The Giver | 
| Author: Lois Lowry
Brand: INGRAM BOOK & DISTRIBUTOR
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy Used: $2.44
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3070 reviews
Sales Rank: 377
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.7
MPN: ING0440237688
ISBN: 0440237688
EAN: 9780440237686
ASIN: 0440237688
Publication Date: September 10, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: great --CLEAN TEXT -name on side
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| Features:
| • | Made with the Best Quality Material with your child in mind. | | • | Top Quality Children's Item. |
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Product Description
When Jonas turns 12, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver--who alone holds memories of pain and pleasure in life. Now there can be no turning back from the truth. Paperback.
Amazon.com
In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3065 more reviews...
 Unsettling, but a definite must-read July 16, 2008
I read this book the first time as an adult (late 20's). I remember it was a popular summer reading book back when I was in school. Everyone I know who has read it said it was good, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
From the very first chapter, it had a spooky, ominous feel to it. It was a bit confusing during the first chapter, because it's set in a different world, and even a futuristic setting. The author quickly explains everything you need to know to understand this new world, but it doesn't make it any less strange. It reminded me a lot of "1984" to give you an idea.
The last 10 chapters or so I was not able to pull myself away. It was a good read, don't get me wrong, but it was more of a morbid fascination that kept me glued to it. I could not believe what I was reading. It's horrifying not only to reading about the kind of world that was presented in the book, but to see aspects of it in the real world. It leaves you thinking (just as "1984" did): "Wow, this could actually happen someday if we continued down this path".
It left me feeling very unsettled after I finished reading the book, and that feeling continued with me until the next day. People I've talked to that read it in high school told me that the book always stays with you like that. Not to mention, I finished it right before going to sleep that night, so I was left with some pretty odd dreams and an overall restless night.
When I first finished, I disliked the ending, but after sitting with it on my mind for awhile, I have a better understanding of why she chose to end it that way.
I remember this book being on my 5th grade reading list, but I feel some of the themes are a bit mature for someone that young. I'd say it was better for 15 and older. It just contained too many mature situations, death of a baby, for one. And she was pretty descriptive.
It was a book that I equally loved and hated. I loved the writing style, and the overall idea. It was a quick read, with no slow points to speak of. Her descriptions were amazing - very detailed. As the reader, you could really picture what she was describing. The characters that needed to be 3-D were, and there were some that needed to be less developed, and it went along with the premise of the story. I also hated the world she created because it scared me so much and it was just horrible.
I recommend that everyone should read this book. It serves as a warning of what may become ("sameness",etc) if we continue on the same path. Don't let the "young adult" label stop you from reading it, it's a must-read for adults too.
 Experience the highest highs and the lowest lows - or be mired in mediocrity July 16, 2008
Eleven-year-old Jonas is a typical boy living in a futuristic world of mediocrity. Even the geography, (completely flat) and the color scheme (only black and white) are bland. The elder of two children (all that is allowed per family unit), he attends school and enjoys the company of friends like any other kid. But in his town, everyone's behavior is closely monitored, Big Brother-like, with physical punishment meted out for infractions of its many rules. The community gains 50 babies per year and at prescribed ages, persons are given certain freedoms and/or responsibilities (for example, bicycles are given to nine year olds). Once a family's children move away, former parents (babies seem to be born in vitro) move out of their homes and in with others in the same situation until their eventual move to the nursing home and, finally, "release."
Jonas's life changes drastically when he is given his life job assignment, the most respected of the lot, Receiver (of memories). During his training, he gains the freedom of being allowed to ask any question of any person, but is unable to share his newfound knowledge with family and friends. He sees and feels the formerly unimaginable, love, hate, joy and sorrow, and, for the first time, experiences color. He also learns the truth about the procedure known as "release." Author Lois Lowry has created a simply written, amazing book with a memorable plot and engaging characters in this story about social conformity. Of the Newberry Award winners I've read, The Giver is my favorite. Similar science fiction: Feed by M.T. Anderson, The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, and Fearless by Tim Lott.
A remarkable idea reminding us that memory is useful July 12, 2008
This story made me think of the old movie "green sun". It should make everyone react at his/her level without any age distinction but mostly teenagers. No robot in the futurist story, just human conditioned and controlled (by who?) at the extreme. It is wonderfully explained how one ends up not questioning the system and how he/she can escape it. The end is splendid except for a "prop" which appears from nowhere. This excepted, the book is beautiful. I strongly recommend it to everyone over 13. I warranty parents they won't hear "I'm bored" or "I have nothing to do" the time of this book reading and may be thinking of :). For grown ups, it is a fabulous and clear reply to Finkenkraut's "Vain memory".
Claude
a must-read - for adults too! July 8, 2008
This is one of the best books I've ever read. It's just as capable of inspiring adult readers as yound adults. I've been buying copies of this for my younger family members. I've read many, many books as an English teacher and a lover of books, and this one is one of the best. Read it. You won't regret it.
bought it for my child, ended up being for me... July 6, 2008
I did buy this to read to my daughter but I couldn't wait to finish it and had to finish it before I could read the rest of it out-loud for my daughter....(also, she was too young for it-she was only 6). I will read it to her for the first time soon (she's almost 9)....anyway....the story is amazing, intensely thought provoking like 'brave new world' and '1984'.
Read it first, then to your child if she's 9 and up. Children can be strongly affected by the mature themes and the conversation & questions that follow...
a wonderful book, highly recommended...
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