The Giver (1993)

read by a classmate, she has issues with how it ends. The ending is so subjective though, that I think that the reader can make it be what they need it to be.

There are countless books and films about Utopian/Dystopian societies in which everything is regulated by the "powers that be." However, many of these works--in my opinion--tend to over-focus on the powers in control rather than the main character. Lois Lowry's The Giver starts and ends with an intense focus on the feelings of main character, Jonas.

I have no doubt that I would use this book--without hesitation--in an high school classroom. The theme of the awakening of feelings and rebellious nature of Jonas parallels the inevitable experiences of adolescents. However, this book may be even more suitable for middle school students these days--especially due to its brevity, but I would caution teachers to make that judgment based on students' level of maturity.

Furthermore, I can easily see this book being used as a supplementary text to a larger text that deals with concepts such as freedom, identity, or power, and even with a similar "coming of age" text. Due to its current popularity, Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games may be an ideal choice for an anchor text that includes all of these concepts as well as a dystopian society.

Somehow, throughout all 17+ years of schooling, I have never been asked to read The Giver; and now, at the age of 25, I cannot express just how mind-opening this book has been for me. Despite being written in 1993, Lowry's book still stands the test of time and--I believe--will continue to do so for years to come. Profound, to say the least. ( )

I'm sure I realized this back in November when I bought this but I'm realizing it again now. This is a first edition. It's in absolutely perfect condition. The binding and paper are still stiff. I think it may have only been read once in it's 18 year life - and for less than $5. Yay Better World Books.


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In a society where there are no colors, true emotions (neither pleasure nor pain) and music, Jonas is selected to be the Receiver of all the memories of the past, a burden that the other citizens are spared from bearing. Once Jonas becomes aware of colors and injustice and dying, he decides he can no longer live in the safety of Sameness and leaves his town for Elsewhere. Rereading this book 10 years later has given me an entirely new perspective on teen literature today. Lowry was way ahead of the curve when it came to imagining strictly controlled futures where free will is taken from us. "Matched" is one novel that shares a surprising number of elements with "The Giver". ( )

My first thought upon completing this book was that it belonged alongside the likes of 1984. I was actually quite stunned to find it had been published in my lifetime.

The Giver is a really interesting book to me, because it sparks so much discussion among those who have read it. I read it over a month ago, so some of the finer details are already fuzzy, but I recall thinking it wasn’t really a children’s book. Then I encountered people who felt it was too simplified, which is well within their right to think of course, but hard to determine. Where do we draw the line?

I don’t dabble in politics much (or really, at all) so the claims of The Giver being simply a piece of anti-socialism propaganda are a little outside of my realm of comfort and knowledge. But I will say it is hardly the first time a book has shaken things up in the political sense, and I doubt it will be the last.

For me, I enjoyed The Giver. The quick change from utopia to dystopia is not something I have seen very often, at least in contemporary works, and it was a really refreshing change. I find a lot of the dystopian novels I read are very cut and dried that they are dystopian. There is not something missing, there is not something more. Yet, here we have a distinct lack that is pointed out in a big way. I don’t want to give away the whole book, so I won’t go into any more detail, but I loved the way it was told.

In some ways, The Giver is very much a children’s novel. The characters are not really delved into very much, though I was very appreciative that Jonas was portrayed very much as a standard young man. He didn’t read as older or younger than his years, which is something that can be hard to do when writing a younger character… especially in a situation where the world they are dealing with is so heavy.

The writing was technically fine, and I enjoyed the narrative voice. It kept the story moving at a good pace.

The story of The Giver is hard to define. I really wanted more details, and that is where I feel it very much fell flat. Given more details, more worldbuilding, this novel could have been truly magnificent. And the ending was the kind that drives readers insane, and not in a good way.

Bottom Line: A children’s utopian/dystopian novel surrounded in so many opinions that I hesitate to add my own voice. I feel like you will either really like it or really not, and I encourage you to pick it up and see which category you fall into. ( )