Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Messenger” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Messenger

(The Giver #3)

Lois Lowry (Goodreads Author)

3.91 · Rating details · 117,568 ratings · 8,126 reviews

Messenger is the masterful third novel in the Giver Quartet, which began with the dystopian bestseller The Giver, now a major motion picture.

Matty has lived in Village and flourished under the guidance of Seer, a blind man known for his special sight. Village once welcomed newcomers, but something sinister has seeped into Village and the people have voted to close it to o ...more

Get A Copy

Paperback, 169 pages

Published August 22nd 2006 by Ember (first published April 26th 2004)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Messenger, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

YA Dystopia Novels

1,552 books — 11,267 voters

Harry Potter Series Box Set by J.K. Rowling

Top 100 Middle School Must-Reads

2,144 books — 4,004 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.91 ·

Rating details

· 117,568 ratings · 8,126 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Messenger

Feb 07, 2013 Tracy rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I did love this book, I was so happy to find out what happened to Jonas and Gabe after the heartbreaking ending of The Giver. One criticism is that while I found the sub-plot of the Trademart to be very interesting it seemed to just fade off without any explanation. Where did the Trader come from? How was he able to take a persons inner-most self...was it magic? Kira, Leader and Matty all seem to have magical powers...where did their powers come from. Their world seems to be ours...there are ref ...more

flag 164 likes · Like · see review

Apr 25, 2018 Miranda Reads rated it it was ok

Shelves: audiobook

This series should've stopped with the Giver.

Mostly because: That. Ending. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

deeep breaths

Okay, let me back up a bit. In this quasi-magic, quasi-dystopian world, we have humans with magical gifts living in harsh, cruel and primitive villages.

In the previous book we followed Kira, who was gifted with great artistic skills with embroidery (talk about a disappointing super power!) as she is used and abused by those in power. This book, we follow Matt (Kira's old companion).

...more

flag 145 likes · Like · see review

Jan 07, 2010 Kimberly rated it did not like it

Shelves: childrens-series, crap, young-adult, children-s-books

This book was terrible. And stupid.

It pains me to say so, because (as everyone likely knows by now) The Giver is one of my most favorite books of all time. In this book, we get to see Jonas again (and even Gabe, for a moment) so I thought for sure it would tie things together and give me some emotional resolution. And while it was good to see what happened to Jonas (even though he is never called by that name in this book, it's clearly Jonas) there were too many other major flaws for me to enjoy This book was terrible. And stupid.

It pains me to say so, because (as everyone likely knows by now) The Giver is one of my most favorite books of all time. In this book, we get to see Jonas again (and even Gabe, for a moment) so I thought for sure it would tie things together and give me some emotional resolution. And while it was good to see what happened to Jonas (even though he is never called by that name in this book, it's clearly Jonas) there were too many other major flaws for me to enjoy the story.

Major spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk.

First of all, I was more than a little confused to learn that Jonas literally arrived in Village (also, this trend of capitalizing nouns and not putting "the" in front of them--annoying as fuck) on a sled. The sled is now in Museum in Village. (SEE?! Annoying!) Because the ending of The Giver is so open ended, I kind of thought maybe the sled was a metaphor, or a hallucination, or something. Why was there randomly a sled? He literally rode a sled into town? All right. Okay. I'll pretend to buy that. BUT...Jonas is around 20-21 in this story. He has already been named the leader of this new community (his name is now Leader) and apparently has been for some time. Really? A thirteen-year-old shows up one day on a sled, with an infant, and in a few years he's the leader of the community? This is kind of explained by saying that Leader has a gift, the ability to "see beyond." Yes, I've heard that before. Jonas could see colors when the other genetically engineered people in his childhood community could not. But wait--this is not the same "seeing beyond" that we know from before. Adult Jonas can actually see...beyond...what normal people can see. Like, he can stand in his study and focus really hard on the forest and "see" to the other side. But it makes him really tired. Hmmmm. When did he discover/master this particular skill? We never find out.

