The Giver (The Giver Quartet #1)

Reader reviewed by Kyle

Reading The Giver by Lois Lowry right after reading 1984 by George Orwell made the book extremely interesting as the characters  both have very similarly structured lives.  The only difference would be that the people in The Giver are happy with their lives.  I loved the book and only wished that it had gone into more detail and was longer so that key ideas in the book could have been further elaborated on.  It is definitely a book I would consider reading again.  I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading about alternate realities or societies different than what they currently live in.  It is a great book.

Reader reviewed by Emily

The Giver

By Luis Lowry

 

 The Giver takes place sometime in the future. We learn that color and weather do not exist, and sameness is critical. Jonas is a boy who is in the eleven group, and he is anxious about the upcoming ceremony. Once he is a twelve, he will get his assignment; the assignment will decide where he will work for his adult life. "What's important is the preparation for adult life, and the training you'll receive in your Assignment."

 At the ceremony, Jonas is stunned to receive one of the highest honors of all. He goes to his training the next day and realizes that what he is going to do will cause pain and it will be difficult. As the receiver of memories, Jonas learns of many new concepts, including pain, love and weather. The giver is always teaching him of new ideas that confuse Jonas greatly.

 The giver and Jonas soon realize that something must be done, the community lives in a world with no love, choices, or freedom. Actions are taken because of convenience, and many dont know a world with real pain. Drastic measures are taken to ensure the changes that Jonas is about to make are secure.

 I enjoyed the book The Giver because of many reasons. I found Jonass community very interesting, and I found myself thinking, Could that possibly happen in the future? The Giver made me think because I often found myself wondering, What would I do in this situation. I could relate with Jonas, because after being exposed to all of the memories, I would want everyone to feel and understand them too. I truly enjoyed this book, and recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good read!

Reader reviewed by Jinxie

I have been avoiding reading this book ever since my kids had it assigned in school.  And now, I am sorry that I have.  It was an excellent and engaging book about a 12 year old boy, Jonas, who lives in a future society.  He is quite content with his life and family until he is assigned the role of  "Receiver of Memory".  Then he meets the Giver.  The Giver holds the memories of the past world where Jonas resides.  The boy and other members of the community have a life of no color, no real emotions, no real relationships, and no feelings.  The Giver transmits to Jonas past times when life was full of color, warmth, as well as pain and war.  Is it better for people to experience pain and joy, love and loss, or to remain shades of gray where society is protected from these experiences?  Someone obviously decided that was the better way.  But is it?   Highly recommended for middle schoolers.

Reader reviewed by WilowRaven

This story really moved me. Set in the possible future, the concept of
Sameness is brought to extreme levels. Members of society barely think
for themselves. Everyone has a position, with set tasks and actions to
preform everyday without question of why. The one exception is The
Giver. He is the holder of memories. Memories that include love and
family but also pain and war. When Jonas is picked to be the next
Giver, time has finally come for change. The ending is purposely
ambiguous. Lowry leaves her readers to make their own conclusions.
1994 Newbery Winner. Highly recommended - 5 stars

Reader reviewed by KJ

Jonas lives in a perfect world. There is no war, no one feels pain, everything is under control, everyone has a job in the Community. At age twelve each child is given a job to do, tending to the elderly, caring for the young... Jonas's assignment is different. He is chosen to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver holds all the memories- the memories of war and hate, the memories of love and family. Since the Giver is growing old Jonas must now take on all the memories. As Jonas receives more and more memories, he learns some horrible things about the Community and about how the world once was, Jonas knows he must do something...and soon.

This book is a classic. Well written, with strong characters, and a unique plot. Lois Lowry is an excellent author. I've read the other novels in the series, but none can compete with The Giver. Everyone should definitely read this book at least once.

Reader reviewed by Brittany Leigh

I can't even begin to explain how much I loved this book. This is the first book I actually paid attention to in class! Yes, it's that good.

It's a story of a utopia. Jonas' world is supposed to be perfect but as he gets older he finds imperfections. In his world everyone is given their job and place in life. Jonas gets to train under The Giver and it's there that he learns what a real world is. He learns what pain is, what love is and what he has missed out on.

Reader reviewed by athena

A very interesting book on living in a perfect world free of crime. A place where death is celebrated itsted of cried for. No color to fight about and no worries about money. Kids are born of only a couple people whos job it is to give birth. Then at 1 year old they are named by the council and they pick which family to give they to. Each family has two kids and only two kids. They go to the same school and do work in town to see what job they get and who they marry  (the council picks all of this). But one day when Jonas is turning twevle his is skipped gitting a job but the job he gets is like nothing he pricticed for. He is the getter for all the emoions and feeling and color in the town since they can't have them themselfs. He gos pain and saddness getting the emoions, but one day when gabile the baby they have been taking care of is going to be killed because he is not growing right Jonas will do any thing to save him. Even if it breaks the rules.

Reader reviewed by Claire

I first read this in 5th grade, and it was hard to understand. I recently reread it in 7th grade, and realized how interesting it is. What if people didn't have a say in their work, or didn't have any memories of the past? Those are all things that you think about more when you read this book. Lois Lowry also wrote two follow up books, The Messenger and Gathering Blue, which i have also heard are very good. Check them out!

Reader reviewed by Kyra

The Giver is one of my favorite books. If by chance you are reading my review, I hope you go straight to your local library our your bookshelf, and read it. Either again, or for the first time. Its just such a  great book.

Reader reviewed by thea

Another
amazing Science Fiction book. It was a very intricate world that was
more aimed at young adults and up. Some of the concepts went over my
head when I read it in 8th grade.
Written
by Lois Lowry, Jonas lives in a utopia. There is no pain, fear,
anything negative...or knowledge. That is the role of the giver (He
holds all the memories of the world).
Yet there is also no love. People do not know what it is.
Each
child is given a job. Some are birth mothers(there is no reproduction
within families), nurturers, etc. Families are chosen by how compatible
they are.
Innocence is
bliss, and when Jonas is chosen as the new giver, he is given the
memories-bad and good. Jonas wishes that he wasn't chosen because many
of the memories are painful (war). Now that he has all this knowledge,
he doesn't know how to talk to his friends or family.
The story was wonderful and I really loved it. It was reminiscent of Anthem, the
way both main characters feel something is missing, though life is
supposedly perfect. Also it had some of the same morals as the movie
Pleasantville. Is it better to have a society without emotions
essentially, or to have one with emotions that cause turmoil. It'd be
great if there was only good emotions in the world-no embarrassment,
fear, etc. Except you'd never learn anything. It's like pain. If you
don't have it, you're more in danger, because you don't know if you've
been (perhaps fataly) injured. Life would be boring. We can't pick and
choose, instead just have to take it all or nothing. It could mean the
end of our species, but it's better than an oblivious, dependent
world....or is it?
There
is so many things that are balanced on a fine line. They are easily
unbalanced, but it's impossible to be perfect. If you think you are,
you're lying to yourself. It's just a farce.
This is a deep book that I reccomend highly. Filled with many surprises.