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The Giver (The Giver, #1)

Lois Lowry

Start date: September 15, 2020

Finish date: October 1, 2020

Discussion: AW BOOK CLUB (spoilers)

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Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back

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What Members Thought

Sep 06, 2012 ☼Bookish in Virginia☼ rated it it was amazing

THE GIVER hardly needs commentary from me. It's been praised up one-side and down another. And yet I'm going to write a few more words.

Lowry's writing in this book is delightful. Her tone is calm and her word and grammar choice are simple, almost childish, which fits the principle character who is only 11 at the beginning of this book. And yet it's the soft, light tone --which never changes as the story unfolds-- that makes the horror of the tale all the more real, all the more poignant when jux ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 11, 2009 Ashley FL rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star-reads

Best described as "heartbreakingly beautiful". I picked this up after talking about books with the elementary school principal, who said her husband was teaching it to his 8th grade class. An easy read, deceptively straight-forward in its language and style. Somewhat reminiscent of Shirley Jackson's story "The Lottery" in its overall feeling. ...more

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Aug 02, 2010 Tom rated it liked it

Shelves: hard-copy

I heard about people reading this book in high school and wondered why I missed it. It turns out that it's because it was first published in 1993... about 10 years after I was done with high school.

It's a cautionary tale about a Utopia where everything is safe, secure and predictable. But safety/security comes at a cost. I won't spoil it for those oldsters who haven't read the book yet, but it comes as no surprise.

It's heavy-handed, moralistic and one-sided - as any "Utopia" story goes. It would ...more

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Feb 17, 2011 Donna rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, dystopia-apocalyptic

I enjoyed the story and thought most of it was beautifully written, especially that ending. I've also got a lot of respect for this book's influence on young adult fiction. I will say it was more juvenile than I expected, though that's not surprising given how different the YA scene was at its publication.

The setting is a bit unrealistic for my taste. It's understandable to go along with the premise for the sake of the story, but the idea of memory being tied so heavily to perceptions and emotio ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 02, 2013 Rift Vegan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: banned-books, 2013

Great story! Lowry has built a very believable world, and the writing just sucks you in! My only objection is to the open-ended ending. But then, would I have been satisfied knowing that the ending was one way or the other? ha! This book is about what makes us human, and so of course the ending was quite appropriate. :)

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Apr 20, 2014 Tim rated it liked it

I'm so torn...
On the one hand, it's an interesting world and I want to know more about why it is as it is and what happens there next.
On the other, it's written for children. So obviously so that it was distracting while reading it. ...more

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Nov 06, 2007 Amanda rated it it was amazing

my brother was reading it for school. i picked it up and couldn't put it down. i feel for people who don't read ya, because they are truly missing something ...more

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