At one point Matty, the main character in this story, is hanging out with Leader and admiring his many books. Leader says that they arrived one day (when he was about 15) on a river barge--just a bunch of wooden crates filled with books. We are led to understand that these were the books that the Giver had owned, sent down the river to Jonas as a token of forgiveness for leaving them and making them deal with memories and colors. So, what happened in his old community? Is the Giver still there? Did they sort themselves out? Again, we never find out. Jonas has never gone back to his old community, never regained contact with his family, nothing. No juicy tidbits for a Giver fan to hold on to.

Apart from the frustrating lack of information about Jonas, we have a strange subplot involving trading pieces of your soul (or your family's health) for things like slot machines that give you candy. There's this shady fellow called Trademaster who is apparently magical in some way, because he's collecting "the deepest self" of many of the people in Village and trading them for these slot machines. This is making many of the people in Village turn into hostile assholes who are mean to each other, and want to close the borders to prevent additional refugees from coming in. So, you would think that this Trademaster fellow would be the Big Bad of the story. Who is he? What does he want? What on earth is he doing? Guess what? We see him once, and then...we. Never. Find. Out.

Somehow related to this "close the borders" subplot is the fact that Forest (not THE forest, but proper noun Forest) is thickening, decaying, and killing people who try to enter it. Like, Forest is literally attacking people with vines and sharp sticks when they try to pass through. This obviously has something to do with why people in Village are becoming so mean, and also probably with Trademaster, but none of it is ever explained. Zip, zero, zilch, nothing. The book ends with Matty sacrificing himself by using up all of his healing power to "heal" the forest, which then heals the people in Village (by restoring their deepest selves) and Jonas and Kira (oh, she's here too) traipse out of the woods together. That's the end. The main character dies stopping this malevolent evil that is completely unexplained. Where was it coming from? Why is Forest trying to kill everyone? Are the slot machines evil? Who is Trademaster? What exactly were people trading? WHY IS THIS BOOK SO TERRIBLE?!

We never find out.

So, if you're looking for a completely nonsensical and frustrating read, I highly recommend this book. Otherwise, if you've read The Giver and are thinking about continuing the series, I strongly suggest that you do not, because you will be sorely disappointed.

And yes, I'm still going to read Son. Glutton for punishment, I guess. ...more

flag 136 likes · Like · see review

Jan 18, 2015 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, science, dystopia, young-adult, literature, 21th-century, fiction, united-states

Messenger (The Giver Quartet #3), Lois Lowry

Messenger is a 2004 young adult fiction by author Lois Lowry.

It forms the third installment of The Giver Quartet, begun by her 1993 Newbery Medal-winning novel The Giver. It takes place about eight years after the events of The Giver and about six years after the events of Gathering Blue.

Characters from the two earlier books reappear in Messenger, which gives the novels a stronger continuity. Matty was introduced in Gathering Blue as an energetic and Messenger (The Giver Quartet #3), Lois Lowry

Messenger is a 2004 young adult fiction by author Lois Lowry.

It forms the third installment of The Giver Quartet, begun by her 1993 Newbery Medal-winning novel The Giver. It takes place about eight years after the events of The Giver and about six years after the events of Gathering Blue.

Characters from the two earlier books reappear in Messenger, which gives the novels a stronger continuity. Matty was introduced in Gathering Blue as an energetic and impatient individual, who is undergoing a transition into adulthood as the story begins.

Matty now lives with Seer, originally named Christopher, an "unseeing" or blind man rescued by the people of the Village years before. Matty is desperate for his new name to be "Messenger," which is what he feels he is best at doing. ...

