Messenger (The Giver Quartet #3)

Messenger is a sequel to the book "Gathering Blue" and are both written by Lois Lowry Matt who was once a young boy who grew up in a village but now he is Matty and lives with the blind man named Christopher. It has been six years since he has come to the Village and now the Village is changing and the Forests are changing and it is all due to the people in the Village. People have been trading things to get what they really want and people began to get much more selfish and greedy. The leader of the Village has tried to do something so he has given Matty the job to deliver a message to every town and tell them what the Village is doing. Matty is now going on a journey that will have his life depend on it and he will get Christopher's daughter named Kira since the Village is going to be shut down due the the Leader's decision that the other towns shouldn't be informed and the Village border will be shut and no one will be allowed in so Matty has gone to retrieve Kira.
I recommend this book for teens ages 11-18 because his is a teen book and has a lot of adventure and I think that teens like to read adventure books, event though this was a good adventure book I think that there are a few things about the plot that the author should change. The author left the book as a cliff hanger and I was really into the book, but it just stopped right there and I just couldn't believe it I wanted to know what happened next. If the author continued to write I would had given it a 5/5 stars. The character and writing style is the best and I like to read books written by Lois Lowry because there is a mysteries that are connected with each other. Overall I thought that Messenger was a good book because there were a lot of parts where I saw it connect back with "The Giver" and "Gathering Blue" and that there could be a mystery that could be solved. That's why I like this book.

Reader reviewed by GirlwiththeBraids

Matty, six years after leaving his life of mischief and stealing, was living with the blind man in Village, a town where the handicapped and misfits have a place to stay. Matty had grown to be a fine young man, found love with the schoolteachers daughter, and was a devout messenger. When the town decided that no more wanderers would be allowed to live in Village, Leader sent Matty on a journey. To deliver the messages that Leader gave him and to get to the blind mans daughter, Matty had to walk through Forest, the deadly forest that had killed so many people. Matty wasnt afraid, but now Forest is changing&

Messenger was& beautiful. Matty gave himself willingly, traded for all that he loved and valued. I adore this book so much that it will never collect dust, for I will be taking it off my shelf and reading it all the time. The characters from Gathering Blue and The Giver meet in this wonderful read. Author Lois Lowry has astounded me once more with her likable characters and the fast pace of the storyline. I actually did cry at the end of this book, which makes this the second fictional book I have ever cried over. Readers of all genres will enjoy reading this tale of love, adventure, and loss.

Reader reviewed by Bookworm9

Mattys life in Village with his elderly companion Seer is close to perfect. Matty feels important because he is the only member of Village who can safely travel through Forest, delivering messages to the outside world. Hes sure that when its time for him to get his true name, it will be Messenger.

But frightening things are beginning to happen in Village. With the advent of Trade Mart, people are beginning to change, and not for the better. Soon, Village will no longer be open to outsiders, and Matty is sent on one final journey through Forest to spread word of Villages closing and bring Seers daughter Kira back with him. But for the first time, Forest is no longer friendly to Matty. Will he be able to get Kira home safely? Is Village worth returning to?

Messenger is the third in Lowrys eclectic trilogy, and I admit I dont know if I like the linkage. The Giver is a great book that should really stand alone, with its ending open to interpretation. I didnt really enjoy Gathering Blue, the middle book. I did enjoy Messenger, though it was not as strong as The Giver. I saw the point in including the characters of Jonas and Kira in this book, and at the same time I was kind of wary of the connection. Messenger is much more a sequel to Gathering Blue, with less of a link to The Giver, except for the inclusion of Jonas. Also, Lowry seems to expect readers to care more about Jonas and Kira, and the possibility of a relationship between them, rather than about Matty, which isnt necessarily the case. Read it for what its worth, but I still like The Giver best by itself.

Reader reviewed by Jamie


This companion to THE GIVER and GATHERING BLUE focuses on Matty, a formerly wild young boy who has forged a new life for himself in the community known as Village. Now living with Kira's blind father, who is known as Seer, Matty is proud to live in Village, a place where strangers have always been welcomed, and where people treat each other with respect and kindness. Recently, though, something dark and evil has permeated Village. To read what happens next read this awesome book! I really loved this book so much and I'm sure that everyone else will also

Reader reviewed by Dominique



Messenger is like a sequel to Gathering Blue. This time, the story is told from Matty’s point of view. He leaves the place where he grew up to go to Village, where he lives with Seer, a blind man. Matty is welcome at Village, where the people who live there help Matty become a better person.


Matty becomes a messenger for Village. He knows the forest well and is not afraid of it. He is sometimes sent to deliver messages to the people of Village, but sometimes he has to go past the forest. But after sometime, Village is not as peaceful and calm as it was before. Things change, and Matty is sent by Seer, back to his original home to get Kira, the Seer’s daughter. Matty must convince Kira to come to Village before it is too late.

This was a pretty good book. Although in my opinion, Messenger was not as good as Gathering Blue, I would still recommend it to you if you liked The Giver and Gathering Blue or books by Lois Lowry.

Reader reviewed by Diana

Messenger is a extension of Gathering Blue. Messenger is from Matty's view. After he leaves Kiras village he finds his way to another town called Village. In Village he finds a home with the blindman named Seer and is tamed by all the townspeople. As he grows he begans delivering messages for anyone who may need to contact someone out of village. Matty is sent on a very dangerous trip back to his original village to get Kira and bring her back to Village.

The end of the book takes a pretty unexpected twist. It was pretty good, just not quite as good as Gathering Blue and The Giver. If your a Louis Lowrey fan I would defently recomend you read it.

Reader reviewed by DREW SHIMANSKY AND IM PROUD OF IT

I realy liked this book becouse it has lots of problems but they are over come in the end things like ....running from ogers and not freezing to death.over all this is a great book.