The Giver

by Lois Lowry
The Giver
book data
80,634 ratings, 4.14 average rating, 8,107 reviews (more data...)
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published
September 10th 2002 (first published 1993) by Dell Laurel-Leaf

binding
Mass Market Paperback, 192 pages

literary awards
John Newbery Medal

isbn
0440237688    (isbn13: 9780440237686)

description
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 communit...more




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Kristine
Read in January, 1999
I've taught this book to my 6th graders nine years in a row. Once I realized that the book is actually a mystery, and not the bland sci-fi adventure it seemed at first skim, I loved it more and more each time. Nine years, two classes most years... 17 TIMES. I've come to see that the book isn't the story of a depressing utopia. It's the story of the relationship between the main characters the Giver, Jonas, and... I won't say her name. And of course, the baby Gabe.

Every year, as w...more
Like this review?   yes   (40 people liked it)
  7 comments

Keely
05/26/07
Keely rated it: 1 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0385732554)

This book is a general failure, and I find it rather sad that we feel a need to feed such didactic and poorly-constructed work to our children (not to mention the legions of adult fans). I have always believed that work should challenge and inform children, not give them simplistic answers. When we treat children as if they are incapable of processing the complex, we fail to give them the tools they need to thrive in our own complex world.

Such is the problem with modern Disney films:...more
Like this review?   yes   (28 people liked it)
  75 comments

Jeane
09/11/07
Jeane rated it: 4 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0385732554)

bookshelves: yaliteraturejournal
Read in September, 2007
Lowry, Lois (1993). The Giver. NY: Bantam Doubleday Publishing Group, Inc. 180 pages.

Summary and Evaluation: In this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, the reader is introduced to Jonas, who lives in a utopian community without pain or fear; where all his needs are provided for – and all his decisions are made for him. During his twelfth year he is selected as the community’s Receiver to absorb and hold all the memories of humankind, both good and bad. His training will expose truths a...more
Like this review?   yes   (11 people liked it)
  2 comments

Matt
09/01/08
Matt rated it: 2 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0385732554)

Read in September, 2008
recommends it for: People who want to analyze how not to write sci-fi
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Like this review?   yes   (10 people liked it)
  5 comments

Julie
01/21/08
Julie rated it: 3 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0385732554)

bookshelves: teaching
Read in March, 2008
I think I'm missing something. Everyone loves this book and I liked it too, but it wasn't amazing or anything.

The Giver felt like a very sparse story to me. First, there isn't much characterization, so I didn't form an emotional connection with any of the characters -- not even with Jonas or the Giver (two central characters). Asher and Fiona (particularly Fiona) are introduced such that you assume they will play greater roles in the book than they do. I don't feel like I knew Mo...more
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James Carroll
bookshelves: fiction
Read in January, 2007
recommends it for: anyone
This book is the best refutation of the Buddhist philosophy that I have seen in a long while. In Buddhist thought, pain is the ultimate evil, and so, to eliminate pain and suffering we must give up desire, and individuality. Self is an illusion, and leads to pain, desire and agency are dangerous, so we should give them up and join the cosmic oneness "enlightenment" to find a utopia without pain. As Yoda says to Anakin, "you must give up all that you fear to loose."

...more
Like this review?   yes   (8 people liked it)
  1 comment

Jj873
08/20/08
Jj873 rated it: 5 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0385732554)

bookshelves: must-possess
Read in August, 2008
Upon finishing this book, not 20 minutes ago, I'm left with several thoughts:
1. This book should be required reading for everyone with the emotional maturity to handle it! (I believe that blindly labeling The Giver as a children's book is neither realistic nor necessarily wise, in some instances. Parents would be well advised to thoroughly screen it before offering it to an emotionally sensitive child to read.)

2. Very few things leave me mentally stuttering as I struggle to put...more
Like this review?   yes   (9 people liked it)
  2 comments

Chandra
I've decided to start to give YA lit a try. I have several reasons for this. First and foremost is that I have a young daughter and I want to start collecting high quality YA lit for our library. I also want to be aware of what she's reading and be available to discuss. Also, YA lit tends to be a little easier and faster to read and will be a nice compliment to my regular 'adult' reading. And finally, I've committed myself to a Newbery reading club in which we will attempt to read both meda...more
Like this review?   yes   (7 people liked it)
  8 comments

Anyea12
recommended to Anyea12 by: my 8th grade english teacher ms. merideth mcglinchey
recommends it for: any one with taste


imagine a a society where you are seperated from all technology. ( most of you are probably scared to death right now aren't you? LOL) but seriously... no t.v, no phone, no computers nada! and every one is grouped according to age and you have certain things or enjoy certain luxuries until you reach a certain age. A society where child birth is shameful, if you have twins they kill the one who weighs the lesser amount. A society where they inject you with stuff to kee...more
Like this review?   yes   (5 people liked it)
  3 comments

Lena
08/28/07
Lena rated it: 5 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0385732554)

Read in August, 2007
recommends it for: Everyone
This was an excellent book, but also very hard to read and very disturbing. The first half is like a science fiction novel about a utopian society. But the second half really gets into the emotional consequences of that society. In that way it is similar to Logan's Run, which was turned into a movie.