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز پانزدهم ماه دسامبر سال 2017 میلادی

عنوان: پیام رسان؛ نویسنده: لوئیس لوری؛ مترجم: کیوان عبیدی آشتیانی، ویراستار: فریبا دیندار؛ تهران، نشر چشمه، کتاب ونوشه، 1396، در 183 ص، فروست: کتاب کودک و نوجوان، شابک: 9786002297136؛ داستانهای نوجوانان از نویسندگان امریکایی - سده 21م

‫کتاب «پیام‌رسان»، سومین کتاب، از سری چهارگانه ی بخشنده است؛ کتابهای اول و دوم این سری چهارگانه، با عنوانهای: «بخشنده»، و «در جست‌وجوی آبی‌ها» هستند؛

‫در این کتاب سوم نیز «یوناس»، «متی»،‌ «کایرا» و «پدر کایرا» شخصیت‌های دو کتاب پیشین حضور دارند؛ شش سال است، که «متی» همراه «سیر»،‌ پیرمرد نابینا، در دهکده‌ ای زندگی می‌کنند، که دروازه‌ هایش به روی تازه‌ واردهاییکه از زندگی در مجموعه‌ های دیگر رنج می‌برند، باز است؛ اما حالا دیگر دهکده همانند بگذشته نیست، و اهالی دهکده می‌خواهند، دروازه‌ ها را، به روی تازه‌ واردها ببندند؛ «یوناس» تسلیم رأی مردمان می‌شود، اما از کار خویش خشنود نیست؛ برای همین او «متی» را مأمور می‌کند، تا پیام را به آن‌هایی برساند، که عازم دهکده هستند؛ «متی» گام در راهی پرخطر می‌گذارد، راهی دیگر از سفرهای پیشین خویش، و چیزی متفاوت از اکتشافات پیشین خویش کشف می‌کند

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 16/03/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی ...more

flag 84 likes · Like · see review

Mar 08, 2008 Julie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kidlit

Arrrrrgh! (In the best way...)

I was 15 pages from the end and said to my husband, "I don't see how this is going to end!"

So when I get to the end, I moaned, and he asked whether it was a bad ending, to which I replied, "Really good--but bad."

And that is all I can tell you. This is one you really must read if you have not. I think I might even read it again to really "get" it.

If you can, start with The Giver and go right through to Gathering Blue and then Messenger. I have not enjoyed a related ...more

flag 60 likes · Like · see review

Apr 08, 2015 C.G. Drews rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2015, middle-grade, dystopian

WELL. I didn't expect to be so torn up after finishing this...but. WHAT EVEN, OMG. HOW CAN IT END LIKE THAT? THIS IS UNFAIR. GET ME BOOK 4 ASAP BEFORE I LOSE MY SANITY. (Yeah, yeah, already lost it but shhh don't get too caught up on details.) ANYWAY.

This book is incredible. I confess to not loving Gathering Blue, but I think that was more because I was confused it wasn't directly about The Giver. But this quartet IS all tied together in knots. It's really awesome, and the cameos make me squee ...more

flag 39 likes · Like · see review

Apr 29, 2008 Cortney rated it liked it

Here's the second companion piece to The Giver. I liked this one better than the first, Gathering Blue. Actually, it had potential to be a great book, but it's like Lowry forgot her plot lines and things just fell off at the end of the book.

The first two books, The Giver and Gathering Blue deal with utopian societies. This book takes place in a village with all the outcasts from these utopian societies. It's called the village of the Broken, people with some deformity, disfigurement or handicap ...more

flag 34 likes · Like · see review

Jun 17, 2018 mark monday rated it really liked it

Shelves: after-the-fall, inbetweenworld

the Messenger boy runs to and fro, delivering his messages, keeping his secret to himself.

the old Seer sees beyond his blind eyes, to the world around him, to his distant past, to the heart of the boy.

the young Leader looks ahead, the past secured, the present and the future fraught with danger.

the distant Embroiderer makes her tapestries and sees all, all but the sickness.

the once-welcoming Villagers have changed: avarice and fear sicken their hearts; warmth and life have been replaced.

the now- ...more

flag 39 likes · Like · see review

Feb 17, 2014 Sarah Elizabeth rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult, fantasy, read-2015, read-with-abbie, as

I think this is the most boring book of the series so far. Very little happened really, although we did get one revelation (view spoiler) Otherwise I spent most of this book bored.

