Literature & Fiction
![Lois Lowry - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_lois_lowry.jpg)
The Giver (Giver Quartet, 1)
In Lois Lowry's Newbery Medal–winning classic, twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind his fragile community.
Life in the community where Jonas lives is idyllic. Designated birthmothers produce newchildren, who are assigned to appropriate family units. Citizens are assigned their partners and their jobs. No one thinks to ask questions. Everyone obeys. Everyone is the same. Except Jonas.
Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Gradually Jonas learns that power lies in feelings. But when his own power is put to the test-when he must try to save someone he loves-he may not be ready. Is it too soon? Or too late?
Told with deceptive simplicity, this is the provocative story of a boy who experiences something incredible and undertakes something impossible. In the telling it questions every value we have taken for granted and reexamines our most deeply held beliefs.
The Giver has become one of the most influential novels of our time. Don't miss the powerful companion novels in Lois Lowry's Giver Quartet: Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
Life in the community where Jonas lives is idyllic. Designated birthmothers produce newchildren, who are assigned to appropriate family units. Citizens are assigned their partners and their jobs. No one thinks to ask questions. Everyone obeys. Everyone is the same. Except Jonas.
Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Gradually Jonas learns that power lies in feelings. But when his own power is put to the test-when he must try to save someone he loves-he may not be ready. Is it too soon? Or too late?
Told with deceptive simplicity, this is the provocative story of a boy who experiences something incredible and undertakes something impossible. In the telling it questions every value we have taken for granted and reexamines our most deeply held beliefs.
The Giver has become one of the most influential novels of our time. Don't miss the powerful companion novels in Lois Lowry's Giver Quartet: Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
Editorial Reviews
"A powerful and provocative novel." - New York Times
"Wrought with admirable skill-the emptiness and menace underlying this Utopia emerge step by inexorable step: a richly provocative novel." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Lowry is once again in top form raising many questions while answering few, and unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The simplicity and directness of Lowry's writing force readers to grapple with their own thoughts." - Booklist (starred review)
"Lois Lowry has written a fascinating, thoughtful science-fiction novel. The story is skillfully written; the air of disquiet is delicately insinuated. And the theme of balancing the virtues of freedom and security is beautifully presented." - Horn Book (starred review)
"The Giver has things to say that cannot be said too often, and I hope there will be many, many young people who will be willing to listen. A warning in narrative form." - Washington Post
"Wrought with admirable skill-the emptiness and menace underlying this Utopia emerge step by inexorable step: a richly provocative novel." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Lowry is once again in top form raising many questions while answering few, and unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The simplicity and directness of Lowry's writing force readers to grapple with their own thoughts." - Booklist (starred review)
"Lois Lowry has written a fascinating, thoughtful science-fiction novel. The story is skillfully written; the air of disquiet is delicately insinuated. And the theme of balancing the virtues of freedom and security is beautifully presented." - Horn Book (starred review)
"The Giver has things to say that cannot be said too often, and I hope there will be many, many young people who will be willing to listen. A warning in narrative form." - Washington Post
Readers Top Reviews
Amy A. Ware⭐️Nez⭐
I absolutely loved this book. I had to read it for school, and I wasn’t going to read it because it seemed boring, but I am so glad I did because I loved it so much. This is just another example of don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
Bobby WintersKerh
I've grown fond of children's books. We take better care of our children than we do ourselves. We encourage our children to eat their vegetables whether we do ourselves or not. We encourage them to play outside whether we exercise or not. We care about what they are allowed to read, while we read trash. We should be concerned about what our children read. Reading is an intimate experience. When we read, we let someone else come inside our brains, walk around, and leave things. Sticks and stones can break your bones, but books can change the way you think. We are right to care about the sorts of things our children invite into their minds, and this concern has led to a children's literature that's better in many respects than what is supposed to be "adult" literature. I was converted to children's books in stages, as my children started being interested in reading, but the final step-the icing on the cake-was a book entitled The Giver, by Lois Lowry. It can be read in a few hours, but that does not decrease its impact, which is something like that of a sledgehammer. It is the story of a boy named Jonas who lives in what seems to be an ideal world. There is no crime, no hunger, and no dissatisfaction. Everyone is in the profession that best suits his talents. It appears to be ideal. The Greeks had a word for a place like this, and that word was "Utopia". It shows the keen insight of those old Greeks that the word means "nowhere". Nowhere is perfect. Nowhere is without problems. While the Community in which Jonas lives is without strife, it also lacks a great many other things. On the way to achieving the "perfect" community, certain sacrifices have been made. Jonas discovers this when he turns twelve and is assigned his life profession, The Receiver of Memories. Part of the price paid for utopia is loss of connection to the past. The children of the Community are not raised by their biological parents, but by foster parents who are deemed suitable for the job of parenting. After the children of the community are grown, they lose connection with their foster parents, so even family history is lost. One might think about the impact this would have on the situation in the Middle East. There wouldn't be any fighting for the Promised Land. The Promise would all be a part of the forgotten past. For those of us who would like to see peace, this notion might be quite appealing. However, Lowry's insight is that a person without a past is a person without a future. While there is virtue to be had by living in the present in the metaphorical sense, living entirely in the present without connection to the Eternal is sterile. Jonas's role as Receiver of Memory is necessary for the Community because basic survival does require some knowledge of the human past, but this knowledge is a great burden, as human history is full of pain. Th...
