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paigem6rie's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars ⭑
→ science, dystopian, ya
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁
"The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared."
⟢ I'm a giver, he says "Me too"
He is hungry for someone but doesn't know who
I'm a giver or am I a fool?
He forgets the words, so I teach him to say "I love you"
no spoilers unless marked <3
plot ༉‧₊˚.
this story takes place in the far, far future in a land of sameness. you follow a 12 year old boy's journey of realizing the government is, well, wrong. (i suck at plots and don't know what else to say especially for this book
→ science, dystopian, ya
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁
"The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared."
⟢ I'm a giver, he says "Me too"
He is hungry for someone but doesn't know who
I'm a giver or am I a fool?
He forgets the words, so I teach him to say "I love you"
no spoilers unless marked <3
plot ༉‧₊˚.
this story takes place in the far, far future in a land of sameness. you follow a 12 year old boy's journey of realizing the government is, well, wrong. (i suck at plots and don't know what else to say especially for this book
readoodles's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't wake up one morning and decide I wanted to be a librarian. Things just don't happen that way. Instead, you make small choices along the way that eventually lead you to some job in some city.
Imagine, though, a place where it wasn't that way. A place where you didn't get to decide what you were going to do with your life. Instead, someone decided that for you and they decided it when you were twelve years old.
Well that is the bad part, here is the good part. No hunger. No crime. No violence. No abuse. No disagreements. Bliss -- everyone gets along with everyone. Maybe for all of that, having your job picked out for you at age 12 isn't that bad.
When it is Jonas’ turn at the ceremony of 12s where jobs are assigned, the Elder says, "Your job is special. Your job -- " Jonas swallows hard, waits and hears: "Your job is to be.............
Imagine, though, a place where it wasn't that way. A place where you didn't get to decide what you were going to do with your life. Instead, someone decided that for you and they decided it when you were twelve years old.
Well that is the bad part, here is the good part. No hunger. No crime. No violence. No abuse. No disagreements. Bliss -- everyone gets along with everyone. Maybe for all of that, having your job picked out for you at age 12 isn't that bad.
When it is Jonas’ turn at the ceremony of 12s where jobs are assigned, the Elder says, "Your job is special. Your job -- " Jonas swallows hard, waits and hears: "Your job is to be.............
jlcairns's review against another edition
4.0
Can't believe my first reading of this book was at the age 29. Alas, I loved the book until the end. And that was awful.
juliecolsen21's review against another edition
2.0
Simplistic. Would spark a good discussion, though. I should not read YA.
bobco303's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
maddie_quinn's review against another edition
4.0
It was good but I don't understand how it's SO loved. Maybe I've read way too much dystopian YA but this one didn't thrill me. The ending left a lot to be desired so I guess I'll try the next book in the series.
annarosereads's review against another edition
4.0
Right before reading this book I listened to Brene Brown's Ted Talk "The Power of Vulnerability." This novel is a perfect illustration of her point that we need vulnerability to really live. Our new found obsession with hyperparenting and our culture of fear have led to tendency to want to avoid all risk. But in avoiding risk and pain you also avoid love and joy. As a parent I often feel the pressure to "keep the kids safe" but this has gone to the point of smothering them lest they experience pain or self-doubt or (god forbid) damage to their self-esteem. This novel is a great illustration of how misguided that idea really is.
pris_asagiri's review against another edition
4.0
August 23, 2018
This is the umpteenth time I’ve read this book. Before GR, I have no idea how many times I read it before. But the first time was in 8th grade lit. Reading all the reviews of my GR friends, I am very grateful for the forward thinking lit curriculum of my school as none of friends had read it in their youth and I think that’s a shame. It’s not that as an adult you can’t appreciate this story. You can. I am always surprised by how well it continues to hold up over the decades (which is a main component of a classic, I suppose). But it wasn’t written for adults and so you’re not going to appreciate it in the same way as if you were 12 (I’d say 11-13 is a good age range).
I was going to wait until my daughter was in 8th grade to read this, mostly because I wanted to be sure she could fully grasp the ideas of the story. What do we sacrifice for peace and safety? And at what cost do future generations pay for our decisions? And what can we do to affect change? Is it our right to change others for them without their consent, even if it’s “for the better”? These are heavy topics and deserve a thoughtful discussion. But, my kid wanted to read it this summer and so we read it together. And it was her favorite book she read. So that made me happy. I find it interesting to be able to discuss topics like this with kids because it’s intriguing to see their thought processes and how some may be firmly rooted and others may change as experience and time changes them.
There are other books in this series but they are not “sequels”, more like stories from the same universe. And I enjoyed them a lot (I read the sequels as an adult). I didn’t understand as a kid, nor do I understand it now, why people were upset with the ending. I suppose the idea of will they or won’t they survive is unsettling for a lot of people. Some people need clearly defined closure. But I enjoy a good open ending. And my kid was nonplussed by it, firm in the belief that. I enjoy her optimism in humanity.
This is the umpteenth time I’ve read this book. Before GR, I have no idea how many times I read it before. But the first time was in 8th grade lit. Reading all the reviews of my GR friends, I am very grateful for the forward thinking lit curriculum of my school as none of friends had read it in their youth and I think that’s a shame. It’s not that as an adult you can’t appreciate this story. You can. I am always surprised by how well it continues to hold up over the decades (which is a main component of a classic, I suppose). But it wasn’t written for adults and so you’re not going to appreciate it in the same way as if you were 12 (I’d say 11-13 is a good age range).
I was going to wait until my daughter was in 8th grade to read this, mostly because I wanted to be sure she could fully grasp the ideas of the story. What do we sacrifice for peace and safety? And at what cost do future generations pay for our decisions? And what can we do to affect change? Is it our right to change others for them without their consent, even if it’s “for the better”? These are heavy topics and deserve a thoughtful discussion. But, my kid wanted to read it this summer and so we read it together. And it was her favorite book she read. So that made me happy. I find it interesting to be able to discuss topics like this with kids because it’s intriguing to see their thought processes and how some may be firmly rooted and others may change as experience and time changes them.
There are other books in this series but they are not “sequels”, more like stories from the same universe. And I enjoyed them a lot (I read the sequels as an adult). I didn’t understand as a kid, nor do I understand it now, why people were upset with the ending. I suppose the idea of will they or won’t they survive is unsettling for a lot of people. Some people need clearly defined closure. But I enjoy a good open ending. And my kid was nonplussed by it, firm in the belief that
Spoiler
they would find the village and someone would take care of them and that the Giver would help the community deal with the memoriesmkmatheson's review against another edition
3.0
A reflective, if over-simplified, YA introduction to the dystopian genre.