I am still reading Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I'm becoming impatient with the book because there is nothing really happening in the book even though I'm up to around page 120. But on the other hand, I like that the story is being set up slow so that it makes you read on.
Even though I still don't know much about Peter Houghton (the school shooter) because he's not talked a lot about yet, I still want to talk about him and maybe what's going through his head right now. Right now, he is still in custody and haven't has his trial yet. There are very subtle hints relating to Peter and the school shooting (like if he did it or not). I have two opinions: either Peter didn't do it (and was forced to or something like that) or he did do it, but didn't mean to (like he regrets it now, etc.). These are my two opinions because firstly, on page 98, Peter's lawyer, Jordan McAfee came to talk to Peter. I think one of the first hints is when Jordan was quickly observing him: "...he was stunned to find that Peter Houghton had the ability to surprise him. Given the magnitude of the shooting and the damage wrought, the terror on the faces Jordan had seen on the television screen- well, this skinny, freckled, four-eyed kid hardly seemed capable of such an act." People always say, don't judge a book by it's cover. But sometimes, you can seriously just tell what kind of person that person is by just looking at him/ her. And I think this is kind of how Jordan felt. He wasn't completely convinced that Peter had done such a terrible thing. Also, speaking of judging a book by it's cover, it made me realize how the "nerds" in books, television shows, etc. are always described as skinny, freckled, and having glasses, just like how Jordan described Peter. In class, we were just talking about foreshadowing, and don't think it's exactly foreshadowing what kind of a person Peter really is, but it's kind of like giving a subtle hint, as said before.
Another example to show why those were my two opinions on Peter is also on the same page (98). Near the bottom of the page, Jordan explained who he was and said that he was the lawyer that was going to represent Peter. Then Jordan said, "From here on in, you're not going through this alone. You've got me." Firstly, it shows the kind of person Jordan is. It makes me think that he is a sincere person and that he truly does care about his clients. But, the point was that after Jordan said that, Jordan though he had seen "something flash in Peter's eyes when he'd said those words". This small little event makes the reader think about Peter, not just Peter the shooter. I think this was something that would be important for a reader to catch. Again, I think this might also be a little foreshadowing (into the past). When Jordan told Peter that he wasn't alone, and Peter eyes had said something, maybe the author was trying to hint that something bad had caused Peter to do this horrible act, like maybe Peter is alone/ scared of being alone. The "flash" in Peter's eyes also represented hope for Peter, in my opinion.
One last thing, on page 99, something weird happened. The whole time when Jordan was talking to him, Peter never said a thing. But as Jordan was getting ready to leave, Peter asked "how many did I get?". Jordan had hesitated, didn't turn to look at Peter and just said "I'll see you tomorrow". The author never described how Peter said it, or what his facial expression was when he said it, therefore it makes me feel like he said it in a I guess sincere, or caring way? I'm not sure how to describe it but it makes me feel like Peter cares. Not in any bad or evil way, though. But I do realize that that's all Peter said, it wasn't specified what he meant by that. I realized that he couldn't have necessarily meant how many people he shot, like maybe he was trying to refer to something else.
I still want to read further, even though the book is being set up at a very slow pace. I want to find out what happens later on, specifically with the character's emotional journey.
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