The Giver (The Giver Quartet #1)

The novel opens with eleven-year-old Jonas awaiting his Ceremony of Twelve, where he will be assigned his career and begin his training.

Jonas lives in a community where a group of Elders select everything including one’s parents, career, spouse and children. All the negative aspects of society have been removed and the community lives in a safe world of sameness, but unfortunately many of the positive aspects of life have also been removed.

At his Ceremony of Twelve Jonas is assigned the position of Receiver of Memory. The Receiver holds all the memories of the past that include both pleasant and painful ones. The idea is by having the Receiver, the community is not burdened with this knowledge.

During his training sessions the current Receiver of Memory, and now Giver of Memory transfers the memories of the past, that include positive memories like the excitement of riding a sled in the snow but also painful memories like war, famine and death.

As Jonas begins to experience these memories he learns some shocking secrets about the how the community is managed and begins to question the world he is living in.

The novel has a rather ambiguous ending, which while hopefully will leave readers in thought may frustrate some.

The Giver won the 1994 Newbery Medal and is frequently included on top young adult literature lists, but it is also one of the top 25 most frequently challenged or banned books in America.

A film adaptation was released in 2014 starring Brenton Thwaites, Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep.

A popular dystopian book written for young adults, though I believe many adults would enjoy the world that Lois Lowry has invented here. It’s a strict utopia where pain and sorrow are all but forgotten. They have their life partners, children, and occupations chosen for them by a committee within the society that observes them closely to make the best matches.

Jonas has been chosen to become the new receiver, the holder of the memories, and the only person who knows what life was like before and what it could be again. He sees how shallow their existence is since the sameness took effect. What Jonas calls everyday life I see as a living nightmare, no choices to make, no feelings, no color. Life is…boring because it’s safer that way.

This was a great start to a series I’ve been meaning to read for ages. A quick and enjoyable read that’s suitable for all ages. I can’t wait to read Gathering Blue!

Reader reviewed by Rachel

The Giver

                The Giver, written by Lois Lowery really got me thinking.  The book is set in the future in a place that has a thing called Sameness.  Virtually everyone is alike and the lives that each person lives are almost exactly like everyone else.  Except for Jonas.  Jonas is chosen to be the next Receiver of memories.  He is nervous at the prospect of this because it will make him apart from the rest of the community and can cause him pain.  Jonas, not knowing what to expect, goes into his first day of work.  He meets a man named The Giver.  The Giver is going to train Jonas and give him all the memories from the past.  The community needs The Giver so that there is someone to go to when a problem arises.  The Giver looks into his memories and offers them council on what they should do.  Jonas gets to experience snow and sledding at his first day of work.  These things are all new to him because his community doesnt have snow or even hills.  It was discerned long ago that such things could potentially be dangerous so they should be discarded.  Jonas is also introduced to feelings.  Real feelings and emotions, which is something that these people dont have.  Jonas sees why he is going to be isolated from everyone else.  He and The Giver are the only people who actually feel.  Sure, parents have affection for their children but its not real love.  Sure, people get hurt but only physically and never emotionally.  The physical pain can be cured in an instant too.  This is what got me thinking.  These people live in a place that doesnt have seasons or geography.  They dont have love.  It is physically impossible for them to feel that way because of all the things they are sheltered from.  It makes Jonas upset because he loves his family and there is no way for them to return it or for him to show them how much he loves them.  The only one who understands him is The Giver.  Because of all this they decide that they should do something.  It is risky and the possibility stands that if they fail the consequences would be dire.  But, if it works everything would be better. 

Reader reviewed by snickers

this book is really good.  i love how gabe is sentenced to die right before jonas leaves. i read this book in class and really loved it. i have now read it about 10 times and still love it. lois lowery is truely an amazing author. she weaved a story very well and made it so that i will always remember that book                                         

Reader reviewed by Lizzie

Jonas lives in a sort-of "gated community". Everything there is perfect. There is no fear or pain and families share their feelings each night after dinner. Each year a ceremony is held to celebrate birthdays of all the children up to age 12. At age 12 the children of the community receive their Assignments and are considered adults. Jonas is about to turn 12. His best friend Asher receives the job of Recreation Director, and his crush Fiona becomes a caretaker for the elderly. When Jonas' name is not called during the ceremony, he fears he has done something very wrong. He soon finds out the opposite though, as he has been chosen to be the new Giver, the most important job in the Community, but also the hardest.

