Wednesday, August 6, 2014

REVIEW: The Giver by Lois Lowry


The Giver by Lois Lowry 

Publication date: Jan 24, 2006 

Mass Market Paperback

Source: Bought Kindle Version

179 Pages

The Giver Quartet #1

Links : Goodreads / Amazon 


Jonas' 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.

                    My Thoughts                   


Jonas is a 12.. he lives in a very safe very predictable community. Everything is ... the same. while there is no war or famine or death, there also isn't color, joy, or love.Until the choosing ceremony every child hits the same milestones at the same time. Everyone is the same. At the age of 12 you have a Choosing ceremony where it is decided for you what your occupation will be, there is no choices in this community, from the clothes you were, to the food you eat, to who you marry and how many kids you have. Everything is chosen for you to have a safe and "happy" community. Jonas's world turns upside down when he is bestowed the "honor" of becoming the Receiver of all the memories. He will be burdened to receive all of the memories of the past from the Giver. Jonas will never see life the same way again. 


Honestly a great book, and at the same time some key themes remind me of other great books and movies I love. I knew instantly what it meant to be "released" as a citizen in the novel, but it was so hard and literally tear jerking to see Jonas figure it out. I am intrigued to see this book plays out on the big screen. After watching the trailer I can already see some differences but I hope that they stay as true as possible to the book. 

The Giver is an amazing book. I was apprehensive on reading it initially because I hate to admit that I DO judge a book by its cover, and this cover didn't give off the vibe  of the type of books I normally read. I know The Giver has been out for some time now, so it was complete mis judging on my part that I did not read it sooner. I am so glad that I picked it up. I definitely feel that this may one day be though of as a classic. 




Plot : Great. What seems to be a Utopian community until Jonas digs a little deeper and learns that there was once more to life. 

Characters: Did not disappoint! Most of the novel is the interactions between the Giver and Jonas. Great characters! 

Cover: Well like I said.. Not my cup of tea. This cover doesn't screem Ya Utopian book, if it had, I might have picked it up earlier. 

Rating: 5 Stars !  

If you like The Giver you will love : 
Movies: Pleasentville !! This is on my top 5 movies list! Reminds me of the Giver because the T.V. show that these two kids get sucked into is literally black and white.. and very similar and safe. As characters in the movie start feeling real emotions and dealing with heavier issues their world slowly starts to turn to color. Very powerful.  
Books: The Uglies Series, Matched and Delirium all are based in a safe and extremely controlled environment similar to the one in The Giver, and the main characters flee the confides of the community to escape those binds.  City of Ember because of the choosing ceremony where your occupation is chosen for you. 








If you haven't read the book, or you've been living in a cave and didn't know the movie was coming out, then check out this the movie trailer! 


                           About The Author                             

From the time I was eight or nine, I wanted to be a writer. Writing was what I liked best in school; it was what I did best in school.
I was a solitary child, born the middle of three, who lived in the world of books and my own imagination. There are some children, and I was this kind of child, who are introverts and love to read — who prefer to curl up with a book than to hang out with friends or play at the ball field. Children like that begin to develop a feeling for language and for story. And that was true for me — that's how I became a writer.
My books have varied in content and in style. Yet it seems to me that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general theme: the importance of human connections. A Summer to Die, my first book, is a fictionalized retelling of the early death of my sister, and of the effect of such a loss on a family. Number the Stars, set in a different culture and era, tells of the same things: the role that we humans play in the lives of our fellow beings.
The Giver takes place against the background of yet another very different culture and time. Though broader in scope than my earlier books, it nonetheless speaks to the same concern: the vital need for humans to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment.
I use the Anastasia books to make myself laugh and to lighten up between serious books. But I also use them to deal with serious topics in a different way, disguised by humor.
I think it is my own children, all of them grown now, who have caused me to expand my view. One of my sons was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force; as a mother during the Gulf War, I was newly stunned into fear for the world and a heightened awareness of the necessity to find a way to end conflict. One of my daughters has become disabled as a result of the disease of the central nervous system; through her, I have a new and passionate awareness of the importance of human connections that transcend physical differences.
And I have grandchildren now. For them, I feel a greater urgency to do what I can to convey the knowledge that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future as human beings depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another.

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