My First Discworld Book!! (Buddy Read with Kailana!)

For ages now, I've wanted to read the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. I've heard nothing but good things about it. But I have an admission to make: this series intimidates me. Not only is the sheer number of books daunting, but the strange way they are grouped into different "series with in the series". Honestly, I had absolutely no idea where to start.

And that's where Nymeth comes in. She suggested that the Tiffany Aching trilogy would be a great place to start reading Discworld. So Kailana and I decided to put our faith in Nymeth to the test, and read the first book in this particular series: The Wee Free Men (375 pgs, Harper Collins, 2003). This is Book 1 in the trilogy that is actually written for Young Adults.

Some things start before other things. It was a summer shower but didn't appear to know it, and it was pouring rain as fast as a winter storm. Miss Perspicacia Tick sat in what little shelter a raggedy hedge could give her and explored the universe. She didn't notice the rain. Witches dried out quickly.

Young Tiffany Aching has a lot going on in her life right now. She lives on the Chalk, at the Aching Family Farm. Her job there is to churn the butter and make cheese. This is a job that she's very good at it. But when she grows up, Tiffany has decided she wants to be a witch. Why a witch, you ask? Because witches KNOW things. Tiffany read the fairy tales when she was little. The handsome princes were smug and the princesses were dumb and weak and always waiting for someone else to rescue them. So she wanted to be a witch. Turns out, she really IS a witch. Tiffany's Granny Aching was the only witch on the Chalk. But when she passed away the year before, that left only Tiffany. And right now, the Chalk NEEDS a witch. The beautiful, but evil Fairy Queen has kidnapped Tiffany's younger, "sticky" brother, Wentworth.

Armed with a talking frog and a frying pan, Tiffany is going into battle, not only to save Wentworth, but the entire world from the Fairy Queen. The Queen is the mistress of dreams, and has the power to trap a person in the realm of these dreams...and nightmares. But Tiffany isn't going alone. She has help from the Nac Mac Feegle (or the Wee Free Men). These 6-inch-tall men are blue, tattooed, red-headed, and always looking for a good fight. If fact, they will fight anyone, drink anything, and steal whatever isn't nailed down!

Terry Pratchett has a huge following. Now I can see why. His writing is smart, funny and surprisingly insightful, with a bit of social commentary here and there. He takes this rather twisted fairy tale and he makes it work. He gives us a nine-year-old dairymaid as a hero...and he makes it work. This book was a quick read because once I got started, I couldn't put it down. I loved every page!! And I will definitely be reading more Tiffany Aching....and more Discworld! 4.75/5

Now that I've given you a bit of information about the book itself, I will give you the answers to Kailana's Questions :

1. What did you think of Tiffany Aching? Was she a good character that you look forward to reading more about?

I LOVED Tiffany!! As you know, I'm always up for a book with a good, strong female protagonist. But Tiffany takes the cake. Not only is she incredibly smart for her nine-years, but she is fearless. Armed with only her brain and a frying pan, Tiffany takes off to the dream world to find her brother. A brother that she really doesn't even like very much. But Wentworth is HER brother and damned if anyone is going to steal him away!

Besides being strong and smart, Tiffany also has a really wonderful moral compass. It upset her alot when a woman in her village was accused of being a witch. When the baron's son disappeared, people accused an old woman of being a witch. So the people of the village went to Mrs. Snapperly's cottage. They killed her cat, burned her books and turned her out. The poor lady then died in the snow that winter because no one would help her. Tiffany said THIS is the reason she wants to be a witch: so this kind of thing would never happen again. Tiffany is shrewd, sharp and courageous. I love this girl!!

And yes, I'm going to continue reading through the Tiffany Aching trilogy!!

2. What did you think of the Wee Free Men? Did they add or take away from the book?

I loved the Wee Free Men!! How could you not love men with names like Rob Anybody, Daft Wullie, and Not-as-big-as-Medium-Sized-Jock-but-bigger-than-Wee-Jock-Jock? And although understanding their Scottish brogue was a little difficult, the main ideas made it through. They like to drink, fight, and steal!! Not only did they add to the book, they stole it right away.

