Nineteen Minutes

The story begins on March 6, 2007 in the small town of Sterling, New Hampshire, tracking the lives of a number of characters on an "ordinary day." It all comes to a big twist after a school shooting massacre breaks out in Sterling, High, which is caused by Peter Houghton. Throughout the book, time flashes back and forth between events before and after the shooting. In the past, Peter and Josie were once close friends. Peter was frequently the target of severe bullying and Josie often stuck up for him. The friends slowly drifted apart as they got older, Josie joined the popular crowd in order to protect her own interests, seeing her relationship to Peter as embarrassing. The story pictures Peter as an outcast at home as well; Peter believes his older brother Joey is favored by their parents. When Joey is killed in a car accident in 2006, Peter's parents are too upset to pay attention to their remaining son, causing a bigger rift between Peter and his parents. For all the pain Peter has suffered from home . He decides to take his revenge.

I think a lot of people have experienced rather slight or severe bullying while they were teenagers. Because our peers seem to find the uncommon characteristic and the smallest flaws in us then differentiate us as "weirdos". I had been bullied when I was in junior high school, only because I was a close friend to one of the most unpopular girl in our class. Having constantly teased, always being called the "misfits" and treated badly, it led me to questioning the values of humanity. While reading this book, I found out that Peter's psychotic behavior was triggered by his tragic school life, with non-stop bullying hurling at him because of the insecurity deep inside the bullies, afraid of being marginalized from the popular top "Jocks" clique, which was the same reason why I was being isolated from my peers. I immediately found sympathetic response to the plot in the book, which kept me turning the pages of the book until I come to the last page.

Though my heart goes out to Peter, there's definitely a better solution other than taking away people's life. Being pessimistic is inevitable in our lives, since every day we struggle to overcome the hurdles blocking our way with stress burdening upon our shoulder. We may loose all our will to move on, however I strongly believe that god will always make a way for me as long as I am willing to pull ourselves out of my own downward spiral, and life will stop being miserable if I ask for the right help.

I really sunk into deep thoughts after reading the novel, flashing back at memories being bullied by peers with the lyrics of " Imagine" (which is originally sung by the Beatles) circling in my head " ...Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too. Imagine all the people, living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one" though it's impossible that the world has no differences, people can still understand that diversity is the reason why the world is such a beautiful place, that with mutual forgiveness and tolerance they might not live as one but in great unison.