The Giver by Lois Lowry Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Giver
Book Review: A Book for All Ages
Summary: 5 Stars
Although written on a 5th grade level, "The Giver" is a book for all ages. It illistrates the importance of having and sharing memories with one another. Jonas, the Giver, and the community learn a great deal about learning what it means to trully live, love, feel, and see. The story proves that without pain there is no passion, and without hate there is no love. I trully enjoyed the book and I recomend it for everyone to read. After reading the book make sure to sit down with a family member and share an intimate memory. The Giver recieves two thumbs up and five golden stars.Book Review: A Brilliant Book
Summary: 5 Stars
As someone else stated, the concept and plot of this book has been mentioned many times, so I will not cover that area. I will simply explain why I love this book, and why I would recommend it to others.
I simply fell in love with this book in the sixth grade. We were required to read it, and we were supposed to read a chapter a night - I read mine in a few days. Now mind you, that was over 10 years ago. I have since read it a handful of times, and each time, I draw different conclusions. I love that the book always leaves me wanting more; always leaves me imagining what would happen next; and always leaves me envisioning myself in the World it creates.
I would recommend this book to anyone, including young adults all the way up to the elderly. It gives you a greater appreciation for things you would normally take for granted - like colors, emotions, and freedom to choose what to do with your life. I would also recommend seeing the movie equilibrium, or reading the book 1984 if you enjoy this quick and easy read. It's a more adult view of the same concept - a World with no emotions, no war, no pain, and sadly, no love.
Book Review: A Captivating Read! "Give" it a chance!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Giver
Lowery, Lois
Published by Laurel Leaf (2002)
Reading Level: 6.5
192 Pages
Youth Science Fiction
I remember reading The Giver for the first time as an emerging adolescent. For the first time I can remember, a novel challenged me to do more than just imagine. This powerful novel (to the my delight) forced me to consider and evaluate the circumstances and situations the author describes. Lois Lowry weaves together a provocative narrative that challenges our assumptions about the desirability of a utopian world, and explores the dark underside that so often accompanies flawed human attempts at manufacturing perfection. The story is less about Jonas, a 12-year old boy who is designated to become the receiver of memories, than it is about the twisted modern utopia he inhabits.
The story is set in a world without extremes. There is no pain, no suffering, and no poverty, but at the same time, no joy, no meaning, and no love. The cost of ridding the world of its ills is sacrificing many of its greatest virtues. By introducing the reader into the sterile world Jonas is born into, and accompanying him as he breaks through personal and societal barriers, Lowry invites her audience to consider controversial issues about freedom of choice, the nature of authentic experiences, the conditions of righteous rebellion, the intrinsic value of human life, and the price of a painless existence.
Jonas's experience reminds us of the simple joys we tend to take for granted in our world, full of endless variation, possibility, challenge, and choice. In the (literally) black and white world that Jonas inhabits, experiencing everything from the fundamental concepts of color and hunger to simple pleasures and pains like sledding and sunburns leaves Jonas profoundly changed. The way Jonas grows and matures through learning about his environment reminds the reader of how important it is to seek out new knowledge to better understand our world and ourselves.
Despite the striking differences between the modern world and the society Jonas is born into, many of the decisions that Jonas grapples with upon discovering the true nature of his utopian existence are similar to those every teenager and adult must make as he or she matures to gain wisdom, and with it, responsibility. It is almost painful to watch Jonas, at a mere 12 years of age, carry the enormous burden of remembering (and experiencing) the imperfections and wonders of the past alone. Jonas's journey, beginning with his passage into adulthood with the Ceremony of Twelve, and culminating with his decision to flee the only world he has ever known (to what end, we will never know...), reveals the incredible range of emotions we all know well as the human experience.
Book Review: A Challenging and Intriguing Book for Today's Young Adults
Summary: 4 Stars
The Giver is certainly an intriguing book that would most certainly challenge the perception and knowledge of any young adult who reads it. Through a young man named Jonas' journey into self-discovery and such profound incidents as seeing colors for the first time and feeling the horrid sting of true fear and pain in a world, which is so controlled and monitored that the people around him will never understand unless he finds the strength to share it with them. Showing us that a world of ignorance and perfection is by no means what it should be and forcing readers into considering their own reality and how the world around you must always be questioned, even presenting us with parallels into our current state of the world. Hopefully showing some young readers what it means to analyze the society around them and the barriers that societies build up, which sometimes must be broken.However, this is a mature book, even though it is a middle school reading level it deals with complicated situations and emotions, which some young readers may find upsetting and confusing. This doesn't mean it isn't a great book, but best for a mature young adult. A great discussion tool and definitely a book some kids will never forget.
Book Review: A Classic Novel for both Adults and Children!
Summary: 4 Stars
Children shouldn't be the only readers of Lois Lowry's classic best selling novel. The fact that there are over 3,000 reviews tells something. The book is a must read in schools and now I know why. The book starts off with Jonah, a boy who will be twelve years old, and be given responsibilities beyond his imagination.
Jonas and his family live in a world where there are no feelings, no colors, no imagination, no creativity, no planning, and a book of rules which I wished went with it.
Jonas is chosen as the one to be the receiver and he goes to the elder man who is known as the Giver. The book reminded me of George Orwell's 1984 and a cultish scenario.
I would recommend parents reading this book with their children and they will have a lively, interesting discussion to broaden their own minds and communicate with each other. This book can bring both adults and children together in appreciation for the choices that we have and can make in our world.
I would have given it five stars but I think that the author could have used useful tools like explaining the book of rules, maps, and illustrations to help envision this strange environment but still it's an excellent book and I would definitely teach it in the schools.
This book will make you appreciate life a little more and even the littlest things. A movie is in the works.