NINETEEN MINUTES

Recent events and Picoult’s powerful description of the horrors of a school shooting make this a hard story to hear. Carol Monda’s voice is calm as she leads listeners back and forth through time, revealing the shooter, Peter’s, torment. Bullied since kindergarten, he can’t put up with it a moment longer and in 19 minutes guns down 10 students and injures many more. Peeling back the layers of story until black-and-white becomes gray, Picoult reveals the stress of high school social structures, parents’ pain, and characters who come to see deeper truths about themselves. Monda’s gift is her ability to shift seamlessly among the many roles, imbuing each with a meaningful characterization. S.W. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 07]