Goodreads | The Giver (Paperback) by Lois Lowry

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Keely rated it:

08/09/07

bookshelves: childhood, contemporary-fiction, novel, sci-fi

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 process our own complex world.

The problem with modern Disney films is that they seem ...more

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51 comments

Kristine rated it:

07/14/07

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 we read t...more 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 we read the book out loud together, I am amazed at details the students notice (things I've missed the previous 15 times), or questions they raise that lead to further insights for not just the class but ME. My God, the things they come up with, that I as an English major, or even me if I'd read this with a book club, could never have gone that far in depth.

As I began to more fully understand the book over the years, I was better able to guide their discussions, which helped them think more deeply about the book, and made me appreciate the book even more. And by "guide," I don't mean calm, controlled, teachery, "I already know the answer" talk.

My discussion techniques, simple:
--I'd stop the tape (books on tape are AWESOME- the narrator is always so much better than I could ever be) and say something like, "So, what do you think? Doesn't this seem a little WEIRD?" and off they'd go, bouncing ideas off each other until finally someone said something incredible, something no kid had thought of in the past nine years. Once I myself knew how to be interested in this book, I knew what might keep them hooked.
--Or, I myself would suddenly realize something new, and I'd stop reading and say, "OH MY GOD DID YOU GUYS GET WHAT THAT MEANT??? WHAT IT MIGHT MEAN????"
I feel free to participate myself, since I myself still have so many questions about the book. I'm not spoiling the ending when I bring up my own questions, because I know this book is a mystery in which things don't much get answered- they're left to linger, and that's part of the beauty and hopefulness in this book.

There are still lines, moments, in the book that give me chills. I wait for them greedily, just to hear the words spoken.

I feel lucky to have been forced to read this book a dozen times. There are other books I've read a lot with my students, and this is the one that most stands up over time, the only one that keeps my interest. I truly am on the edge of my seat to see what we will realize next. Because I've seen that, even if I think I have it all figured out, some kid is going to say something to rock my world.

I can't believe Lowry was able to make a book this clever; part of me thinks a work this good is impossible, and that we are just reading too much into it. But no, it's all there, all the pieces, and she put them there. I just don't see how could she have written such a tightly woven mystery- how could she have know all of the questions the book would raise? And you know what, she probably didn't. A book isn't like drawing a map. You make the world, and things happen. And in this case, she did make a perfect world. (I SO did not mean that as a UTOPIA PUN!!!!!!! I hate puns so much!!!!!! I mean, she so fully created that world where everything that happens is plausible.)

Just read the damn book, then call me.

Or, call me after like, Chapter 13, then after 18 and 19.

he book. Lines that almost make me cry-
...less

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Jeane rated it:

09/13/07

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 ex...more 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 about the world and his community causing him to embark on a journey where he must make the biggest choice of his life.

My interest in this book was piqued last year when I read an excerpt of it in my Children’s Literature class. I know when I really enjoy a book because I find myself thinking about it for days after I’ve finished reading it. That's how I was with The Giver. This novel has elements of both mystery and science fiction (vaguely reminiscent of my fav, Frank Herbert’s Dune) that kept me engrossed to the end. Lowry keeps the narrative suspenseful by slowly uncovering details of community life allowing the reader to piece together the alien (not literally) yet fascinating community of these characters. I found this novel really refreshing after reading the relationship dramas of Forever and Seventeenth Summer. On the surface The Giver does not seem as based in ‘reality’ as Forever and Seventeenth Summer, but on deeper consideration it does deal with topics that many young adults are beginning to ponder at their age. This story delves into important societal questions such as: ‘Would the world be a better place if there were rules and punishments to guide every person’s actions?’, ‘Could a person be truly happy if they faced no challenges or did not have to make decisions in life?’, ‘Would you be willing to forgo the wonders of life if it meant you would never have to experience anything bad?’ Although somewhat exaggerated in a Twilight-Zone sort of way, this story includes the typical coming-of-age themes in young adult literature including the inevitability of growing up and learning hard truths about life, of seeking independence from family and community units, and developing ideas and beliefs separate from those you grew up with. The only thing that frustrated me with The Giver was the open-ended conclusion. While some readers might enjoy imagining what happens after the story ends, I personally wanted more of my questions answered! Without giving the ending away, I was left wondering whether the decision Jonas made turned out to be the best choice of action and the effect it had on those around him.

