It only takes 19 minutes to change the world.

I've been told hundreds of times that the greatest thing I can do in this life is to leave my mark so I'm never, ever forgotten. It's my job to create my own legacy and make sure my name lives on, and (for the most part) it's up to me to decide how to go about doing so.

Peter Houghton, a kid that was either ignored or tormented on a daily basis, made sure he was never forgotten.

Josie Cormier won't ever be forgotten either, but I guess that wasn't really because of her doing. True, she was responsible for Matt's death, but I'm not sure she would have ever found herself in that sort of situation if it weren't for Peter. I find it a bit ironic that after years of trying to get people to accept him and treat him fairly, it only took a quarter of an hour to kill 10 people and injure countless others, both physically and mentally.

An episode of "Friends" would have lasted longer than Peter's revenge on Sterling High. One episode, without commercials. The sad thing is that if even just one adult had intervened on the relentless and extreme bullying - including pantsing him in the hallway, shoving him into a locker, stripping him naked and shoving him under a shower in the locker room...just to name a few - maybe Peter would have been fine. Maybe those 10 individuals would have lived long happy lives. Maybe Peter's family wouldn't have deteriorated, at least not any more than they already had. Maybe Josie wouldn't have felt the need to join the "popular" crowd and left Peter behind.

Maybe. But I guess we can't live our lives thinking about all the maybes. I guess we can just treat this as a learning tool.

I've read a few novels by Jodi Picoult, and I am always impressed by her knack for writing an interesting, yet not too over-the-top, story. Her style and the subjects she chooses to write about don't simply appeal to one age group or gender, but rather can be enjoyed by a variety of readers. I would be surprised if I walked into a classroom full of 8th graders reading this book - because there is some advanced subject matter not relating to the issue of bullying present - but I do think the issue is something that should be discussed with younger grade levels. However, while I would imagine a high school class reading the novel, I think there are quite a few parts that should be given to teachers as reading material.

Over the course of the novel, Picoult details events leading up to the shooting, the shooting itself, the immediate aftermath, the early years of the main characters, the trial, and a few years after the trial. I think the most pivotal point for me, as a reader and future junior high/high school English teacher, came during the trial. Peter's one and only true friend is put on the stand to testify on his behalf, and while he didn't know what Peter was planning, he made the reader sympathetic towards Peter.

The Defense Attorney asked the boy, Derek, if he had ever been bullied, and he replied that he had, but that Peter suffered far worse than he did. He went on to provide some detail as to the types of bullying that Peter faced on a daily basis, and acted as a sort of character witness. The Prosecuting Attorney then asked Derek if he had ever brought a gun to school to shoot his classmates because of bullying.

Derek firmly answered, with no, but that sometimes he wished he had.

Even if students, like Derek, never act on their pain (at least not towards others, but we can't ignore the personal violence), it doesn't mean they don't think about it. Schools that think there is no problem with bullying, that "boys are just being boys" and are just having fun, will most likely have some sort of rude awakening. I certainly don't wish this tragedy on anyone, but part of me wants to say, "Well, you were warned." My high school definitely had its problems, and a large portion of the teachers just turned the other way. In fact, many of my teachers caused and promoted teasing at times - but, of course, it was "all in good fun."

I'm sure Peter thought it was fun too.

Well, I bet he thought part of it was fun, just not the same part as everyone else...

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Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. - Charles W. Eliot