3. What was your favourite scene in the book? Why?

Hmmm...I had a lot of scenes in this book that I loved. Quite a few made me laugh out loud. But if I had to choose just one it would probably be the scene where Tiffany meets up with the water monster, Jenny Green-Teeth. She first sees it when she is out by the river. A few of Nac Mac Feegle try to warn her about the creature. But Tiffany heeds the warnings and decides to take care of the creature herself. So she sets a trap (of course, she uses her little brother as bait) and when the creature comes out of the water, she cracks it with the frying pan.

I think the reasdon I liked this scene so much was because it's the first time we get to see what Tiffany is made of. She's not a timid little girl at all, but a force with which to be reckoned!
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For the record, I just want to thank Kailana for her patience with my freaky-busy schedule. I loved the buddy read!! A special thanks to Nymeth for recommending such a great book as a starting place for Discworld!! You know you rock!!

High Fantasy War Games.....

Today, I'm going to start getting out some of those book reviews that I am behind on. I have at least 4 that I need to do, and I thought I would start with Cry of Justice by Jason Pratt (444 pgs, Bittersea Publications, 2007).

My wife, my beloved. I promise....I can explain. I can explain where I went. And why....I can explain why I didn't explain when I returned. I didn't explain because I was afraid.

In the aftermath of a horrible international war in the world of Mikon, thousands of refugees have fled the Coastal States and are heading into the Middlelands. Cry of Justice follows a few of those people. A small band of warriors are led by the Maga, Portunista. She is sharp, power-hungry and intent of gaining as much control as she can. Among her subordinates is Seifas, one of the last members of the Guacu-ara, or the Hunting Cry. Born and bred to kill, Seifas fears he is the only remaining Guacu-ara left alive, and has made it his mission to follow Portunista until the end. And then there is Jian, who happens upon the group. It is a mystery who he is or where he comes from. And not everyone trusts him, especially Portunista.

Told in part through journal entries from Portunista, Seifas, and an unknown author, this is the story of how Portunista and her band of warriors happen upon a castle. The castle belonged to Qarfax, an extrememly powerful Cadrist. The castle holds many secrets....secrets that Portunista is desparate to have....as do several other powerful mages. It is this castle and it's secrets that bring upon Portunista's group an epic battle: one that will change things forever.

Cry of Justice is an epic novel, the first of a trilogy. I would definitely classify it as "high fantasy". Maybe it's the fact that I don't read a lot of high fantasy that I found the first part of the book rather confusing. There are a lot of terms and people that I didn't understand, at first. But the story line is good. Very good. And that is what kept me reading.

Portunista is a hard character to nail down. You can tell she wants to be a "good" person, but she is so hell-bent on gaining power it diminishes her ability to distinguish from right and wrong. I wanted to like her. I really did. But her inability to trust in her own feelings made it hard. Just when I start appreciating her intelligence and her passion, she does something stupid....and it makes me mad!

Jian and Seifas are both wonderful characters, as are many of the minor warriors. They are strong, loyal and extremely complex in their nature. Jian has one goal throughout the story...and that is to save Portunista....from the other mages, but most importantly, from herself.

Although a lot of the complex war strategies were lost on me, I found myself reading faster and faster because I had to find out how the final showdown would end. Of course, being the first in a trilogy, the ending is far from over. You can tell that the story, even when the last page has been turned, is only just beginning. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has a love for high fantasy. For anyone else, it might be a bit confusing. Now, it's just a matter of time until Book 2 is released!! 3.75/5

Genocide for the Sake of Oil...

Finally!!! A Book Review!! Can you tell it's been a slow reading month for me? The month is half over and I'm just now getting to my first review. Of course, I could have/should have posted this last week. Eclipse by Richard North Patterson (384 pgs, Henry Holt & Co, 2009) is a book I selected through the Amazon Vine program. I choose this book because I've read a lot of Patterson's thrillers and have always liked them. This one is no exception. I am using this as a selection for the 2009 ARC Reading Challenge and The Pub '09 Challenge.