The Giver is definitely worthy of being a classic. It is a post-apocalyptic story of hope and fear. I really enjoyed the length, it was not long but not too short. It is a book I think everyone should read, as there are many things to learn from it. It is a book I will keep thinking about for a long time.

Reader reviewed by x_fashion4eva

I'm sorry but this book was very confusing and kind of boring. I read in the 3rd and 6th grades but still I couldn't get into it. It just wasn't right 4 me though. U might like it!So I suggest u just readit and review it 4 yourself!

Reader reviewed by Kay Kay

The Giver. By Lois Lowry. Published by Dell Laurel Leaf. 1993.

The importance of the freedom to make choices and the drawbacks of living in a utopia where everything has sameness is on one of the themes of The Giver. The setting is some time in the future in a seemingly utopian community that is actually a dystopian community. This novel describes a world with no emotions, no war, no pain, and sadly, no love. I found it interesting because it is a very well written and thought provoking book.

The main character is a boy named Jonas. He is chosen to become the next Receiver of Memory. In this Utopian society, people do not want to be burdened with memories so they choose one person to hold the memories. As part of the job, The Receiver of Memory advises the community what to do based on memories from the past. His instructor, who he calls The Giver, is the current Receiver until Jonas completes his training. Jonas learns about pain, war, love, colors, and choices as he begins his training with The Giver.

Jonas tries to decide if choices are the best thing for the community. His quote I want to wake up in the morning and decide things! meant he wanted the freedom of having choices. He had decided that choices are good. But, then he realized that most likely sometimes people would make bad choices. He said, We really have to protect people from wrong choices. Later on he realizes that freewill is the better choice. Jonas also said, Theres nothing we can do. Its always been this way. Before me, before you, before the ones who came before you. Back and back and back. He was talking to The Giver about how there was nothing they could do to change the sameness in the community. However, Jonas and The Giver try to devise a plan to change the sameness in the community.

Lois Lowry wrote this book for reading entertainment purposes and to discuss the facts of living in a world without choices and memories. She also explains in detail how what seems like utopia could actually be dystopia. She has provided enough information to persuade the reader that having your own choices is better then being afraid of them or not having any at all.

I liked how Ms. Lowry wrote the book in the third person limited point of view and how she created such interesting characters. I believe she did a great job writing about the importance of choices, memory and being an individual. I could not put the book down because it was so flowing and enjoyable to read. I encourage you to read it also.

Reader reviewed by Maddie

I read the book "The Giver". "The Giver" was a very different and interesting book. I liked reading "The Giver", because i like reading interesting books that are different from the rest. "The Giver" involved a lot of shady characters that were mostly just the elders in the book. Overall I would say that I enjoyed this book very much and I can't wait to see what the sequal is like.

Reader reviewed by Riney

The Giver is about a supposed utopia where everything is regulated and controlled by the "government." That means that people are assigned children, people are assigned marriages, and people are assigned jobs. This "utopia" may appear to be perfect, yet it lacks color and other things that the real world has. This story is about the young man who is to become the receiver of memories of the outside world, who realizes what he has to do.

Reader reviewed by Anna

This is a really good book. I have read it a couple of times. It is about a community which is perfect. Their is a boy named Jonah who turned age 12 and starts to train for his job but when he finds out what he was picked to do he has a tough decision to make if he wants to "keep" it or not.

I enjoyed it because it kept me reading wanting to know what Jonah is going to do. Also the setting is so unreal I was interested in someones translation of a perfect community. It is technically science fiction but I enjoyed it and usually don't read science fiction because it is too fake but this book has enough reality. It is the perfect combination.