Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Giver by Lois Lowry

18 reviews

the_book_nook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Vomit, Child death, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Torture, Terminal illness, War, Classism, Confinement, Colonisation, Death, Genocide, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Animal death

mmefish's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

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

1.5

Interesting ideas, weak execution. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Animal death, Death, and War

isabella_boytsan's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Sexual content

Moderate: War, Violence, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, and Kidnapping

emmajh91's review

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Death, and Child death

Minor: Animal death and War

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

I have come back to this book many times over the twenty-ish years since I first read it. It is a marvel. Even as an adult it still has the power to bring me to tears. This small book blows the many, certainly entertaining, but generally bloated, YA dystopian novels out of the water. Its genius is in its simplicity. This is clearly written for young readers: the language is clear and accessible, and the story is not too complex. But the concepts are challenging. It treats young readers with respect by giving them a story they can read but challenges them to confront difficult and confusing issues they may not have been exposed to before. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, and Suicide

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, and Blood

leahlovesloslibros's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I remember reading this book in middle school and loving it. I somehow didn't make the connection that it was dystopian until I read it again (this time), but I'm wondering if this is when my love for dystopian stories started. I always assumed it was in high school, but I think this may have been the original.

Reading it as an adult was not quite as jarring as it was for middle school me, but there were still some very glaring issues with the society. For the most part, this story aged well, and I would definitely consider it one of my all-time favorites.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Child abuse, Animal death, and Gun violence

Additional CW/TW: classism, elder abuse, war

ghosterystore's review

adventurous hopeful lighthearted tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, and Violence

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Suicide

Moderate: Murder, Violence, and Animal death

Minor: War and Medical content