In a West African village, Marissa Brand Okari watched her husband prepare to risk his life for the act of speaking out.

Damon Pierce knew Marissa Brand in college. Although their time together was brief, he fell hopelessly in love with her. But Marissa wanted other things in life. Most importantly, she wanted to make a difference in the world. And that is why she left the country to marry Bobby Okari, a novelist and activist from the (fictional) country of Luandia, located in Western Africa.

Through the years, Damon and Marissa kept in touch, and on the night his divorce was final, Damon emailed her to vent a little about his life. But when he received a reply, he had no idea what was in store for him. "Seven nights ago, Marisa began, "I saw the corpses of three oil workers hanging from a tree."

Because rallies and gatherings had been outlawed during the nighttime hours in Luandia, Bobby Okari made the decision to hold a massive protest rally at the moment of the solar eclipse. The peaceful Asari tribe, under the leadership of Okari, was to protest the country's involvement with PetroGlobal oil, a US firm that drilled in the petroleum-rich country. The riches that oil brings to a country had not reached the Asari's. They were poor, and things were getting worse. The oil drilling had destroyed many of the natural resources the Asari's needed to survive. And Bobby Okari was a very vocal activist.

But General Savior Karama, the country's dictator, was none to happy with Okari. And as the protest began, the military came storming into the village and slaughtered every man, woman and child except for the Okari's. Bobby was arrested for the murder of the three oil men, and Marissa was left alone.

Because Damon was an international litigator who had successfully convicted war criminals during Kosavo, he was in the position to help the Okaris. Because he was still in love with Marissa, he vowed to do what he could to help defend Bobby, even though it would put his own life in jeopardy.

Patterson has created a very realistic and depressing scenario with Luandia and PetroGlobal Oil. He is a very gifted storyteller, although far from unbiased on the topic. There is a very intricately weaved plot that includes not only a dictator, a rogue military colonel, a US firm that has turned a blind eye on a rapidly escalating problem in Luandia, but also American investors in oil futures.

In today's world, the characters are very believable. Okari sees himself as the next Nelson Mandela, but he is risking not only his life, but that of his wife's and friends in the process. One of the many questions that come up is it worth risking your life for something you believe in? And is it worth risking your loved ones as well?

Pierce is smart. And he works to unravel the mystery of what really happened to the three oil men. Some of the best parts of the book are Damon's cross-examinations of witnesses. You can see the sheer unfairness of the allegations, and the hand of a cruel dictator. But because Karama controls the oil, he is given a free hand to rule as he wishes, regardless of the human rights violations that are being perpetrated on a daily basis.

At times cynical and depressing, Eclipse is a well-written indictment of the US involvement in oil-bearing countries. The farther you read, you can tell there is no way a happy ending will be in store for the Okari's. But heartbreaking as it may be, Eclipse is a suburb thriller. Fast-paced and a real page-turner, you want to read faster just to know the fate of Bobby Okari. The only negative I see is that a few of the underlying causes go unresolved. But I think that is Patterson's way of saying this is what happens in real life. Nothing is cut and dried. And life isn't fair. Get used to it. Do I recommend the book? Yes, definitely, but be prepared for a lot of politics and some scenes that are really hard to take. Eclipse is the type of book that will stay with the reader long after the last page is turned. 4.5/5

Chalk Up Another Vampire Novel!

Since I am sometimes a very shallow reader, a cool cover can definitely be a reason for me to pick up a book. When I saw Touch the Dark by Karen Chance (320 pgs, ROC, 2006), I knew I had to read it!! Chalk up another vampire novel for the RIP III Challenge!

I knew I was in trouble as soon as I saw the obituary. The fact that it had my name on it was sort of a clue. What I didn't know was how they'd found me, and who the guy was with the sense of humor. Antonio has never been much for comedy. I've never figured out if that had something to do with being dead, or if he's always been a morose son of a bitch.

