The Giver

Author: Lois Lowry
Goodreads Rating: 4.11
Pages: 180
Format: Library book

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

I read and loved this book in middle school when it was part of the required reading. I wish that I had loved it as much this second time around. I decided to reread this book because the fourth book in The Giver Quartet came out this past october, and I wanted to be able to have read all of the books and kept them in memory.

I have to thank my seventh grade English teacher for giving me the love of this book as well as teaching it so well that I still remembered a lot of it even though I read it almost ten years ago. I could remember that one of the memories that Jonas receives was the red sled, and how he passed memories onto Gabriel, and how bummed he was that he did that even though he continues to do it.

I loved Jonas felt this sense of wrongness as he learned more about life past the sameness. I think that it would have been a little better had Lowry better described that there was this sameness earlier in the book rather then when we meet The Giver and he is introduced to the colors and other part of life he didn't know he was missing.

I'm looking forward to starting the rest of the series, although it is my understand that the books don't continue with Jonas and his quest to escape the Sameness.

The Courts Decision: