An Unexpected Ending

You get a call, a call you never would of expected to get. Your school is being attacked on the day you happened to stay home from school. In the world today, so many people have been affected by school shootings. A number of people have died and no one knows a solution to these horrible events. Most people do not know how troubling these events are until they live through it or read a book that thoroughly explains the event. The novel Nineteen Minutes, a tragic shooting happens at a high school similar to any high school. This novel is very life like and explains the shooting as if the author lived through one personally. Also, in the novel, bullying occurs and that is the reason for the shooting; bullying takes place everywhere. Lastly, the novel shows how people change as they are growing up.
To start off, the shooting is the main event in the story. It is well written and has extreme details from different viewpoints of the many characters of the book. “A boy, dressed in a hockey jersey. There was a puddle of blood underneath his side, and a gunshot wound through his forehead” (pg 33). When you read about a dead body, you tend to comprehend it more than just seeing it on television, especially when you realize who the one shot is.
As everyone knows how important of a topic bullying is to the world. Bullying can cause multiple outcomes: suicide, emotional problems and school shootings. A character in this book, Peter, is bullied and results in bringing guns to school. Peter was bullied growing up. He doesn’t feel the need to stick up for himself, not even to his brother who bullied him also. Until one day Peter takes his rage to a new level when he develops a violent video game staring kids at his school. It’s hard to know what victims feel in their head, the solution would to stop making those kids victims.
Lastly, the novel has flashbacks and shows the characters throughout the years. People change as they grow up and venture out for good and for bad and this novel shows that. In the novel, Josie and Peter grow up together because their moms are friends. Josie used to stick up for him. Eventually in middle school, Josie grew into the popular crowd, leaving Peter by himself. Peter didn’t come to terms with not having Josie as his friend anymore unlike Josie who liked her new friends at first. But deep down, Josie knew she made the wrong choice. No one knows what their future has I store.
In conclusion, this novel is a valuable asset to have. It shows you the bad things that happen that you personally might not see. It matures your brain. The novel teaches you not to bully peers because the result will always turn out badly. Also, the novel makes you aware of the future. Growing up, children think that their lives are going to stay the same. Peter never thought that Josie would stop being his friend. Josie never thought her boyfriend would hurt her in numerous ways. This book shows the reality that not many books do.