From the opening paragraph you can tell it's going to be a wild ride!! Cassandra "Cassie" Palmer is on the run. She has been hiding for the last 3 years from Master Vampire Antonio. Cassie is a gifted clairvoyant, and was raised by Tony after her parents were killed. Not that Tony was being charitable. No, he used Cassie's abilities to make a lot of money for his vampire "mafia". But when Cassie found out that Tony was behind her parents' death, she took off. Now Tony has found her, and is intent on settling the score.

But Cassie has bigger trouble. Not only has Tony found her, but so has the Vampire Senate. In fact, they have been watching her for some time. Under cover of a runaway, her roommate Tomas, is a master vampire and she didn't even know it!! He was placed with her by the Senate to watch over her in case something bad went down. Now that it has, Tomas takes Cassie to the Senate HQ to meet with the Counsul. It seems they are also interested in her abilities.

A storm is a brewing. The vampire Rasputin has aligned himself with the Dark Circle, the dark mage. He has already taken out some of the members of the Vampire Senate and is trying to take it over. And for some reason, he wants Cassie. The Senate has offered her protection, but is she willing to pay the price for it??

That is just a quick synopsis of the beginning of this book. There are many layers to the story, and lots of history on the Vampire Senate, the pecking order in the vampire world, and the Dark and Silver Circles. In fact, it seems this book is just a stepping stone for others in the series.

Cassie is one tough cookie. She is a loner through and through. Tough, smart, and full of sass, she is an fantastic protagonist. Named after the 'Seer' Cassandra in Greek Mythology, Cassie indeed has the gift of sight. She also has the ability to commune with spirits, in particular one named Billy Joe - a card shark from the old West that lost his life cheating in a poker game.

One of the things I liked best about the story is the role that historical characters play. It seems that a lot of people in history are truly vampires. From Jack-the-Ripper (as creepy in death as he was in life) to Mircea, Vlad the Impaler's brother.

Packed full of adventure and tension, Touch the Dark is an excellent start for this series. One of these days maybe I'll learn to stop reading Book One's, because now I feel the need to keep on reading this series!! A real page-turner, this book is a great way to get a good fix if you need some paranormal fun!! 4.5/5

Armageddon Has Arrived.....and It Is Hilarious!

As I stated in my Sunday Salon post, I knew I needed to read Terry Pratchett!! I just knew it. I've heard endless reviews on his writing, but I've just never taken the time. So...to ease my way into the world of Pratchett, I decided to start of with his collaboration with Neil Gaiman: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnus Nutter, Witch (368 pgs, Ace Trade). It's also a selection I'm using for the What's in a Name Challenge and the TBR Challenge.

God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [i.e. everybody], to being involved in an obscure and complex variant of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time.

The end of the world is coming.....what are you going to do? For angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley, that is the question. After spending centuries on Earth, they've become friends....sort of. And they actually LIKE it here. They don't want a war between the "sides". So when the Antichrist is born, the two of them take it upon themselves to "watch" him to see if they can stop him from becoming evil. If they work together, maybe they can keep him from choosing between Good and Evil, and postpone Armageddon. Sounds like a good plan, doesn't it??

But due to a mix up at birth, the son of the American Diplomat is not really the Antichrist. He's just a normal 11-year-old boy. The real Antichrist is named Adam, and he lives in Lower Tadfield, England. Raised by normal English parents, he has friends and a dog (the Hell-Hound has become a normal, little dog that likes to terrorize cats). He doesn't even realize the power he possesses. Can this seemingly normal little boy actually become the purveyor of the end of the world??

All of this has been prophecized by Agnes Nutter, a witch in the seventeenth century. She was the only true prophet that ever lived. She even wrote a book, called The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. Unfortunately, the book didn't sell very well. In fact, it didn't sell at all. Not that it mattered to Agnes; she just wanted the author copy anyway. And that copy is now in the hands of one of her descendants, Anathema Device, a witch of her accord, who is also trying to stop the end of the world.