5 out of 10["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]> ...more

flag 26 likes · Like · see review

Dec 15, 2007 Caroline rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, dystopia, post-apocalyptic

I'm a bit torn on this. I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the two previous novels in this "series," but it had such a powerful ending and the extreme geek in me was so excited that it united all three of the books together in such a good way... It's just hard for me.

Matty didn't appeal to me as much as Jonas or Kira had in the previous novels, and while his struggles were interesting I felt it focused entirely too much on the journey through the forest while I was really wanting to know more ab ...more

flag 25 likes · Like · see review

May 03, 2018 Faith M ✨ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, read-2018, mc-boi, 3rd-person, fantasy, middle-grade, science-fiction, dystopia, 5-stars

While the plot issues with Gathering Blue weren't resolved in this one, it stood on it's own better as a story. I loved Matty in this, and all the other characters too, like Seer, Leader (who's totally Jonas), Jean, and Kira from Gathering Blue. The themes of immigration and acceptance, of social sickness reflecting in nature were very well done and relevant. I wished there had been a bit more in some areas, but found myself deeply engrossed throughout and read it all in one sitting (it is very ...more

flag 25 likes · Like · see review

Sep 13, 2007 Debbie rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: all

Shelves: young-adult-lit

Messenger is the third book after The Giver and Gathering Blue. Readers who were dissatisfied by the vague ending of The Giver will appreciate the glimpse of Gabe and Jonas' important role as Leader of Village.

Matty, who befriended Kira in Gathering Blue, is the main character in Messenger. He is anticipating earning his true name, which he hopes will be Messenger. He knows all the paths of the mysterious forest, which becomes more and more sinister as the story progresses. Village, under Jonas ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Sep 03, 2012 Emilio rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, school-library

I am speechless. This book has literally blown my mind away. This is the third book written by Lois Lowry, after "The Giver" and "Gathering Blue". If you were dissatisfied with the end of The Giver, I highly recommend this book, as you'll realize what has truly happened to Jonas and Gabe.

The "Messenger" focuses on Matty, a character who briefly appeared in "Gathering Blue". We can see that everything is doing fine in the village he is currently living, but something ominous is approaching. Is n ...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Oct 12, 2017 Merphy Napier rated it it was ok

Shelves: dystopian, two-stars

I gave books 1 and 2 five stars so don't let this rating deter you from reading the series!

I really enjoyed seeing books 1 and 2 connect and I loved seeing all my characters a few years down the line. But the plot really dragged for me and I found that I really didn't enjoy reading this. Not because it was terrible, it just wasn't overly interesting to me.

The ending was extremely dramatic so that was good I guess, but the story had sort of already lost me by then. I will for sure be continuing ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Oct 14, 2007 Suzanne rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of The Giver

Shelves: youngadult-fiction, audio-books

The third (and final?) installment of The Giver books. The Giver was more uptopic/dystopic worlds, Gathering Blue had a Sci-Fi feel, and this one was more fantastical. I enjoyed it very much.

One complaint: if I met the reader on the street (I audio booked it) I would say, "Hey guy, SLOW DOWN! St. Elsewhere has been cancelled; what are your rushing off to?"

Addendum: The more I thought about this book since completing it, the more annoyed I became. It just ends so abruptly. What happened? I know w ...more

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Dec 31, 2019 Cathy rated it liked it · review of another edition

I really wanted to know "why" Forest was becoming malevolent, and more background on the workings of Trade Mart would have been helpful too - and did it completely disappear after Matty finally used his gift? Hopefully I'll find out in the next installment. If not for these questions, I would have given this book four stars, as I'm really enjoying this series. ...more

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Apr 05, 2017 Sandy rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, author-female, series, 2017-read, lit-bday-march, fiction-ya, fiction-utopian-dystopian, source-od-ebook

This third book in the author's The Giver Quartet features characters from both The Giver and Gathering Blue. The author continues to build a very convincing fantasy world in which individuals with a variety of physical and/or emotional wounds as a consequence of life in a dystopian community are welcomed into Village, a place where they are valued and where their individual gifts are recognized and nurtured.

