The Giver

 Lowry, L. (2002). Laurel-Leaf Books. (Original work published 1993). 192 pages. ISBN 0440237688

Primary genre: fantasy

Other elements: politics, coming of age, family, friendship, survival

Intended reader age: 8 and up

Synopsis:

Jonas is just weeks away from his Ceremony of Twelve where he will be given his Assignment and move into the world of adulthood. While all his friends eagerly speculate on their possible placements, Jonas worries because he has no idea of what he would enjoy doing for the rest of his life. The day of the Ceremony Jonas is selected for an Assignment of the highest honor: Receiver of Memories. Jonas will work with the Giver and be the one person in the Community to hold the all the memories. But as Jonas is set on his path, and introduced to all that the world really holds, he begins to question everything he has ever known.

Review:

I read this at the beginning of the month, and even took the time to type up this review, but somewhere along the way from the Word document to here... I forgot to actually post this review? Glad I caught it!

This is a book that I absolutely enjoy reading. It is the type of book for me that every time I read it I find something I forgot or something new to think about. Reading it this time around I saw where some of the young adult books I have read recently were inspired. I am still not certain if Lowry classified the other books she wrote as part of a Giver ‘series’ or if the classification was set by someone else. The only other one I have read so far is the ‘second’ Gathering Blue. This is not a continuation of Jonas’s story, but it is set in a world very similar to that of The Giver. My understanding is that the other two books, The Messenger and Son, follow similar story arcs as well. 

The one part that has always stuck with me is the community’s focus on ‘speaking accurately.’ They train people out of their tendency to over-exaggerate because it is a form of ‘lying.’ I tend to take their stance when I am with people, it is not as extreme as the Community is, but I will have those moments of, “Really? You’re starving?” Just to poke fun at people, of course.

The hardest part for me to read was the release of the twin. This is THE pivotal scene in the book and Lowry did a fantastic job of relaying the horror that Jonas experienced. I was also shocked by the actions the community would take to ‘correct’ people’s behavior. They had sticks that would give a spark when they were lashed on the offender’s hands or legs. The shock for me was not so much that they employed this tactic, but that I began when children were as young as, I believe, 2 and that they would also use it on their elderly.