There are also the four horseman of the Apocalypse, who have assembled to usher in the end of the world. However, they aren't horseman, but bikers. REAL Hell's Angels to be exact. War, Famine, Death and Pollution (Pestilence had to retire after the discovery of Penicillin). Now the race is on to find the real Antichrist, and depending on your side, either save or end the world!

A satirical look at Armageddon, this book is also kind of parody of the movie, The Omen. When Warlock (the boy everyone THINKS is the Antichrist) is young, his Nanny buys him a tricycle. But she can never get him to ride it in the house! The irony and wit in this book astounds me! A. Crowley (ie Crawley) was the serpent in the Garden of Eden; The tempter. Aleister Crowley, in real life, was the famous Satanist or occultist. Which makes this line even funnier:

"Crowley always found [Satanists] embarrassing. You couldn't actually be rude
to them, but you couldn't help feeling about them the same way that, say, a
Vietnam veteran would feel about someone who wears combat gear to Neighborhood
Watch meetings."

What Pratchett and Gaiman have done with this book is take a horrible, scary, evil happening and make it humorous. But in the midst of all the fun, they make some really valid points:

"There had been times, over the past millennium, when Crowley had felt like
sending a message back Below saying, Look, we may as well give up right now, we
may as well shut down Dis and Pandemonium and everywhere and move up here,
there's nothing we can do to them [humans] that they don't do themselves and
they do things we've never even thought of, often involving electrodes."

But in the end, they leave it up the wisdom of an 11-year-old kid, who just happens to be the Antichrist. And I guess this says something for the whole nature vs. nurture debate.

'

"I don't see what's so triffic about creating people as people and then gettin'
upset 'cos they act like people," said Adam severely. "Anyway, if you stopped
tellin' people it's all sorted out after they're dead, they might try sorting it
all out while they're alive."

I realize I'm kind of all over the place with this review. That's because the book is kind of all over the place. It's not the easiest book to review, that's for sure. But I'll tell you this: This is one fantastic book!! If I didn't already have a total crush on Neil Gaiman, I'd fall in love all over after reading this one. Of course, now I'm totally enamoured with Pratchett too. The end of the world doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. It can be positively hilarious!! Gaiman and Pratchett just proved it!! 4.5/5

What if?????

After reading so many wonderful things about this book, I choose to read Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (337 pgs, Harcourt) for the It's the End of the World as We Know it Challenge.

For Miranda, your typical 16 year-old-problems exist: changes in her best friends, too much homework, an annoying little brother, will she get asked to the prom. So the whole "moon" thing was never really an issue to her. An asteroid was going to hit the moon, and all it was causing Miranda was a lot of homework!!

But the astronomers predictions were wrong, and when the asteroid hits, it causes the moon to shift closer into our orbit. Miranda's thoughts undergo a radical change. Since the moon causes tidal changes, great tsunamis occur almost instantly, wiping out most of both coasts in the US. But it's more than that. Volcanoes become active, earthquakes occur and shifts in the weather patterns start to happen. All of this instantly changes Miranda's life. Instead of worrying about a date for the prom, Miranda is now forced to concentrate on survival in a world gone mad.

Told in journal form, the changes that Miranda goes through are subtle at first. She thinks her mom is crazy to have gone to the stores and bought out all the canned food, batteries and candles she could find. Surely things would get back to normal soon. But Miranda goes along with it, in the beginning just to not make waves. But as the months progress, and the situation gets worse, and it's obvious that things WON'T be getting back to normal soon. Family quickly becomes the only thing in Miranda's life.

This book is actually quite scary. I thought the actual plot was a little contrived, mostly because I'd like to think our scientists would have known the possibility that complete climate changes could occur and we would be a little better prepared. But overall, this book isn't so much about the conditions the world are in, but about the after-effects of a tragedy on this family. The way Miranda's mom holds her family together is honestly stuff heroes are made of. I kept thinking each time she did something, "Would I be smart enough to think of that?" It shows that family is truly the most important thing in the world.