As I expected from this author, the very strong undercurrent of spirituality is continue ...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Aug 17, 2007 Ngoc rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Mario

Shelves: favorites, childrens-youngadult, 2016

I LOVED The Messenger! Now I finally understand how it is a companion novel to The Giver and Gathering Blue. It is just fantansic how Lois Lowry separates the three villages, showing how the flaws of Jonas and Kira's towns had flaws which can tear people apart and in Village where people are drawn together, caring for one another in community. What happens when selfishness, jealousy, vanity, greed, pretty much the seven deadly sins come into play: The Messenger is heart-wrenching and the ending ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Dec 07, 2017 Abbie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, 5-star, fantasy

5 stars. I honestly cannot think of one thing I didn't like about this book. IT WAS SO GOOD. Full of surprises and twists and allegories and ugh ugh UGH I'M NO GOOD AT WRITING REVIEWS FOR BOOKS THAT I REALLY LOVED. Because I can't do anything but fangirl and babble incoherently. :''') IT'S FINE.

I can't even make a list of things I liked and didn't like because I LIKED EVERYTHING. Even the ending, as it broke my heart into little smithereens. *cries into a pillow* The characters were filled with ...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

Oct 18, 2016 Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile rated it liked it

This wasn't as good as the first two books. I still enjoyed the storyline and the style of writing, but it just seemed a bit more sloppy and rushed. It wasn't explained well at all. What exactly were the people in the Village trading? Why couldn't Matty use just a part of his gift? What happened when they got back? It just had too many loose ends and vague plot holes. Moving on to the last book, hoping it will tie everything together better. ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Feb 06, 2012 Maurine Tritch rated it it was ok

It's not that this book was bad per se. It is like the others in this series, beautifully written and deals with beloved characters. However, it would be a stretch to say I liked it. First, the plot elements are mystical which has never really happened before and I found totally out of place in the world. The series has toyed here and there with fantastic ideas, but they could be explained, if at a stretch. The Messenger is dealing with things like sentient forests and paranormal powers and it c ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Mar 11, 2014 Alissa Patrick rated it really liked it

#3 of the Giver series and this one may be the turning point for me in the series, in a good way. But it also scares me how it still resonates today, especially in the wake of this awful 2016 US Presidential Election.

Some of those who had been among the most industrious, the kindest, and the most stalwart citizens of Village now went to the platform and shouted their wish that the border be closed so that 'we' (Matty shuddered at the use of 'we') would not have to share the resources anymore. ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Oct 09, 2014 Kaora rated it liked it

With the Messenger, there are a few familiar faces, but it is kind of a brand new setting.

We follow Matty, after his dog Branch has died, as he lives in the village with Lira's blind father, named the Seer. Gradually Matty starts noticing changes in those around him and while the village was once welcoming to those who were escaping, they now do not want newcomers.

I'm still not sure what to make of this series. It seems each book could be read on their own and there is very little overlap. I am ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Oct 30, 2016 Katelyn Buxton rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Odd as it is, I feel like Messenger did a better job of hearkening back to The Giver than Gathering Blue, merely by putting us inside the head of another likeable male protagonist. Matty, (Matt, in the previous book), is almost all grown up now, but beginning to discover something about himself that frightens him. Something that he doesn’t understand—something that could potentially effect great change in his world.

Other than that, Messenger’s plot follows an entirely different trajectory than t Odd as it is, I feel like Messenger did a better job of hearkening back to The Giver than Gathering Blue, merely by putting us inside the head of another likeable male protagonist. Matty, (Matt, in the previous book), is almost all grown up now, but beginning to discover something about himself that frightens him. Something that he doesn’t understand—something that could potentially effect great change in his world.

