Reviews with content warning for Medical content - The Giver

I'm tired of and it's getting ridiculous how I'm always reading anti abortion, anti-pc conservative bs into some books I read but this corny little Brave New World-lite book is riddled with that. Yeah, I'll admit it has engaging writing for its part (

the scene where psycho Father kills the twin baby really did fokn distressed me and I'm having a hard time getting out of my head

), and Jonas is easy to like, and I might have been a Giver stan when I was a kid and in my rebellious, anti-authority figures, ANGERY, I hate everyone days, but now, the book is ott with white pro-life right wing American fears/ideas. Idk Lowry's political leanings but that was the awful end result. The only thing this book has going for itself is that it's a fast read and as whiny as it was it entertained me for the most part. But idk how crazy I am for thinking this, but I'm truly starting to think now that this book is a huge contributer to Americans anti-bike feelings lmao

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bexdubyah's review against another edition

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reflective sad tense

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flowergrove's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

If you were to be lost in the river, Jonas, your memories would not be lost with you. Memories live forever.

I enjoyed this novel a lot. I read this back in middle school and didn't remember much from it. But now in my second year of college, I can see that there's a lot that went over my head. The whole concept of the novel presents as the loss of innocence and coming of age, which I did not understand when I was little. I love watching Jonas be curious and interested in figuring out life. Life not only how he knows it, but how it existed before. I think the concept of coming of age is done quite literally, in the sense that it shows Jonas be aware of all the small changes and all of the information that people wouldn't normally pick up on. I never really realized how much I'd like to give her I think originally I thought he was just an old guy. And but for the way he goes about teaching Jonas, I found it quite lovely.

I thought the use of "precise language" as a form of control was intriguing. Control to make sure no one lies and to tell the truth as it is. (It almost reminds me of the rules placed against AAEV.) I also thought Louis Lowry using Release for the name of euthanasia and death was quite meaningful. (Release from responsibility, from pain, from life essentially.)

Fun Fact: For most of my life I thought Lois Lowry was a male author. But finding out that a woman wrote such an important novel brought me so much joy.

Major Spoilers!

I cannot remember if I knew that Rosemary, the first receiver chosen ten years ago, was the Givers' daughter. But this pleasantly shocked me, and I think it added a lot more depth to who the Giver is. He no longer was just an old man whos had to go through a lot. He was also a husband and a father. I also really love the way that they described Rosemary because it made her seem more human. She was not just a drone going through life as she's told to do.
Not to mention when Jonas got the rules for being a receiver and in the rules, he wasn't allowed to ask for Release. And then you realize the only reason that they put the rule there is because Rosemary asked for Release. Again reinstating the concept that rules aren’t made randomly that there is a reason behind them.

I'm not sure if I will continue this series, because a part of me wants to keep this book separate from the rest. In case I don't end up liking the following novels as much. I shall have to see. But The Giver is a great book that I look forward to re-reading.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I think this is the 4th or 5th time I've actually read this book, and each time, something different strikes me about this world Lowry created. This is one of the books I used for my MA thesis on gender in YA dystopia, and I couldn't help but think about that while reading it this time. There's just so much to unpack! The literature student in me really misses writing analysis papers sometimes.

Anyway, one of the most fascinating things about this book is the idea that if we take away all decisions people make, humanity will be content. But as Jonas figures out, this isn't necessarily the case becuase they miss out on so many other things. This is such a short book, but there's so much to unpack from it. Now I kind of want to re-read the rest of the books because I don't remember how they all connect.

Either way, this book will make for excellent discussion at book club tonight!

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