The Giver (Giver, Bk 1)
Author:
Genres: Children's Books, Teen & Young Adult
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Author:
Genres: Children's Books, Teen & Young Adult
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
There's a reason this story won the Newbery Medal. It's an AMAZING story and I honestly loved it! In short, this book is brilliant --> perfection in 179 pages! The writing is beautiful, the overall story is so heart-breaking, and there are well-developed characters I learned to love.
The Giver is one of the most original and creative books I've ever read, and each page soaked me in more and more! There were so many unpredictable plot twists! Every time I thought I knew something, Lowry proved me wrong with another one of her spectacular twists!
This book is unlike everything I've ever read before. It's brilliant and creative, and it breathes such fresh air into the dystopian genre.
Our story follows 12-year-old Jonas. He lives in a Community where everything is "perfect." There is no war, no pain, no suffering, no choices. At the age of twelve, each member of the Community is assigned a job to help keep everything run smoothly. When Jonas is assigned his role, he is singled out to meet the Giver - an old, wise man who has memories of how life used to be - painful, pleasureful, free. While seeing these memories, Jonas begins to wonder if his society is as "perfect" as it seems...
THE WRITING
Lowry's writing is breath-takingly beautiful! The way she is able to get her words to flow across the pages so eloquently and elegantly is beyond me! It's simply stunning, and it's hard not to admire her simple yet complex writing style.
Some reviewers might argue that the writing is too simplistic. And I agree. The writing is simplistic, but beautifully so. It could easily be read by a 10-year-old, yet it would take a teenager to actually understand the themes in the writing. In short, the writing in the book may seem simple, but the themes and concepts in the book are deep. As in seriously deep.
The pacing is brilliant as well - it's fast, but not too fast. It helps create such an amazing aura of peace - like a dip into the Community itself. It's quite mysterious, urgent and suspenseful at times, but the pacing is a great help in those areas as well.
Oh, the ending! (Not going to give anything away, but this ending was really a dazzler!) The Giver ended in such a way that I was yearning for more. I'm usually not very fond of cliff-hangers, but since this is a book in a series, I'm interested in seeing how Lowry finishes up the story she started.
THE CHARACTERS
The Giver features a small but powerful cast of characters - each of whom are developed so wonderfully and realistically.
The Giver has every character you can imagine - from the old, wise Giver to the kind, naïve Jonas to the humorous, zestful Asher. The characters in the story all show every angle of human nature - good and bad; yet they all hint at being their own individual person, straining to be free in a "Same" society.
Each character has a phenomenal amount of depth that it feels like you actually know them personally. I really got attached to Jonas; and I truly felt his pain, his longing, his confusion. It was beautiful; I've never had such a deep emotional connection with a character like this - and I believe it's truly a gifted author who is able to do this!
THE WORLD-BUILDING & DYSTOPIA
In terms of the world-building and dystopian elements of the story, they were superb and extraordinarily well done.
After finishing the story (and crying because of the huge emotional impact it had on me), I couldn't think of one thing that confused me in terms of world-building and dystopian elements.
Everything is well-explained, leaving the reader with no unanswered questions or concerns. (Besides, of course, what happens to Gabe and Jonas following the end of the story.
I was so impressed that The Giver was not one of those books that failed simply because of some poor world-building, much like the poorly edited dystopias being released currently.
And yet what I liked most about The Giver was that it made me think. We so often take for granted everything we have - not only physically, but emotionally as well. Lowry raises an interesting point when she asks if you'd rather have..
I have been a fan of Lois Lowry's writing since I read her breath-taking historical fiction novel [book:Number the Stars|47281]. And, luckily, she does nothing but impress me once again, and I will definitely be reading more of her books.
It bears repeating that The Giver was AMAZING! Perfection in 179 pages. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who hasn't read it before. It will truly change your life! It's definitely one of the few books that I believe people should read at least once in their lives.
As for me, I can't wait to read the rest of the "quartet!"
The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.THE PLOT
The Giver is one of the most original and creative books I've ever read, and each page soaked me in more and more! There were so many unpredictable plot twists! Every time I thought I knew something, Lowry proved me wrong with another one of her spectacular twists!
This book is unlike everything I've ever read before. It's brilliant and creative, and it breathes such fresh air into the dystopian genre.
Our story follows 12-year-old Jonas. He lives in a Community where everything is "perfect." There is no war, no pain, no suffering, no choices. At the age of twelve, each member of the Community is assigned a job to help keep everything run smoothly. When Jonas is assigned his role, he is singled out to meet the Giver - an old, wise man who has memories of how life used to be - painful, pleasureful, free. While seeing these memories, Jonas begins to wonder if his society is as "perfect" as it seems...
THE WRITING
Lowry's writing is breath-takingly beautiful! The way she is able to get her words to flow across the pages so eloquently and elegantly is beyond me! It's simply stunning, and it's hard not to admire her simple yet complex writing style.
Some reviewers might argue that the writing is too simplistic. And I agree. The writing is simplistic, but beautifully so. It could easily be read by a 10-year-old, yet it would take a teenager to actually understand the themes in the writing. In short, the writing in the book may seem simple, but the themes and concepts in the book are deep. As in seriously deep.
The pacing is brilliant as well - it's fast, but not too fast. It helps create such an amazing aura of peace - like a dip into the Community itself. It's quite mysterious, urgent and suspenseful at times, but the pacing is a great help in those areas as well.
Oh, the ending! (Not going to give anything away, but this ending was really a dazzler!) The Giver ended in such a way that I was yearning for more. I'm usually not very fond of cliff-hangers, but since this is a book in a series, I'm interested in seeing how Lowry finishes up the story she started.
THE CHARACTERS
The Giver features a small but powerful cast of characters - each of whom are developed so wonderfully and realistically.
The Giver has every character you can imagine - from the old, wise Giver to the kind, naïve Jonas to the humorous, zestful Asher. The characters in the story all show every angle of human nature - good and bad; yet they all hint at being their own individual person, straining to be free in a "Same" society.
Each character has a phenomenal amount of depth that it feels like you actually know them personally. I really got attached to Jonas; and I truly felt his pain, his longing, his confusion. It was beautiful; I've never had such a deep emotional connection with a character like this - and I believe it's truly a gifted author who is able to do this!
THE WORLD-BUILDING & DYSTOPIA
In terms of the world-building and dystopian elements of the story, they were superb and extraordinarily well done.
After finishing the story (
Everything is well-explained, leaving the reader with no unanswered questions or concerns. (Besides, of course, what happens to Gabe and Jonas following the end of the story.
I was so impressed that The Giver was not one of those books that failed simply because of some poor world-building, much like the poorly edited dystopias being released currently.
And yet what I liked most about The Giver was that it made me think. We so often take for granted everything we have - not only physically, but emotionally as well. Lowry raises an interesting point when she asks if you'd rather have..
... a perfect world that has no pain, suffering or war - yet no colors or choices or emotionsIt's an issue that made me truly think deeply; deeper than I've thought in such a long time, and just for that I name The Giver as one of my all-time favorite books.
or
an imperfect world with pain and suffering; yet the opportunity to make your own choices, to follow your own destiny.
I have been a fan of Lois Lowry's writing since I read her breath-taking historical fiction novel [book:Number the Stars|47281]. And, luckily, she does nothing but impress me once again, and I will definitely be reading more of her books.
It bears repeating that The Giver was AMAZING! Perfection in 179 pages. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who hasn't read it before. It will truly change your life! It's definitely one of the few books that I believe people should read at least once in their lives.
As for me, I can't wait to read the rest of the "quartet!"
A well-earned 5 out of 5 red sleds!
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