Other than that, Messenger’s plot follows an entirely different trajectory than that of its predecessors. In the previous two books things were bad, and things that seemed good were not really very good at all. There’s a growing sense of unease—a dull horror that things are not what they seem—building up to a better ending. With Messenger, things start out just the way they should. Life is good in the Village. People share, and don’t discriminate between others just because they’re disabled in some way or another. From there, it gradually travels downhill. The mysterious Trade Mart has people trading away their inner selves and becoming selfish, and only receiving silly stuff in return, like velvet-covered furniture, an improved complexion, or an old slot machine that spits out candy. But what can be done about it? Trades are forever. That's where Matty comes in.

Matty is like Jonas in a lot of ways. He’s just beginning to grow up, and realize that there is more to the world than meets the eye. He’s good-hearted, and willing to sacrifice himself for others if necessary. He’s even beginning to experience the stirring of new power within himself, just like Jonas—Jonas could “see beyond,” The Giver could “hear beyond,” and Matty—well, he can fix a frog. (His words, not mine, folks.) He can heal things just by touch. His old friend Kira has the almost supernatural gift for weaving, and Thomas for carving. Matty can heal.

That healing power makes the climax of this book spectacular, and I’ll leave it at that. I noticed that it is a little brief this read-through, but it utterly wrecked me the first time I read it. Prepare yourself for feels—that’s all I have to say. :P

If you liked The Giver, I think you'll like Messenger. As always, Lowry builds the suspense until the very end, and leaves me wanting more. ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Dec 05, 2019 Dave rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-borrowed

Messenger is the third book in Lowry’s Giver quartet, a group of four books loosely related by theme and by placement of the stories in a future world post-civilization. This is the weakest of the first three allegorical tales. Although characters from the first two books including Jonas (now “Leader”), Matty, and Kira play large roles in this book and thus link up the first two books, there is less world-building here and it feels story-wise a bit flat.

This story takes place for the most part ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Sep 04, 2010 Jinky rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2010

Reference: The Giver (book #1), Gathering Blue (book #2), Messenger (book #3)

Let me begin to tell you that I had to re-align my thinking since book #2 because for some reason I had a wrong name in mind. I was quick to forget that the main character in book #1 was Jonas. For some reason when reading book #2 and saw the name Christopher, I pictured Jonas. So throughout book #2 and most of book #3 Christopher was Jonas to me. You can imagine how the story must have been different for me. I suppose Reference: The Giver (book #1), Gathering Blue (book #2), Messenger (book #3)

Let me begin to tell you that I had to re-align my thinking since book #2 because for some reason I had a wrong name in mind. I was quick to forget that the main character in book #1 was Jonas. For some reason when reading book #2 and saw the name Christopher, I pictured Jonas. So throughout book #2 and most of book #3 Christopher was Jonas to me. You can imagine how the story must have been different for me. I suppose knowing that now, I have two versions!! ~I think I need to take some Gingkoba 'cause I'm loosing it!!

Okay, now for Messenger. Well, Matt in book #2 is now Matty and speaker in this book He is six years older from where book #2 left off. We find that he ends up living in Christopher's village. There he learned manners and proper grammar. He found place as courier of messages between villages and does so going through the Forest with ease. Then Matty's new village started to change as the Trade Market comes to bloom. The kind-hearted people basically traded their souls for vanity and trivial amusements. The people changed so much that they got tired of welcoming in the damaged and voted to close their doors to newcomers. This charge compelled Matty to go back to his old town to get Kira to her father before the the closing. At this point, the Forest was not kind as well. In fact, it seemed to live to torture and kill those in its path, even fierce Matty. That said, Matty and Kira's journey back to Christopher became hell-like. In the mean time, Leader (with powers to see beyond) kept Christopher updated in his children's (Christopher had considered Matty his son) travel. When Leader saw that Matty and Kira was at death's door, he went after them. Kira with powers to depict what's ahead through her threading saw that Leader was on his way to meet them. But Leader too was at death's door. It became apparent that it was time to use Matty's power though he felt it wouldn't do much considering his condition. Then, ... you'll have to read the rest!

