The Giver (The Giver, #1) The Giver discussion


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Does anyone besides me not like this book?

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message 151: by Rachel (new)

Rachel Nelson I loved the book only because it was in literature circle with my teacher. He had read it thousands of times so he helped us understand it!


message 152: by [deleted user] (new)

MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME!!!!!! OOOHHHHH!!!!! ME! I HATED THAT BOOK!


message 153: by Sharon (new) - rated it 2 stars

Sharon Mallory wrote: "Everyone recommended this book to me. Once I finally got my hands on it I thought it was weird, odd, slightly disturbing, and just didn't like it at all. This is just my opinion and I was just wond..."

I agree, slightly disturbing.


Kassandra i loved this book exept the part when i found out wht release really was< and not being able to find out what really happened to them in the end.Otherwise this was a very good book:)


Abigail It is definitely for deep thinkers and those people who ask "Well what if life was like this?". It wasn't one of those books where you read for fun, like Harry Potter or Hunger Games. It depends on what you were expecting. My teacher told me this "That book might be too hard for you to read" so I instantly took that as a challenge. I read it, knowing that I would have to go outside the 5th grade reading limit. I completely adored the book because I wanted to prove to the teacher that I could understand and appreciate it fully.


message 156: by Josh (new) - rated it 2 stars

Josh Mcdonald I didn't find it strange or particularly disturbing, but I did find it disappointing. The author put a lot of effort into creating the world and the society in which the story was to be set, some deep and interesting philosophical ideas to wrestle with, then at the last minute realized she needed an actual story to tie it all together.


message 157: by Samantha (last edited May 19, 2013 11:17AM) (new) - rated it 4 stars

Samantha Boyer This book was kind of dull in my opinion, kind of black and white. It didn't seem extremely hard to write, and it never really captured me. It was disturbing and it was peculiar. So...if this world used to be our world, I want to torture the bright fellow that decided to change our world into this! I also agree with Josh. The details were spot-on, but the story line was blah.


Samantha Boyer Smeghead wrote: "My opinion of Lowry is that he is extremely disturbed. The undertones of the adult/child relationship in The Giver is not on any level a healthy one. It's beyond wrong."

BTW Lowry is a woman. And I agree.


message 159: by Clay (new) - rated it 2 stars

Clay I had forgotten his book, I had read it years ago at my sister's ( a teacher) recommendation. I remember being very dissatisfied with the ending, but feeling like the writing itself was very beautiful and exceptional for a children's book. On the whole, I feel like this is one of those books that thinks it is more important than it really is.
The theme is echoed in Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey which is a very fun read that does not take itself too seriously.


message 160: by Aly (new) - rated it 1 star

Aly Closser Areeba wrote: "I read this in 8th grade but didn't really notice the disturbing/odd stuff (or at least, I didn't give it too much thought). I did think the dream that the MC had was awkward but that was it. But I..."

don't feel bad iread it in like 6th grade and was confused to no ends.


message 161: by [deleted user] (new)

I read this in sixth grade, and I enjoyed it, though I know many people who did not.


Steffaney Smith Not everyone will like every book, but after re-reading the Giver so I could read all 4 novels of the series, I have to say Lowry was way ahead of the times with her science fiction, and the book has really stood the test of time. The best thing about her sequels is that they don't re-hash much of the previous novels in the series -- you can actually read "Son" and enjoy the story, without really knowing everyone's background! You would miss something, for sure, but you could be a satisfied reader still.


message 163: by Sophie (new) - rated it 3 stars

Sophie Donna wrote: "I read this book because a lot of schools are banning it and many parents are not letting their children read it because it refers to suicide. I agree that a 12 year old should not read it, Maybe ..."

I don't understant that, I read this when I was in 3rd grade, and again in 6th grade, I wasn't even remotely disturbed by it.

Was there sometHing I was missing?

In terms of the suicide it wasn't even that bad or grusume, and neither was it in depth. Suiside is unfortunate to say the least but that doesn't mean books that contain it should be banned.


message 164: by Sophie (new) - rated it 3 stars

Sophie Kelley wrote: "My daughter read it in 5th grade and LOVED it. All her classmates did too. They even created an afterschool "Master Writing Project" club to discuss it and other novels and do some of their own w..."

You have read my mind!


message 165: by Sophie (new) - rated it 3 stars

Sophie Meh wrote: "Twelve years old is not a young child. When I was twelve, most of the boys and some of the girls I knew were cussing a blue streak and talking about sex. Why would they be bothered by a reference..."

This is exactly my experiance. At age 12 at my school kids swear and talk about sex in normal conversation with out doing the whole "lower your voice and whisper' thing!

I so agree with you Meh


message 166: by Lena (new) - rated it 4 stars

Lena I also thought that the Giver was somewhat creepy, but I agree that the creepy most likely came from how I can see ourselves in that society.


message 167: by Becky (new) - rated it 4 stars

Becky Taplin ages ago i remember my teacher read it to us, didn't like it then but when i read it again i truly loved it. an amazing twist of another world. it made me look at my life in a new perspective!


message 168: by Michael (new) - rated it 1 star

Michael No, this is possibly one of the most boring, overrated, overyhyped confusing book I ever read. I waited months to read this, and was severely disguisted after finishing it!


message 169: by Leslie (new) - rated it 4 stars

Leslie I loved this book when I read it in school. I haven't read it in years. I might have to pick up again.


message 170: by Monica (last edited Jun 11, 2013 06:17PM) (new) - rated it 3 stars

Monica I tolerated this book. I found the author always has these quick, jarring endings. The pace of her books is slow and then pick up with lightening speed at the end. While I was ambivalent about the book, I did read the three sequels. I thought they were better.


message 171: by Aly (new) - rated it 1 star

Aly Closser I never wanted to read this book after i read the blurb on the back because it confused me to no ends. I was forced to but i never got into it. It's not something i ever wanna read again!


message 172: by Kaiyo (new) - rated it 1 star

Kaiyo Amanda wrote: "Maybe one reason the book seems 'wierd, odd, slightly disturbing' to you is that it was meant to disturb. I don't claim to know what Lowry was thinking, but I think the book is supposed to make you..."

