The Giver by Lois Lowry

from goodreads

5 stars

There are some books that are meant to be read at certain points of your life. There are books I read as a preteen and real teen, that meant a lot to me at that time period. If I tried to read them now they would not have the same impact. But there are other books that I read as a teen that still give me insight and help shape the world around me. They still help me decide what I should value in the world, and what I should change. The help me be me.

The Giver is one of these books. Every time I read it I fall in love with it again and I am able to re-evaluate what I find important and what I do not. What I want the world to become and what I fear.

I am bit leery about seeing the movie. This book is so near and dear to me I am worried what Hollywood is going to do to it. Will I be sitting there saying "that's not how it was in the book, why did they do it like that?" Or will it give me an even deeper understanding to the world that Lowry created and thus a deeper understanding into our own world? We'll have wait and see.

Do you have a book like this? A book that no matter which time in your life you read it it still gives you joy and fulfillment?

***Spoiler Alert***
I am going to do my best at not giving any spoilers. But I know this book inside and out and may inadvertently give too much information. So there might not be any spoilers, but then there may not be. So read at own risk. :)

Synopsis

Jonas is entering an important stage in his life. He is twelve and at that age he gets placed in the career that he will work in for his life. He is excited and nervous all at the same time. But, when his name is skipped over at the ceremony, the whole community is a titter. Then he meets, the "Giver".

My Thoughts

I love this book. To me this is the ultimate dystopian. I can still remember the first time I read this book. I was twelve, my mom handed it to me before a road trip. And I was sitting in the front of our Plymouth Sundance totally in awe.

I love the world Lowry creates. I love how she slowly gives you tidbits about the community. I started picturing it one way and then she gives us another clue and it totally changes how I picture things. This makes it exciting and also gives the choices the community has made greater impact. For example, I pictured the streets with a bit of a slant or hill, especially when going towards the river, but then I read that there were no hills or real contrasts in elevation. Mind blowing.

I love how this book teaches the importance of love and bonding with friends and family. It teaches how important our emotions are, especially those of love. It also teaches the importance of facing hurt, disappointment and heart ache, with bravery and patience as this helps us with our empathy and understanding of others.

There is one scene that disturbs me more as a mother than it did when I first read it. It is the one with the baby twins. Some might say this scene shouldn't be in the book. But I think it opens the door for important discussion. A discussion that teens need to have so they can decide where their moral compass lies.

I would love to have more answers to some of my questions about this community. Such as, how many other communities are like this? How are they able to control the weather? How did this get formed? Why are they so technologically advanced when some of the other books in the series seem not as advanced? And so on. But without these questions answered it is still a satisfying read.

It is a simple tale, and it doesn't go as in depth as some adult readers might want it too but, as a older kids/YA book, it is great. It begins the conversation. This is the first book in The Giver Quartet. I have read all of them. I think The Giver is still my favourite, though I did enjoy the other books as well. They deal with different issues, yet they still allow a conversation to be had. Books that provide the jumping off point for conversations can't be all that bad.