The whole trilogy was dark and dreary for most of it's story. It was painful to read but we find hope in the courage of it's amazing characters. We were reminded that a society can slowly and easily be corrupt. We are challenged to look around about us and know that individually we have power to help it to thrive well. We are all advocates to maintaining a civil society and securing that for our posterity. We are invited to discover and use our individual power for good. These are some of the things that I got out of these books. ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Mar 02, 2011 Keith Hall added it

Okay, so upon completing The Giver trilogy, I was a little upset. Within the first few chapters all three books were tied together. I have three questions after reading it:
(The following questions contain spoilers)
1) How were the changes occurring? - While it was clear that the Trade Mart was the root of the evil, it was never clear how that all operated. The Mentor traded his deepest inner self, but were the others trading the same? Whatever it was, their trading for comfort, ease and entitlem Okay, so upon completing The Giver trilogy, I was a little upset. Within the first few chapters all three books were tied together. I have three questions after reading it:
(The following questions contain spoilers)
1) How were the changes occurring? - While it was clear that the Trade Mart was the root of the evil, it was never clear how that all operated. The Mentor traded his deepest inner self, but were the others trading the same? Whatever it was, their trading for comfort, ease and entitlement was someow connected to the forest. Somehow they were connected, which brings me to my next question
2) What explains Forest's demeanor/personality? - The forest warned them from entering/kept people from leaving. Somehow it was the gatekeeper to the Village. It seems to me that it at first protected others from the communities from which they fled, then in the end protected others from the changing community's new negative attitude towards outsiders. This in comparison to the total control over the earth and its resources demonstrated in The Giver, where increased technology and knowledge can conquer the elements meant to protect us, in order to establish stability and efficiency, yet requires the sacrifice of personal autonomy and pleasure--freedom and joy. Speaking of sacrifice,
3) How did Matty heal the Mentor and others like him in the Village? - I understand that he can heal physical and even emotional or mental illnesses and injuries. I don't, however, understand how he was able to change the inner self of people who had chosen to trade it away. Especially when it had already been said that what is traded can never be taken back. That doesn't make sense to me. That Matty dies in the end troubles me, but I understand that it is symbolic of the necessity of sacrifice to allow for the compensation of wrong acts. Sadly, nothingof the atonement of Matty points to permanent change. In but a generation people will forget, just as they had forgotten the roots of their village's founding.

...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Jun 27, 2007 Lara rated it liked it

This sequel is set in the same fictional-but-strangely-like-our-own world as The Giver and Gathering Blue. In it, in another lively and exciting story, Lowry continues to examine ideals and problems of socialism. She also brings in a heated immigration debate. I've really enjoyed the whole group of these books.

However, the very end of this one made me mad. I don't know what I expected, and I probably wouldn't have minded it, actually, except that she chose to include some hints earlier in the bo ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Jan 27, 2014 Laura rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: children-young-adult

I was not impressed with this follow up book to The Giver and Gathering Blue. I felt no emotional ties to this book or the characters even though the characters were not new to the story. This totally missed the mark for me. Hopeful that Lowry will finish strong in the final installment to this series. I only recommend this book if you want to have a few answers from book 1. Did not like the plot at all! ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Dec 10, 2019 ꧁.•º°༺×Ṩสℛสℋ×༻°º•.꧂ rated it liked it

