Week 3

Week 3: The Giver by Lois Lowry

Book Summary:

Jonas lives in what appears to be a perfect society. There is no pain, hunger, or violence. People are assigned partners, families, and jobs. When he is twelve, he is chosen to be the Receiver of Memories in preparation to be the Giver, a powerful position in his society. The Giver’s purpose is to store all the memories of pain, love, joy, loss, and war so that someone in the community will remember why the society was created. As the current Giver transfers memories to Jonas, he discovers the horrific cost of a perfect society and questions the humanity of it. With encouragement from the Giver and knowledge of Gabe’s fate, Jonas makes a decision that could change everything.

My Impressions:

The Giver is one of the most thought provoking children’s books I’ve read. I was left with the feeling that to live a life without pain is to not live at all. How can you know if you are truly happy unless you understand the pain you would feel if you didn’t have the things that bring you the most joy? The most disturbing part of the book was learning what release means. A syringe injected into the forehead of baby brings the horror of this community to light.

Professional Review:

“The author makes real abstract concepts, such as the meaning of a life in which there are virtually no choices to be made and no experiences with deep feelings. This tightly plotted story and its believable characters will stay with readers for a long time.”

– School Library Journal

Library Uses:

There are rumors of a movie coming out based on the novel. Create a book trailer with current actors portraying the characters to share on the library’s website.

APA Reference: 

Lowry, L. (1993). The giver. New York, NY: Delacorte Press.

Top 100 children’s novels. (2012, June 23). [Review of the book The giver, L. Lowry). School

Library Journal. Retrieved at http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/

afuse8production/2012/06/23/top-100-childrens-novels-4-the-giver-by-lois-lowry/