Nineteen Minutes

Title: Nineteen Minutes

Author: Jodi Picoult

Pages: 18 discs

Genre: Fiction

Grade: B+

Synopsis: The book takes place in a small town in New England.  An unhappy high school student brings an arsenal of guns to school looking for the jocks and popular kids killing 10 and wounding many others.  The best witness for the defense is the judge's own daughter, but she claims to not be able to remember anything about the whole ordeal.

My Review: I initially started listening to this book without knowing anything about it and when I realized that it was about a school shooting then I was going to skip it and move onto a different book (I didn't have a whole lot of interest in getting into the details of a school shooting).  However, after reading some reviews of the book online I decided to stick with it and I was glad I did because the book wasn't that bad and it makes a good case that there are always two sides (or more) to every story.  The shooter isn't excused from the damage or killing that was done, but you certainly feel for him as well as the victims.

My Sister's Keeper

Title: My Sister's Keeper

Author: Jodi Picoult

Pages: 12 discs

Genre: Fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: Anna sues her parents for medical emancipation when she is 13 years old. Her older sister, Kate, has been sick with leukemia since she was two years old. The only reason Anna was even born, was to be a donor of genetically matched cord blood for Kate's benefit. Since that time, Anna has had to donate many parts of her body to her sister and now she is being forced to donate a kidney to her sister without ever giving her consent.

My Review: I found this book to be very interesting and thought-provoking. It was extremely difficult to take sides because it was difficult to determine who was right and who was wrong. The book is a serious portrayal of an issue of medical ethics. What made the book a little hokey (in my opinion), were the connections each character had to each other or to one thing or another that would cloud their view of these issues. Regardless, the book has surprises at almost every turn.

Disclaimer: There is a bit of language in the book to be prepared for.