So if Matty is Matt, the blind man is Kira's father, is the leader then Jonas? But if so, where is Gabe? So confusing. But hey at least some strings were there, not like "Gathering Blue" where everything just suddenly was new... ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Children or YA, maybe Fantasy. Sorry I don't remember much. There's a reference somewhere about the quote 'What? all my pretty ones?' [s]	4	29	Nov 01, 2020 01:49PM
Madison County NC...: Messenger	1	1	Sep 16, 2020 07:53AM
Who Is Gabe in the Book	4	114	May 11, 2020 10:28AM
Does Matty die in the end? And how do you feel about it?	55	775	Jul 27, 2019 11:51AM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Fiction book about a boy of color, runs through the woods/forest barefoot, maybe starts bleeding(?) and is absorbed by the mud. Natural imagery, not a very threatening scene. [s]	5	32	May 26, 2019 04:49PM
Fantasy Buddy Reads: Messenger {February 15, 2019]	1	6	Jan 14, 2019 09:10PM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Young Adult

2,053 users

Science Fiction > Dystopia

1,311 users

Fiction

1,249 users

Fantasy

1,051 users

Science Fiction

664 users

Childrens > Middle Grade

277 users

Classics

217 users

Childrens

215 users

Audiobook

151 users

Adventure

129 users

See top shelves…

About Lois Lowry

Lois Lowry

18,351 followers

Taken from Lowry's website:
"I’ve always felt that I was fortunate to have been born the middle child of three. My older sister, Helen, was very much like our mother: gentle, family-oriented, eager to please. Little brother Jon was the only boy and had interests that he shared with Dad; together they were always working on electric trains and erector sets; and later, when Jon was older, they always Taken from Lowry's website:
"I’ve always felt that I was fortunate to have been born the middle child of three. My older sister, Helen, was very much like our mother: gentle, family-oriented, eager to please. Little brother Jon was the only boy and had interests that he shared with Dad; together they were always working on electric trains and erector sets; and later, when Jon was older, they always seemed to have their heads under the raised hood of a car. That left me in-between, and exactly where I wanted most to be: on my own. I was a solitary child who lived in the world of books and my own vivid imagination.

Because my father was a career military officer - an Army dentist - I lived all over the world. I was born in Hawaii, moved from there to New York, spent the years of World War II in my mother’s hometown: Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and from there went to Tokyo when I was eleven. High school was back in New York City, but by the time I went to college (Brown University in Rhode Island), my family was living in Washington, D.C.

I married young. I had just turned nineteen - just finished my sophomore year in college - when I married a Naval officer and continued the odyssey that military life requires. California. Connecticut (a daughter born there). Florida (a son). South Carolina. Finally Cambridge, Massachusetts, when my husband left the service and entered Harvard Law School (another daughter; another son) and then to Maine - by now with four children under the age of five in tow. My children grew up in Maine. So did I. I returned to college at the University of Southern Maine, got my degree, went to graduate school, and finally began to write professionally, the thing I had dreamed of doing since those childhood years when I had endlessly scribbled stories and poems in notebooks.

After my marriage ended in 1977, when I was forty, I settled into the life I have lived ever since. Today I am back in Cambridge, Massachusetts, living and writing in a house dominated by a very shaggy Tibetan Terrier named Bandit. For a change of scenery Martin and I spend time in Maine, where we have an old (it was built in 1768!) farmhouse on top of a hill. In Maine I garden, feed birds, entertain friends, and read...

My books have varied in content and style. Yet it seems that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general theme: the importance of human connections. A Summer to Die, my first book, was a highly fictionalized retelling of the early death of my sister, and of the effect of such a loss on a family. Number the Stars, set in a different culture and era, tells the same story: that of the role that we humans play in the lives of our fellow beings.

The Giver - and Gathering Blue, and the newest in the trilogy: Messenger - take place against the background of very different cultures and times. Though all three are broader in scope than my earlier books, they nonetheless speak to the same concern: the vital need of people to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment.

My older son was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. His death in the cockpit of a warplane tore away a piece of my world. But it left me, too, with a wish to honor him by joining the many others trying to find a way to end conflict on this very fragile earth.
I am a grandmother now. For my own grandchildren - and for all those of their generation - I try, through writing, to convey my passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another." ...more