The point of the book, I think, was about the consequences of taking away pain, suffering and war by taking away individual choice. And the snowfall effect of taking away choice is t...more
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Stacey
03/28/08
Stacey rated it: 5 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0385732554)

Read in April, 2008
recommended to Stacey by: Lisa
How have I missed out on this book for so many years? The premise of living a life without agency is something to think about. I can't tell you how often I have wished (prayed) for a world filled with only peace and happiness, where no one feels pain, hunger or sadness. This book made me seriously re-think that wish and realize-once and for all-that without feeling the depths of sadness, we can't truly know what happiness is. What an amazing story!
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Megan
06/23/07
Megan rated it: 3 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0385732554)

I liked this book. I read it as an adult, and I found it surprising and interesting. It covers ground that has certainly been covered before--Soylent Green and Logan's Run are the two things that pop into my head--but it is well-written and I find that the sixth graders that I teach really like it. They say that it makes them think, that it is sad, it is interesting.

I read a review on here where a guy slammed this book and called it didactic and thought it was shameful that we t...more
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Aerin
06/29/07
Aerin rated it: 2 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0385732554)

Read in January, 1997
Had to read this for 8th-grade literature class. The beginning was kind of promising, the middle fairly lame, and the ending flat-out stupid. It was around the part where we learn that people are SO REPRESSED that they can (literally) only see in black-and-white, that I started throwing the book against the wall in frustration.
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Dave
09/03/07
Dave rated it: 2 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0385732554)

Being a student at the time, The Giver didn't seem to 'hit the spot' so to speak. As a 16 year old teen, it's funny to say "I live to read, read to live" but it's true. Let's just say I wouldn't live to read The Giver.
Like this review?   yes   (4 people liked it)
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Chalice
Read in November, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Like this review?   yes   (3 people liked it)
  3 comments

Madeline
This is the part where I'm supposed to go, "Ooh, this book is such a terrifying wake-up call to the dark side of our views of Paradise, and even though we wish death and pain weren't a part of our lives, they're necessary because without them we would be ignorant and lost, and blah blah blah..."

So: Ooh, this book is such a terrifying wake-up call to the dark side of our views of Paradise, and even though we wish death and pain weren't a part of our lives, they're necessary ...more
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Mark
01/22/08
Mark rated it: 2 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0385732554)

Read in January, 2008
A "Blade Runner" for early teenagers. Pretty heady for a 13 year old though. The idea of truth and memory -- and how they work together to support themselves. Without one or the other, or both, there's "sameness" as noted in "The Giver." However, it's all pretty short sighted. I mean, how did Earth get like it is? How is memory erased from an entire population -- was it systematic or some kind of voodoo? And are memories clouds that float from one person to another?...more
Like this review?   yes   (4 people liked it)
  1 comment

Grace
10/19/07
Grace rated it: 3 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0385732554)

Read in August, 2006
In this book, a boy from a "perfect" but isolated community is given a very important job. He must hold all the memories and all the history that it kept from the rest of the town. This book tells us that when we try too hard to reach the plane of perfectionism, it becomes unethical.
Like this review?   yes   (3 people liked it)
  251 comments

Yasmin Mahjoub
recommends it for: teens
"The Giver" is the story of a boy called Jonas who lives in a utopia. In a place where there is no pain, people's jobs, partners and futures are chosen and designed for them, "love" has become obsolete and everything is efficient.
The future that has been designed for Jonas is to be the "Reciever of Memories". He is believed to have the qualities needed for the position, and the ability to "see beyond". Jonas will receive the "memories" fro...more
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Ashley
08/28/08
Ashley rated it: 5 of 5 stars (review of isbn 0385732554)

Read in September, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Like this review?   yes   (2 people liked it)
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The Giver (Paperback)
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The Giver (Paperback)
The Giver (Mass Market Paperback)
The Giver (Mass Market Paperback)








groups with this book

Banned Books
Young Adult Fiction!
Nestie Book Club
Dystopias and Social Critiques
Dystopias and Social Critiques






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