Why is Picoult’s 2008 Novel the Most Banned Book in the Country?

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books, writing

“Having the most banned book in the country is not a badge of honor – it’s a call for alarm,” Picoult said. “Nineteen Minutes is banned not because it’s about a school shooting, but because of a single page that depicts a date rape and uses anatomically correct words for the human body.” – PEN America

According to PEN, the novel about a shooting in a small New Hampshire town is among the most frequently banned books in the U.S. It has been banned in thirty-five states.

In a BBC article, “She said the reason Nineteen Minutes, which is about a US school shooting, was banned, was not because of the shooting scenes: “They have no problem with that. The problem is that on page 313, I use the term ‘erection’.”

From the Amazon listing.

Jodi Picoult, bestselling author of My Sister’s Keeper and Small Great Things pens her most riveting book yet, with a startling and poignant story about the devastating aftermath of a small-town tragedy.

Sterling is an ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens–until the day its complacency is shattered by a school shooting. Josie Cormier, the daughter of the judge sitting on the case, should be the state’s best witness, but she can’t remember what happened before her very own eyes–or can she? As the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show–destroying the closest of friendships and families. Nineteen Minutes asks what it means to be different in our society, who has the right to judge someone else, and whether anyone is ever really who they seem to be.
 

From Publishers Weekly

“Bestseller Picoult (My Sister’s Keeper ) takes on another contemporary hot-button issue in her brilliantly told new thriller, about a high school shooting. . .The author’s insights into her characters’ deep-seated emotions brings this ripped-from-the-headlines read chillingly alive.”

According to a November Associated Press story, NEW YORK (AP) — “Jodi Picoult remembers when everyone seemed to praise her novel “Nineteen Minutes,” a 2007 bestseller about a school shooting that now tops a list compiled by PEN America of the books most banned in schools. ‘Not only was it recommended for young adults to read, but it was on the curriculum in schools where it’s now banned,’ the author said during a recent telephone interview.”

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of magical realism novels and stories.

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