bdbearBobby Winte
Book examines what would happen if society was strictly regulated through sameness. Individuality is not encouraged, living for the community is most important. It is interesting seeing how this plays out and what sacrifices need to be made to protect everyone from chaos or conflict.
BonniebdbearBobby
As the book begin I thought I knew the story, but I was wrong. It quickly turned into an amazingly unbelievable story and I didn’t want to stop reading. I just want to start book 2.
Short Excerpt Teaser
1
It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. No. Wrong word, Jonas thought. Frightened meant that deep, sickening feeling of something terrible about to happen. Frightened was the way he had felt a year ago when an unidentified aircraft had overflown the community twice. He had seen it both times. Squinting toward the sky, he had seen the sleek jet, almost a blur at its high speed, go past, and a second later heard the blast of sound that followed. Then one more time, a moment later, from the opposite direction, the same plane.
At first, he had been only fascinated. He had never seen aircraft so close, for it was against the rules for Pilots to fly over the community. Occasionally, when supplies were delivered by cargo planes to the landing field across the river, the children rode their bicycles to the riverbank and watched, intrigued, the unloading and then the takeoff directed to the west, always away from the community.
But the aircraft a year ago had been different. It was not a squat, fat-bellied cargo plane but a needle-nosed single-pilot jet. Jonas, looking around anxiously, had seen others-adults as well as children-stop what they were doing and wait, confused, for an explanation of the frightening event.
Then all of the citizens had been ordered to go into the nearest building and stay there. IMMEDIATELY, the rasping voice through the speakers had said. LEAVE YOUR BICYCLES WHERE THEY ARE.
Instantly, obediently, Jonas had dropped his bike on its side on the path behind his family's dwelling. He had run indoors and stayed there, alone. His parents were both at work, and his little sister, Lily, was at the Childcare Center where she spent her after-school hours.
Looking through the front window, he had seen no people: none of the busy afternoon crew of Street Cleaners, Landscape Workers, and Food Delivery people who usually populated the community at that time of day. He saw only the abandoned bikes here and there on their sides; an upturned wheel on one was still revolving slowly.
He had been frightened then. The sense of his own community silent, waiting, had made his stomach churn. He had trembled.
But it had been nothing. Within minutes the speakers had crackled again, and the voice, reassuring now and less urgent, had explained that a Pilot-in-Training had misread his navigational instructions and made a wrong turn. Desperately the Pilot had been trying to make his way back before his error was noticed.
NEEDLESS TO SAY, HE WILL BE RELEASED, the voice had said, followed by silence. There was an ironic tone to that final message, as if the Speaker found it amusing; and Jonas had smiled a little, though he knew what a grim statement it had been. For a contributing citizen to be released from the community was a final decision, a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure.
Even the children were scolded if they used the term lightly at play, jeering at a teammate who missed a catch or stumbled in a race. Jonas had done it once, had shouted at his best friend, "That's it, Asher! You're released!" when Asher's clumsy error had lost a match for his team. He had been taken aside for a brief and serious talk by the coach, had hung his head with guilt and embarrassment, and apologized to Asher after the game.
Now, thinking about the feeling of fear as he pedaled home along the river path, he remembered that moment of palpable, stomach-sinking terror when the aircraft had streaked above. It was not what he was feeling now with December approaching. He searched for the right word to describe his own feeling.
