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The Giver (1993)

by Lois Lowry

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: The Giver (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
39,720158251 (4.16)757
Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.
Recently added byRini55, private library, AlyssaPLacey, melrand, SCViBookRoom, adjimen2009, SJCSLibrary
  1. 264
    1984 by George Orwell (cflorente)
  2. 203
    The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (cflorente)
  3. 181
    Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (chrisharpe, afyfe)
    chrisharpe: I see I am in a minority but, although the idea behind the book is a good one, The Giver struck me as quite clumsy. A much more effective exploration of similar themes is Huxley's "Brave New World".
  4. 192
    The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (writecathy)
  5. 150
    The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (FFortuna)
    FFortuna: The Giver is much darker, but are similar in premise.
  6. 176
    Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (_Zoe_)
    _Zoe_: Another children's book that manages both to entertain and to make you think. These are two of my favourites.
  7. 110
    Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (KamTonnes)
    KamTonnes: Uglies and The Giver both portray societies that limit conflict by having very specific rules, roles, and expectations for everyone. Also, in both stories, the main characters slowly start to question the values of their respective communities.
  8. 100
    Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (jessicastatzer)
  9. 51
    Matched by Ally Condie (Trojanprincess, frankiejones)
    Trojanprincess: The two worlds seem similar in the way that every aspect of their livee are controlled.
  10. 40
    The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (jbarry)
    jbarry: futuristic take on biomedical ethics and mindbendingly complicated relationships
  11. 40
    We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (chrisharpe)
    chrisharpe: Similar themes, We is a lot better written.
  12. 52
    Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (ubcsfs)
  13. 30
    Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (mcenroeucsb)
  14. 10
    The Owl Keeper by Christine Brodien-Jones (wordcauldron)
    wordcauldron: Similarly brain-washy story about a controlled society and how the government tries to suppress the talented people who could break it all down and bring freedom and individualism.
  15. 21
    Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (rhondagrantham)
  16. 10
    Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix (BookshelfMonstrosity)
    BookshelfMonstrosity: In these riveting, suspenseful and thought-provoking dystopian novels, 12-year-old boys learn from inspirational figures about the true nature of their repressive societies: Jonas, from the elderly Giver; Luke, from another hidden -- albeit, more privileged and knowledgeable -- "third child."… (more)
  17. 10
    The Unnameables by Ellen Booraem (Nikkles)
  18. 10
    The Story Box by Monica Hughes (infiniteletters)
  19. 10
    The Dubious Hills by Pamela Dean (infiniteletters)
  20. 10
    Truesight by David Stahler Jr. (TheDivineOomba)
    TheDivineOomba: Very Similar Plot

(see all 29 recommendations)

1990s (26)
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» See also 757 mentions

English (1,563)  Italian (4)  Spanish (2)  Catalan (2)  German (2)  English (Middle) (1)  French (1)  Portuguese (1)  All languages (1,576)
Showing 1-5 of 1563 (next | show all)
Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.
  PlumfieldCH | Mar 13, 2024 |
very late to the party with this one. Finally picked back up on reading the newbery books. Dystopian book from the point of view of a child. think the point is that when you start giving up things for safety and pushing for shared experience, you can lose a lot of diversity, strength and joy. Certainly held my interest throughout ( )
  cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |
I read this book in several hours. It was amazing. While some parts were hard to read (like the part where Jonas's father releases the twin & when his father talks about how Gabriel will be released the next morning), the book is still well worth reading. ( )
  thatnerd | Mar 2, 2024 |
Jonas lives in an ideal community, where everything is planned out perfectly for children to learn and grow at the right (same) ages, have a career picked out for them, have a spouse picked out for them, and even have their designated maximum of two children picked out for them. No one is ever unhappy for long, and families discuss their feelings nightly to make sure all is sorted out. Medication exists for minor ailments, but there is no hunger or war to warrant much suffering. But when Jonas is selected not for a career so much as an unusual assignment -- that of Receiver to the Giver -- he learns there is more to life than their community of sameness allows. And that the community's perfect veneer hides a dark underbelly. But what can he do with this knowledge if only he and the Giver have the memories of things that happened long ago?

This book is ubiquitous in middle and high school circles and I guess for that reason I was convinced I had already read. But whenever I tried to recall what happens in the book, all I came up with was the plot to Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," which is a rather different story. So, I decided to finally read this book and see what all the fuss was about.

I did appreciate how this book makes you question so many things. It starts off seeming almost utopian (and arguably, some could say it is utopian for some members of this society) and then we slowly see how there are things that are far from ideal. But it opens up questions of what would you trade off if you could? Are colors worth having if people are starving? Is music worth listening to if people are killing each other? The book doesn't provide easy answers, but instead allows the ideas of individual choice versus collective good to sit and linger with the reader.

One thing that I didn't necessarily like about the book --- which is not a criticism per se --- is that I wanted to know more than what Lowry showed us. I was curious as to how humanity got from our present day to this society; they certainly had some technology we don't but they also did things like control the weather that sure does seem outside of the capabilities of humankind. It also seemed like this community might be the exception rather than the norm, although that wasn't entirely clear. The ending really left me wondering and hoping to know more. I plan to continue on with the series to see if I find answers to my questions.

The audiobook narrator did an excellent job but there was a weird choice to randomly play music during certainly selections of the book. I found this jarring, even though the music itself was not unpleasant -- it just seemed to come out of nowhere and then also leave as suddenly. ( )
  sweetiegherkin | Feb 23, 2024 |
Even better this time! And this version had a copy of Lois Lowry's Newbery acceptance speech at the end. It was as good as the book! ( )
  mjphillips | Feb 23, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 1563 (next | show all)

» Add other authors (2 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Lois Lowryprimary authorall editionscalculated
Ibatoulline, BagramIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rifkin, RonNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Epigraph
Dedication
For all the children
To whom we entrust the future
First words
It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened.
Quotations
His mind reeled. Now, empowered to ask questions of utmost rudeness- and promised answers- he could, conceivably (though it was almost unimaginable), ask someone, some adult, his father perhaps: "Do you lie?" But he had no way of knowing if the answer he received were true.
We really have to protect people from wrong choices.
But everyone would be burdened and pained. They don't want that. And that's the real reason The Receiver is so vital to them, and so honored. They selected me-- and you--to lift that burden from themselves.
Jonas did not want to go back. He didn't want the memories, didn't want the honor, didn't want the wisdom, didn't want the pain. He wanted his childhood again, his scraped knees and ball games.
Sometimes I wish they'd ask for my wisdom more often-there are so many things I could tell them; things I wish they would change. But they don't want change. Life here is so orderly, so predictable-so painless. It's what they've chosen.
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Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.

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Haiku summary
A black and white world

One boy holds the memories

Of colorful past

(Sundancer)

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