Booktalk Hook: This novel probably does not need much of a push due to its renown, but in any case I would begin by introducing the novel with a short summary similar to the one written above. I would then set up the passage I was going to read (pg. 47 beginning with "Break for midday meal." through end of chapter) by explaining that the scene involves Jonas, the main character, having a conversation with his best friend, Asher, about the Assignments they were to receive shortly at the ceremony celebrating their twelfth year.
...less

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James rated it:

07/11/07

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."

And, o...more

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Matt rated it:

09/03/08

bookshelves: fantasy, science-fiction, young-adult

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.

If there are no wrong answers, can we really say that something has any meaning?

It is very easy to start an interesting science fiction story. Simply begin with a mystery. Don't explain things to the reader and leave them in a state of wonder. In this way, everything will seem interesting, intriguing, and worth exploring. Tap into the reader’s powers of imagination and allow them to make your story interesting in ways you need not imagine, and perhaps cannot create. This is a good plan f...more If there are no wrong answers, can we really say that something has any meaning?

It is very easy to start an interesting science fiction story. Simply begin with a mystery. Don't explain things to the reader and leave them in a state of wonder. In this way, everything will seem interesting, intriguing, and worth exploring. Tap into the reader’s powers of imagination and allow them to make your story interesting in ways you need not imagine, and perhaps cannot create. This is a good plan for starting a science fiction story. Lots of science fiction stories begin in this way. On television, almost all of them do – ‘X-Files’, ‘Lost’, ‘Battlestar Galactica’, ‘The 4400’, ‘The truth is out there.’ ‘They have a plan.’

‘The Giver’ starts in this way. In the first few pages as the setting unfolded, I was struck by the parallels to China after the cultural revolution – the bicycles, the uniform-like clothing, the regulated life, the shame based culture, and ‘the sameness’. I also thought of China, because I immediately grasped that this had to be a culture which was designed to gently crash its population. There were many clues that the world was heavily overpopulated and the primary goal of the culture so described was to crash the population without descending into society destroying anarchy - the highly regulated birthrate, which was insufficient to sustain the population. To sustain the population, more than 17 out of each 25 females would have to be assigned to be birth mothers, and this clearly wasn’t the case. The replacement rate for a society is about 2.3 live births per female (maybe 2.1 in a society that is safe and careful) – clearly they were implied to be below this ratio so clearly this was a society that was trying to shed population.

Equally clearly, this was a society that engaged in widespread euthanasia for the most trivial of causes, which hints at a culture which doesn’t value life because people are in such abundance that they can be readily disposed of. I suspected that ‘Release’ was euthanasia almost immediately from the context in which it was introduced, and this was almost immediately confirmed when it was revealed that infants were subject to ‘release’. Clearly, infants can't be meaningfully banished, so clearly release was euthanasia. So I was intrigued by the story. I wanted to see what happened to Jonas and his naive family who had so poised themselves on the edge of a great family wrecking tragedy in just the first few dozen pages of the story. I wanted to receive from the storyteller answers to the questions that the story was poising, if not some great profound message then at least some story that followed from what she began.

But it was not to be. The first clue that the whole construct was to eventually come crashing down was that Jonas clearly didn’t understand ‘release’ to mean ‘euthanasia’. Nor in fact did anyone seem to know what ‘release’ meant. This shocked me, because in the context of the setting it was virtually impossible that he and everyone else did not know. I could very easily imagine a stable society where human life was not prized – after all, societies that believe that human life is intrinsically valuable are historically far less common than ones that don’t. We know that the society is life affirming, both because we are told how pained and shocked they are by loss and by the fact that Jonas responds to scenes of death with pity and anger. What I could not believe in was a society which held the concept of ‘precision of language’ so tightly and so centrally that the protagonist could not imagine lying could in fact be founded on lies. That’s impossible. No society like that can long endure. Some technological explanation would be required to explain how the society managed to hide the truth from itself. If release took place in some conscious state of mind, then surely the dispensers of Justice, the Nurturers, the Caregivers, and the sanitation workers would all know the lie, and all suspect – as Jonas did – that they were being lied to as well. Surely all of these would suspect what their own future release would actually entail, and surely at least some of them would reject it. Surely some not inconsequential number of new children, reared to value precision of language and to affirm the value of life, would rebel at the audacity of the lie if nothing else. Even in a society that knew nothing of love, even if only the society had as much feeling as the members of the family displayed, and even if people only valued others as much as the Community was shown to value others, surely some level of attachment would exist between people. Soma or not, the seeds of pain, tragedy, conflict and rebellion are present if ever the truth is known to anyone.

