel valued amongst his peers. Like Lacy said during the court case his sensitive nature made him stand out at high school but this trait would have worked in his favour as an adult. He would've be a SNAG and I think alot of girls would've be after him!
Chapter 12
As a primary school teacher I was shocked that a teacher would give that advice to a parent. She should have taken Lacey's concern for Peter more seriously. If only she had taken the meeting as a sign that an anti bullying program might be needed at their school! How can a kindergarten boy be expected to know how to deal with a bully? Anti bullying programs that give children steps and skills to deal with a bully are so important . The program should encourage bullies to reflect on their actions. Making sure that the principal and all of the staff are aware of the problem is important too.
I was surprised that Lacey threatened to cancel Peters play dates with Josie. Josie seemed like such a loyal friend and loyal friends are important for a child's sense of self worth. Perhaps Lacey had never been a victim of school yard bullying herself?
Entire Book
I too have just finish this book WOW it is really touching and I am amazed that I feel myself feeling sorry for peter, He had to deal with a lot of cr@p from alot of people but I think that he had his only friend turn on him also is what made him this way, I felt lacy's pain when she felt had to tell peter to fight back you could tell she didnt want to do it but felt she had to give him tuff love.
It made me realise that you really have to try hard in the teen year to keep the lines of comunications open as Josie's felt like she had no one to turn to and thought that Matt loved her, when he really was just controling her. If only girls in high school could have a talk about whats ment to happen in a relationship and whats not then maybe she wouldnt have felt the need to do what she did.
I guess you never realise how hard it really is for the " cool " kids to stay on top as they dont really ever make friends just other people to look cool with. They would never feel like they had anyone to really talk to, for fear of been " uncool" they alway had to act, which I think is the way that Alex made Josie to be as once she was a judge I dont think she was a mum anymore, until this happened so josie alway sore her mum been a judge having to act the right way when out couldnt be them selves even when it was Josies birthday, I think if Alex could have taken of the robes when she got home and acted like a mum and showed that she did have feeling that she could scream and cry and laugh then maybe Josies could have felt that she didnt have to pretend and may have stayed friend with Peter.
sorry if I have gone on a bit but I have never been in a book club before not sure on how or what I am ment to write so I just gabbed on ..
this book has touched me mostly as I too have a son who we have alway said "O he's just sensitive " as he is he has a very kind heart but it is also very open and I do worry about how he is going to get through all the years he has to come, I just hope that if he ever got to the stage of bulling that peter had to put up with he would let me know, he is doing ok at the moment but doesnt tell me much as he is such a follower thats its hard sometimes to tell whats going on in his head as he will sometime have a cry to his dad ( who is away alot) but we can never get out of him why he is so sad sometimes. But I do know one thing that if he ever got bullyed like that I would pull him out of school so fast they wouldnt know what hit them I would prefer to home school my child than let that happen.
ENTIRE BOOK
I agree Tali that the book is quite confronting to us as parents. I have a sensitive child (DS1) and a second child who I worry will be in his brother's shadow (as DS1 is very bright). So for me the book gave me a lot to think about.
I think you are quite right too when you talk about people not being themselves. That is true of so many of the characters - Lacy, Alex, Josie, Peter, I suspect Joey too, and all the "cool" kids. Nothing was as it seemed. People were hiding their true selves, and relationships were not as they seemed. Josie and Alex did not have a good relationship. Neither did Josie and Matt. Nor Lacy and Peter. It was all smoke and mirrors. Lacy thinks Alex has it all, Alex thinks Lacy has it all. Little did they know just how much they had in common.
The thing to remember though, is that some of the characters (eg Lacy) did the wrong thing but with the right intentions. Others (eg Matt) did the wrong thing without good intentions. I don't think you can blame someone for doing what they think is right at the time, even if later it proves to be otherwise. You can only do your best at the time with the knowledge that you have then. Hindsight is 20-20.
I think the most telling thing however, is the twist that is revealed at the end - DON'T READ ON IF YOU HAVEN"T FINISHED THE BOOK!! That Josie put her old friend before her boyfriend at the end is a telling sign. And that both Peter and Josie resorted to violence against those who had wronged them. Is it a coincidence that they both reacted that way? Or did Josie's action only occur because of Peter's?
ENTIRE BOOK
I agree that lots of the characters were wearing masks and I also think that Alex and Josie were the ones who were the most masked. It seemed as if when Alex took on the role/persona of being a judge she gradually subliminated her own personality and she became a 'judge' even at home. I guess that for Josie it would be natural to follow the example set by her mother and take on persona for power/protection.
I think Josie's actions only occured because of Peter's. He led by example and Josie siezed her chance to escape. I can't help but feel that had she not been presented with the oppurtunity she wouldn't have taken a similar path on her own.
I felt really sorry for Peter too. I think that the way that she wrote the book with the present juxtaposed against the past was really powerful because while you were reading thier histories you couldn't escape the knowledge of what they had become. Peter the sensitive child was simultaneously Peter the high-school-shooter. I think that for the reader having knowledge of what thier future held made thier stories so much more poingant.
My heart just broke for Lacy. I can't imagine anything worse than losing your children and to be reviled rather than having your loss acknowledged would make it even harder to cope.