Nineteen Minutes, a book of realistic fiction, captures the real-life struggles of being a student in high school. Male protagonist, Peter Houghton, demonstrates the difficulties of growing up from child to adolescent and also demonstrates the effects of being bullied. Female protagonist, Josie Cormier, demonstrates the struggles of trying to fit into a popular crowd. Nineteen Minutes relates to the real world by showing the dangers of bullying, the difficulties of fitting in, and the importance of a healthy parent-child relationship.

Nineteen Minutes relates to the real world by showing the dangers of bullying. In today’s society bullying has greatly increased, people judge others for looking, acting, or speaking differently from each other. In the book, Peter Houghton is bullied from kindergarten all the way up until his junior year of high school for being different. In the book, author Jodi Picoult writes, “ As they headed into the lunchroom, Drew Girard slammed into Peter. ‘Watch where you’re going retard,’ Drew said, but it was too late—Peter had already dropped his tray” (pg. 140). Peter was bullied constantly as he grew up. His tolerance for bullying finally broke when he began the shooting at Sterling High one Tuesday morning. Peter targeted the people who had bullied him his whole life and made sure that they suffered how he once did.
Also, Nineteen Minutes relates to the real world by showing the difficulties of fitting in while growing up. Picoult shows how protagonist, Josie Cormier, struggles throughout her adolescent years to fit into the “popular crowd”. Growing up as a teenager, most people want to belong to some sort of a group and feel accepted by people. Josie, who was once Peter’s best friend, began to drift away from Peter when she realized people did not like her because she was friends with him. In the novel, “If there was a totem pole of unpopularity, Josie knew she still ranked relatively higher than some. Every now and then she wondered if she hung out with Peter because she enjoyed his company or because being with him made her feel better about herself” (pg. 143). Josie wished to fit in to some sort of a crowd even though they were not her real friends. In today’s society, teenagers do what they can to fit into a group of people in order to feel accepted or a part of something whether it be a club or a group of friends.
Finally, Nineteen Minutes relates to the real world by showing the importance of a healthy parent-child relationship. In the novel, Alex Cormier is distant from her daughter Josie because she is a lawyer and does not know how to act like a mother. When the tragedy happens, Alex is unsure of how to react and comfort her daughter because she never has before. Lacy Houghton was also distant with Peter; she did not pay much attention to him because her main focus was her “perfect” son, Joey. However, after Joey passed Lacy attempted to be closer with Peter but it did not work because she had been distant from him his whole life. In the novel, “Alex drove in silence, because by that time it was too late to make the correction; to tell her daughter that there was someone looking out for her, too; that Josie was not in this alone” (pg. 267). Alex was unable to properly communicate to her daughter and be there for her daughter through a rough time because she simply did not know how. It is important to have a healthy parent-child relationship because even if it does not seem like it children need their parents to be there for them and support them.
Jodi Picoult, author of Nineteen Minutes, was able to write a well-written novel that captures the dangers of bullying, the difficulties of fitting in, and the importance of a healthy child-parent relationship. Picoult’s novel significantly related to real-world society. Her novel effectively captures the reader’s attention by including plot twists and foreshadowing that makes it nearly impossible to put the book down.