This book is about love, family, and self-sacrifice. There are no fairy-tale endings with this one. But maybe a little sliver of hope. A very good, thought-provoking book. I just wished I had read it at a different time. Coming off such a high with The Host, I'm kind of afraid I didn't give this book it's due. Have you ever felt that the TIMING of reading a book affects the way you feel about it? For me, this was a very good book, but I wasn't completely blown away in the way I had hoped I would be. Still, this book is definitely worth reading. 4/5

So Many Issues To Tackle.....

I have long been a fan of Jodi Picoult. Most I have loved, like My Sister's Keeper and Plain Truth. One I hated, The Tenth Circle. But on a whole, I'm totally enamored with her work. So.....when I saw a new book by Picoult on the shelf, I figured it would make a great addition to my reading list for "The Pub Challenge".

Shay Bourne is the first man on New Hampshire's Death Row for over 69 years. He was convicted 11 years ago of killing a police officer and his 7 year old step-daughter. A jury of his peers found him guilty and sentenced him to die by lethal injection. But now that the execution has been set and Shay has been moved to the I-Tier, "miracles" seem to be following him around. A dead bird is "resurrected", a dying AIDS patient's disease seems to disappear, and a tiny piece of gum seems to be stretched to feed all the inmates of the block. Now, people are lining up outside the prison to see the "Death Row Messiah".

June Nealon knows better than anyone about Shay Bourne. It was her husband and daughter that were killed. She holds an amazing amount of hate towards Shay. But will she be able to get past all that hate to accept a gift from him that could save her OTHER daughter, Claire?

Maggie Bloom is an ACLU attorney that would like nothing better than to do away with the Death Penalty altogether. But in her quest to shed light on this issue, she takes Shay's case about HOW he is going to be executed. As much as she would like to have Shay's case reopened for fear that an innocent man will die, she has to follow her heart and the things Shay is asking her to do.

Father Michael has been called in from St. Katherine's Church to be a spiritual advisor for Shay Bourne. But is Father Michael as interested in saving Shay's soul as he is his own? Because before Father Michael was a priest, he was a college student that sat on the jury that sent Shay to Death Row.

One of the things I love about Picoult's writing is her amazing ability to see all sides of a situation. In this book, she writes from numerous perspectives, so you can see what many of the characters are feeling. And as with all of her previous books, she tackles tough issues. In this one, namely the death penalty. And if she had just stuck with one, it probably would have been a 5 Star review. But instead, she hit on some other topics that kind of muddied the point of view. Reminiscent of The Green Mile with "miracles" performed by an inmate, she also choose to touch on religion, which is another subject all together. Bringing in topics like the Gnostic gospels, while interesting, took away from the main storyline a little.

Don't get me wrong. I still loved the book. And I still cried in the end, as I usually do when I read a Picoult. But I had figured out the "Twist" long before it was actually revealed. And unlike a lot of Picoult's books, this actually left me with questions to ponder, even after the book was finished. No clear cut ending for this one. Still, it was a page-turner and I'm glad I read it. I'd love to hear your opinions, if you read this one yourself!! 4/5

Another Newberry Winner

When I took my kids to see this movie last year, I didn't have the slightest idea what it was about. And although I think I probably embarrassed the hell out of the kiddies by sobbing through part of it, it was a phenomenal movie. I very rarely read the book AFTER the movie, just because I hate to already know what is going to happen. But I'm glad I read Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (pgs. 163, Harper Collins) for the Newberry Challenge.

Jess Aarons is excited for the 5th grade to start. He's been running all summer so he can show everyone at recess that he is the fastest boy in the school. But things take an unexpected turn when the new kid at school turns out to be the fastest....and it's a girl!! Leslie Burke, a city kid that has moved to the country and just happens to be Jess' new neighbor, is different than the girls at Lark Creek Elementary. She dresses different, has short hair, and doesn't even own a TV! But once Jess gets to know her, they become inseparable. He finally finds a friend that understands his love of drawing.