Nothing about the story makes any sense. None of it bears any amount of scrutiny at all. The more seriously you consider it, the more stupid and illogical the whole thing becomes. We are given to believe that the society has no conception of warfare, to the point that it cannot recognize a child’s war game for what it is, and yet we are also given to believe that they train pilots in flying what is implied to be a fighter craft and that the community maintains anti-aircraft weapons on a state of high alert such that they could shoot down such a fighter craft on a moments notice. We are given to believe that all wild animals are unknown to the community, yet we are also given to believe that potential pest species like squirrels and birds are not in fact extinct. How do you possibly keep them out of the community if they exist in any numbers elsewhere? We are given to believe that technology exists sufficient to fill in the oceans and control the weather and replace the natural biosphere with something capable of sustaining humanity, but that technological innovation continues in primitive culture. We are given to believe that they are worried about overpopulation and starvation, and yet also that most of the world is empty and uninhabited or that this inherently xenophobic community lives in isolation if in fact it doesn’t span the whole of the Earth. We are given to believe that this is a fully industrial society, yet the community at most has a few thousands of people. Surely thousands of such communities must exist to maintain an aerospace industry, to say nothing of weather controllers. Why is no thought given to the hundreds of other Receivers of Memory which must exist in their own small circles of communities in the larger Community? Surely any plan which ignores the small communities place in the larger is foredoomed to failure? Surely the Receiver of Memory knows what a purge or a pogrom is?

How are we to believe that Jonas’s father, whose compassion for little Gabriel is so great that he risks breaking the rules for his sake, whose compassion for little Gabriel is so great that he risks face by going to the committee to please for Gabriel’s life, whose compassion for little Gabriel is so great that he discomforts himself and his whole family for a year for the sake of the child, is the same man who so easily abandons that same child at a single setback when he has witnessed the child grow and prosper? Doesn’t it seem far easier to believe that this same man, who is openly scornful of the skills and nurturing ability of the night crew, would more readily blame the night crew for Gabriel’s discomfort? I can only conclude, just as I can only conclude about the illogical fact that no one knows what release is, that everything is plastic within the dictates of the plot. Jonas’s father feels and acts one way when the needs of the plot require it and feels and acts in different ways when the needs of the plot require something else. What I can’t believe is that this is any sort of whole and internally consistent character or setting. Every single thing when held up to the light falls apart. There is not one page which is even as substantial as tissue paper.

It is almost impossible to draw meaning from nonsense, so it is no wonder that people have wondered at the ending. What happens? The great virtue of the story as far as modern educators are probably concerned is that there are no wrong answers. What ever you wish to imagine is true is every bit as good of answer as any other. Perhaps he lives. Perhaps he finds a community which lives in the old ways, knowing choice – and war and conflict (which probably explains why the community needs anti-aircraft defenses). But more likely from the context he dies. Perhaps he is delusional. Perhaps he gets to the bottom and lies down in the deepening snow which the runners can no longer be pushed through and he dies. Perhaps he dies and goes to heaven, maybe even the heaven of the one whose birthday is celebrated by the implied Holiday. Perhaps it is even the case that he was sent to his death by the cynical Giver, who knew his death was necessary to release the memories he contained by to the community. Perhaps he didn’t just die, but was slaughtered as the sacrificial lamb – killed by a murderous lie from the one he trusted too well. For my entry in the meaningless answers contest, I propose that the whole thing was just a dream. This seems the easiest way to explain the contradictions. A dream doesn’t have to make sense. And the biggest clue that it is a dream is of course that Jonas sees the world in black and white, with only the occasional flashes of recognized color around important colorful things as is typical of that sort of black and white dream. Perhaps Jonas will wake up and engage in dream sharing with his family, and they will laugh at the silliness and then go to the ceremony of twelve’s. Or perhaps the whole community is only a dream, and Jonas will wake up and go downstairs and open his Christmas presents with his family....less

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Julie rated it:

03/05/08

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 l...more

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Megan rated it:

06/23/07

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 tell chil...more

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Jj873 rated it:

08/23/08

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 my thoughts...more

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Anyea12 rated it:

05/01/08

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 keep your h...more

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 keep your hormones from bouncing off the wall. everyone wheres the same thing (O.M.G!) or even a society where the world is all black and white! no the town isn't all monochromatic, but every one is colorblind. you scared yet..........?

this book is sad, weird, crazy, and twisted all wrapped into one. jonas the main character is in this society where every child is grouped with other children of the same age and every year they have to leave their friends and go with new children the age they are now. every child is adopted. the girls have to stop wearing hair-ribbons at a certain age. they have to be a certain age to ride a bike. and child birth is kind of a thing to be ashamed of.