You said that the books leave you with hope. Maybe I'm just a bit too violent or way to pesamistic or something like that, but to me in the end of the Giver I felt like Jonas and Gabe were going to die.


message 173: by Kaiyo (last edited Oct 15, 2013 01:54PM) (new) - rated it 1 star

Kaiyo I am in seventh grade and i had to read this book for school. i absolutely hated it! I mean come on, the climax didn't come until the last five chapters and the rising action was way too long and completely uneventful. While i read it i felt like it was meant for a third grader. The writing style was so easy to understand along with the equally easy vocabulary. One other thing that I hated was the fact that Lois Lowery didn't allow the reader to infer of form their own opinions. She told you what she wanted you to think. And one last thing, what was the point of the book? There are at least a dozen mini themes, but they are all fragments. there is never a theme that is supported throughout the entire book. Over all, in my opinion it was a disastrous book. I wish that i hadn't read it. But i guess that it isn't really my genre.This book was one of a few books that I wanted to destroy. I love reading. But, as someone else so perfectly put it, if you want a good book, don't read a children book. For the most part they're pretty bad. I mean, to Jonas he thinks feelings are great and can only be good. But to me, in reality feelings mostly hurt. There aren't an incredible amount of feelings that are all happy and joyous. Think about anger, fear, weakness, defeat, pain, agony, hurt, and so many other bad things. In books like the Bourne (Ludlum) novels, Jason is always claiming that feelings and emotions themselves make people weak, maybe I read to many books like that, but I have to agree.


message 174: by Ashley (new) - rated it 1 star

Ashley Flinn I had to read this book when I was in 8th grade and I hated it. I'm 28 now and still hate it. It was trite and poorly written. There are much better books about distopias, and this book isn't weird or strange, it's just boring. Teachers, please have your students read something better and more challenging!


message 175: by Chrisd (new) - rated it 4 stars

Chrisd i really liked this book and don't understand how people don't ike it but i gueass everyone has their own opinions


message 176: by Kaiyo (new) - rated it 1 star

Kaiyo Why did you like it?


message 177: by Kaiyo (new) - rated it 1 star

Kaiyo Not to be mean, just wondering.


message 178: by Pam (new) - rated it 3 stars

Pam you are not alone...


message 179: by Nisi (new) - rated it 5 stars

Nisi Mallory, it was the same with me. I didn't like the book either!


message 180: by Jordan (new) - rated it 5 stars

Jordan THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!!! THIS IS MY FAVORITE BOOK OF ALL TIME!
#LOVED IT


message 181: by Sharon (new) - rated it 2 stars

Sharon Mallory wrote: "Everyone recommended this book to me. Once I finally got my hands on it I thought it was weird, odd, slightly disturbing, and just didn't like it at all. This is just my opinion and I was just wond..."

I feel the same way you do about this book.


message 182: by [deleted user] (new)

I liked it....The first time I read it. Then I had to continue reading it and reading it for school. I had to read it 3 times for school. Then I kept getting copy after copy of the Giver, I have 6 copies now. So yes, I really hate the Giver.


message 183: by [deleted user] (new)

Sharon wrote: "Mallory wrote: "Everyone recommended this book to me. Once I finally got my hands on it I thought it was weird, odd, slightly disturbing, and just didn't like it at all. This is just my opinion and..."
I'm with you on the werid, odd and slightly distrubing, just didn't like it at all thing. Was glad I got it from a library so I wouldn't have to figure out what to do with it after reading it.


Journey Hamm I loved this book. I tend to reread it about every 3 years, ad it just gets better and better. The odd and disturbing themes are something I find really interesting. I love when books push boundaries, make the reader feel things. The true message in this book is something one learns with age, so it makes the book very special in the sense that you can read it 5 times and get something totally different out of it every time. I would highly recommend this book to others who are not afraid to step outside there comfort zone. physcologically.


message 185: by [deleted user] (new)

Journey wrote: "I loved this book. I tend to reread it about every 3 years, ad it just gets better and better. The odd and disturbing themes are something I find really interesting. I love when books push boundari..."

Truly glad it "speaks" to you. Wished I could say the same for me, but then that's beauty of books, isn't it?


message 186: by Derek (new) - rated it 2 stars

Derek I flat-out hated this one. Was it the characters, the simplistic/boring writing, the lame story or all of it combined?


message 187: by [deleted user] (new)

Derek wrote: "I flat-out hated this one. Was it the characters, the simplistic/boring writing, the lame story or all of it combined?" I don't know, but I was disappointed with it too. I kept hoping "something" would come up to make sense of all the stuff I was reading but, like some "art films" it just left me hanging.


message 188: by CJ (new) - rated it 3 stars

CJ I liked it well enough, but the ending made me so mad! the author literally said, "I hadn’t intended sequels or companion novels, but I got so much mail from readers who were dissatisfied with the ending. To me it was always an optimistic ending, but some people felt that they were dead at the end." ...So why would you write such a frustrating ending if you weren't PLANNING on writing another book?!


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