Book Review
1. The Giver
2. Lois Lowry
3. Publisher and copyright date- Bantam Books, 1993
4. "The Giver" is a book about a very controlled city. This city has no color, and everyone is assigned a job that they are stuck with for the rest of their lives. Everyone has assigned homes, assigned children, and completely ordered lives. Jonas is assigned to be the next Reciever, and is forced to be burdained with memories of the way things used to be- colorful, and full of feelings, good and bad. He sees and feels all of the pain, but he also feels the love, and the warmth of it all. He and the previous Reciever devise a plan to make things become the way they used to be. This book creates a unique series of events that will never leave your mind- even when there are no pages to turn!
5. Identification of key characters-
Jonas- Always a child that the Elders' have had their eyes on, Jonas is chosen to become the Reciever, and is burdained with all of the memories that past Recievers have hidden from the community. Jonas' eyes are opened to the many emotions of the world before him, and the beautiful colors of the rainbow. Although some memories are awful, and almost unbearable, the memories of love and the memories of family are enough to convince him that there was more for him than just controlled living.
The Giver- Chosen many years before, The Reciever of memory was held as the top authority in the community. He knew everything, and had wise advice for all. However, what the community doesn't know is that he endures great pain and suffering through the memories, and he believes that the pain would be more manageable if the memories were shared with the entire community.
Gabriel- an infant that isn't doing as well as other infants his age. He has trouble sleeping, and is cared for through the nights by Jonas's father, a Nurturer. Jonas starts to connect with the tiny child, and starts to pass memories through to him to help him sleep. Jonas and Gabriel grow very close towards the end of the book.
6. Recommendation- I give this book 5 out of 5 stars, because it is a complexing story, full of mystery, and a strange world. This book kept me turning page after page, waiting to see what would happen with each character. After the book was over, I still found myself thinking about it all. Wondering what really happened in the end...