Leslie and Jess create a world of their own -- Terabithia, a magical world in which they are the rulers and no one else is allowed to enter. It is a Kingdom of giants (which are not-so-surprisingly similar to the bullies at school) and spirits. Terabithia is place for Leslie and Jess alone, and the only way to get there is swing across the river on a rope. But when tragedy strikes and Jess blames himself, even Terabithia can't protect him from the grief he feels.

Paterson wrote this book based on personal experience. Her son David's best friend Lisa was killed in an accident when they were 8 years old. And this book was her tribute to both of them. I realize this book has been frequently "challenged" by parents. I can understand the reason, but I don't feel like children should be sheltered from this beautiful story. Yes, it is sad, but it is life. Children are more resilient than a lot of adults give them credit for, and I think this book could only be a benefit to them.

When the movie was released, all the trailers showed depictions of the fantasy world that was really only in Jess and Leslie's imagination. I think it is unfair to mislead people into thinking this book is a high fantasy book. Because it's not. It's about friendship and love. It's about understanding yourself and learning to live with that understanding. And it's about loss. It is a beautiful, simple story that everyone should read, adults and children alike. 4.5/5

Another Winner from Jodi Picoult

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (464 pgs) is a book that I choose to read for the Spring Reading Thing Challenge. I'm glad I did. I was so disappointed with The Tenth Circle that I almost passed on this one. In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, it's a timely piece and one that makes a person think, as do most of Picoult's books.

In Nineteen Minutes, you can mow the front lawn, color your hair, watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes you can bake scones or get a tooth filled at the dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five. Nineteen minutes is how long it took the Tennessee Titans to sell out of tickets to the play-offs. It's the length of a sitcom, minus the commercials. It the driving distance from the Vermont border to the town of Sterling, New Hampshire. In nineteen minutes, you can order a pizza and get it delivered. You can read a story to a child or have your oil changed. You can walk a mile. You can sew a hem. In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off of it.

In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge.

And so starts the story of Josie Cormier and Peter Houghton. Josie is the daughter of Alex Cormier, a single mother AND a superior court judge. Josie is beautiful, smart and one half of the "IT" couple at Sterling High School. Peter is a geek. He has spent his life trying to blend in to the woodwork. If you aren't noticed, then you aren't picked on. When they were younger, Josie was the only friend Peter had. She was always there trying to help him when the others were being mean. Alex and Lacy, Peter's mother, were friends until they had a falling out when the kids were in grade school. From that moment on, Josie wasn't allowed to go to Peter's house any more. But they were still friendly at school...at least until Josie got noticed by the popular kids and started hanging out with them. And this hurt Peter immensely.

Could it be possible that this mild boy is the same one that methodically walked into Sterling High School one morning with 2 sawed-off shotguns and 2 Glock pistols? Is he the same kid that executed 10 people that day and injured 19 others? Hundreds of witnesses will say that it was. But did they really know WHO Peter Houghton was? Did anyone?

As with all of Picoult's books, this one brings up issues that are incredibly sensitive. You want to be able to hate a person that is cold-bloodied enough to plan an attack on a high school. You want to think of him as a monster for executing his teachers and class mates. But Picoult shows a side of things that we normally don't see. She shows us the killer, and how he was victimized his entire life. She creates an empathy for this boy that was pushed so hard he snapped. And she shows us that just because kids are beautiful and popular they aren't always happy. I sometimes have a hard time reading Picoult because I know she is going to say things I don't want to hear. But her writing is so smooth and addictive, it grabs you by the throat and won't let go. As always, there is a "surprise" ending....this time I figured it out long before the climax of the book. That being said, this is one of Jodi Picoult's best books, at least of the 5 or 6 that I have read. I would definitely recommend it, especially if you have children. 4.5/5