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Harrumph. I didn't really care about any of the characters at all, and the mystery became quite tedious at times. Maybe the clues didn't really give you much to chew on, or maybe not regularly enough? Maybe I'm just grumpy? I don't know, but I didn't love it. ]]>
bookshelves: paused
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Recently read this again after telling my students I was addicted to YA horror novels when I was little. It had some surprisingly mature content (e.g. sexual innuendo) and I was glad I didn't just stick it on my classroom shelf! Yikes.
It was all right. Essentially just like I remembered it. Lots of brief, choppy sentences that I suppose were there to build some suspense. It was a bit annoying to discover that many of events in this, RL Stine's first YA book, were repeated in other books afterward (e.g. losing one's memory after a traumatic experience, head-on car collisions after driving recklessly due to being upset, etc.) ]]>
bookshelves: teaching
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 Mom or Dad or Lily at all. While the lack of an emotional bond with these lesser characters may be due to the nature of their community, Jonas and the Giver should really be more sympathetic, in my opinion.
Second, the description of the community itself is sparse. There is so much more that could've been described about this "utopian" community. I feel like Jonas' selection, his revelation about Release, and his eventual choice could've been built up and framed better. I feel like I got the quick campfire version.
Finally, while I appreciate it's overall message about the importance of individual differences, human emotion, etc., I felt like the book was a bit heavy-handed with its moral. Jonas' initial support of his community and gradual change of heart seems intended to present both viewpoints, but doesn't succeed in my opinion. The book's agenda was clear to me from the beginning. It also doesn't present alternative possibilities (such as a world without Sameness but also without war, a world without Release but also without starvation, etc.) -- the choice is either here (with Sameness and no color) or Elsewhere (with pain and suffering).
When teaching the book, I also felt it was very important for students to understand how this heavy-handed moral (that most of us would agree with somewhat) demonstrates Lowry's (and our own) privilege. That is, the reason it's easy for us to say that Jonas' community is horrible is because of our own relatively privileged lives. If we lived in Darfur, were extremely impoverished, lived in a country where women were treated as property, etc., we may make a very different choice about Jonas' life.
Despite all of this, believe it or not, I did like The Giver. It's an enjoyable read. It had a great plot, the community was interesting, and the ending was fantastic and JUST a little ambiguous -- cool! ]]>
by Lois Lowry
Bailey wrote: "I really liked The Giver but if your reading this book you definitly need to talk with someone who has read it before, because it can get confusing sometimes"
Hi Bailey, did you mean to post this as a reply, or as your own review? If you want to review a book, click on the title of the book in your book list and then next to the word "review," click "edit." Type your review there. ]]>
Julie
read and liked
Charles's
review of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 100th Anniversary Edition (Books of Wonder):
"I almost never, ever like movies better than books, but believe me, the movie is head and shoulders above this book. Baum was wretched as a writer of any kind of action. I didn't particularly find his imagination very good either. Hundreds of writ...more "
"I almost never, ever like movies better than books, but believe me, the movie is head and shoulders above this book. Baum was wretched as a writer of any kind of action. I didn't particularly find his imagination very good either. Hundreds of writ...more "
Julie
read and liked
Kathryn's
review of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 100th Anniversary Edition (Books of Wonder):
"I read this several years ago. I'd long been a fan of the movie (a childhood favorite!) and assumed that the truth of "the book is always better than the movie" would win out. In this case, I did not agree. While perhaps the book has its...more "
"I read this several years ago. I'd long been a fan of the movie (a childhood favorite!) and assumed that the truth of "the book is always better than the movie" would win out. In this case, I did not agree. While perhaps the book has its...more "