Jonas was careful about language. Not like his friend, Asher, who talked too fast and mixed things up, scrambling words and phrases until they were barely recognizable and often very funny.
Jonas grinned, remembering the morning that Asher had dashed into the classroom, late as usual, arriving breathlessly in the middle of the chanting of the morning anthem. When the class took their seats at the conclusion of the patriotic hymn, Asher remained standing to make his public apology as was required.
"I apologize for inconveniencing my learning community." Asher ran through the standard apology phrase rapidly, still catching his breath. The Instructor and class waited patiently for his explanation. The students had all been grinning, because they had listened to Asher's explanations so many times before.
"I left home at the correct time but when I was riding along near the hatchery, the crew was separating som...
It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. No. Wrong word, Jonas thought. Frightened meant that deep, sickening feeling of something terrible about to happen. Frightened was the way he had felt a year ago when an unidentified aircraft had overflown the community twice. He had seen it both times. Squinting toward the sky, he had seen the sleek jet, almost a blur at its high speed, go past, and a second later heard the blast of sound that followed. Then one more time, a moment later, from the opposite direction, the same plane.
At first, he had been only fascinated. He had never seen aircraft so close, for it was against the rules for Pilots to fly over the community. Occasionally, when supplies were delivered by cargo planes to the landing field across the river, the children rode their bicycles to the riverbank and watched, intrigued, the unloading and then the takeoff directed to the west, always away from the community.
But the aircraft a year ago had been different. It was not a squat, fat-bellied cargo plane but a needle-nosed single-pilot jet. Jonas, looking around anxiously, had seen others-adults as well as children-stop what they were doing and wait, confused, for an explanation of the frightening event.
Then all of the citizens had been ordered to go into the nearest building and stay there. IMMEDIATELY, the rasping voice through the speakers had said. LEAVE YOUR BICYCLES WHERE THEY ARE.
Instantly, obediently, Jonas had dropped his bike on its side on the path behind his family's dwelling. He had run indoors and stayed there, alone. His parents were both at work, and his little sister, Lily, was at the Childcare Center where she spent her after-school hours.
Looking through the front window, he had seen no people: none of the busy afternoon crew of Street Cleaners, Landscape Workers, and Food Delivery people who usually populated the community at that time of day. He saw only the abandoned bikes here and there on their sides; an upturned wheel on one was still revolving slowly.
He had been frightened then. The sense of his own community silent, waiting, had made his stomach churn. He had trembled.
But it had been nothing. Within minutes the speakers had crackled again, and the voice, reassuring now and less urgent, had explained that a Pilot-in-Training had misread his navigational instructions and made a wrong turn. Desperately the Pilot had been trying to make his way back before his error was noticed.
NEEDLESS TO SAY, HE WILL BE RELEASED, the voice had said, followed by silence. There was an ironic tone to that final message, as if the Speaker found it amusing; and Jonas had smiled a little, though he knew what a grim statement it had been. For a contributing citizen to be released from the community was a final decision, a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure.
Even the children were scolded if they used the term lightly at play, jeering at a teammate who missed a catch or stumbled in a race. Jonas had done it once, had shouted at his best friend, "That's it, Asher! You're released!" when Asher's clumsy error had lost a match for his team. He had been taken aside for a brief and serious talk by the coach, had hung his head with guilt and embarrassment, and apologized to Asher after the game.
Now, thinking about the feeling of fear as he pedaled home along the river path, he remembered that moment of palpable, stomach-sinking terror when the aircraft had streaked above. It was not what he was feeling now with December approaching. He searched for the right word to describe his own feeling.
Jonas was careful about language. Not like his friend, Asher, who talked too fast and mixed things up, scrambling words and phrases until they were barely recognizable and often very funny.
Jonas grinned, remembering the morning that Asher had dashed into the classroom, late as usual, arriving breathlessly in the middle of the chanting of the morning anthem. When the class took their seats at the conclusion of the patriotic hymn, Asher remained standing to make his public apology as was required.
"I apologize for inconveniencing my learning community." Asher ran through the standard apology phrase rapidly, still catching his breath. The Instructor and class waited patiently for his explanation. The students had all been grinning, because they had listened to Asher's explanations so many times before.
"I left home at the correct time but when I was riding along near the hatchery, the crew was separating som...