for instance they have jobs and one of the jobs is to be a child bearer and your job is to have children basically. you are pampered for your stay there and given everything you want but after you have about 3 kids you're cut off and basically left on your own. any who... jonas isn't like the other people there. you see every one there is colorblind and jonas is slowly given the gift of seeing in color. so he goes to the giver and he transfers memories to jonas so that he can become the new giver. and slowly he sees a new color and to him he is fascinated. but just as every eleven year old boy nearing teen hood you start to have eyes for the opposite sex and as soon as he tells his parents about this dream he has where he's bathing his lady friend they freak out and give jonas pills to prevent the boy from lusting.

and like every little town they have a outcast. a guy who tried to elude the craziness and they exiled him. and ever since then everyone in the town is banned from even speaking his name. yes the giver is one of those novels that will kinda grab you, get you wrapped in it's words, tangled in it's story hold you for a minute and just when you get into it slowly let you go and leave your mind boggling and begging for more. ...less

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Tori rated it:

02/08/08

bookshelves: favorites

recommended to Tori by: THE Lois Lowry herself!!!!!!!
recommends it for: 5th grade and up

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Wow. I'm speechless. Definitely in my top 5 favorite books.

Lois Lowry visited my school in the 4th grade, thus inspiring me to read one of her books, and I'm so glad I did! I almost quit in the beginning, because I didn't understand most of it, but I'm glad I pushed through. After a few chapters, it makes more since.

Lois Lowry sets up the community to where everyone has a purpose, a certain job to help out. Parents do not get their own children, but every year the doctors watch over the...more Wow. I'm speechless. Definitely in my top 5 favorite books.

Lois Lowry visited my school in the 4th grade, thus inspiring me to read one of her books, and I'm so glad I did! I almost quit in the beginning, because I didn't understand most of it, but I'm glad I pushed through. After a few chapters, it makes more since.

Lois Lowry sets up the community to where everyone has a purpose, a certain job to help out. Parents do not get their own children, but every year the doctors watch over the babies and it's almost like there are auctions where all of the childless parents come and pick a baby, but names are already assigned. Each couple can have up to two children, but no more. (Correct me if I'm wrong I think you can have a boy and a girl, but not two boys or two girls)

Throughout your childhood until you turn twelve you are given gifts, for instance, one year you'll get a coat with buttons on the back signifying for you to learn to depend on others, and then the next year you'll get a coat with buttons on the front so you can learn to do things yourself. You're watched by teachers until you turn 12 to see what your talents are, and then every year at the ceremony when the younger children get their gifts, the 12 year olds will be assigned their jobs in the community.

For instance, I remember one of the jobs were the women who produce the babies, but they only have two. After that they are laborers, or slaves, for the rest of their life. Our main character, Jonas, is given the job as The Giver, which only one person can be at a time. The Giver is the person in the community that takes everyone else's bad memories and nightmares and keeps them so that no one else will have to deal with them, thus the Giver giving happiness, I suppose.

Jonas's father, as we find, who is a doctor, grows attached to one of the babies he looks over, and even though he has Jonas and Jonas's little sister (whose name I forgot) He keeps it and watches over it. I actually cried when he injected it with the poison, or whatever it was, though, killing it. And then Jonas saw it in his father's memories.

Jonas is taught how to do his job by the former Giver, and learns all of the secrets of his past, like The Givers daughter being planned to be the next Giver, but committing suicide because she couldn't handle all of the sadness, and that's why it's such a tough job, taking everyone else's burdens and carrying them on your shoulders.

In conclusion, this is an amazing book with an enthralling plot, and there's so much more to dig into when you read it, and so much more to understand and imply. As I said, definitely one of my top 5 favorite books, and I've read many other Lois Lowry works, too, she's a VERY talented writer....less

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Stacey rated it:

04/23/08

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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Yasmin rated it:

11/03/08

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" from th...more

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Chalice rated it:

11/11/08

bookshelves: fantasy-science-fiction

Read in November, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sera rated it:

07/15/08

bookshelves: science-fiction

Read in July, 2008

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Beth rated it:

02/19/08

Read in March, 2006

Upon reading, I was instantly I was drawn into the strange world Lowry describes: a world where everything was ordered and perfect — and strangely hollow. Being a new parent in at the time, I couldn't help but compare it myself to the parents in that society. It seemed totally foreign: parents apply for one of the children born that year, and in an annual ceremony, the babies (or “newchildren”) are placed with their families. Before then, they are cared for by “Nurturers” (including b...more

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Lena rated it:

08/29/07

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. ...more

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Madeline rated it:

01/20/08

bookshelves: crap-tastic, science-fiction

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 because ...more

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The Giver

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