Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Giver

This was really easy to read fast, so it definitely kept my attention but it doesn’t seem like the kind of book i would be thinking about for a long time. It was an
interesting concept, but not written well enough to feel completely thrown into this utopian world and needing to know what happens next. Also talk about an unsatisfactory ending!

I’m glad it seems to have ended well for Gabe and Jonas but UGH endings written like this are my biggest pet peeve.

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marinapaso11's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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the_book_nook's review against another edition

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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

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lilytheravenclaw's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

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

3.0

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alessiareads's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

2.75

Honestly, this book really helped me realize that teachers might not actally have any idea about what books to recommend💀 This book was given as a task by my teacher and I highly doubt this book should ever be targeted towards schools, it doesn’t give anything useful to remember.

Basically, this “dystopian” society prepares kids for 12 years, when they reach the age, they are given jobes that fit them. For example, you could help old people, work with new borns and girls could also be given the job to give birth three times then work and die. That meaing at just twelve years old you could he told that in the next years/months you’re forced to have a baby. The edition of this book I have says something on the back like “This book will intrigue youngsters to read more and apprecite writing” appreciate writing??? When it’s an actual basic writing. If I wasn’t into reading, as a teenager, and if this was my first book I would totally think of reading as a burden not pleasure.

Now I’m not mad about the book, and people who enjoy dark books could more or less like this one, I’m mad about the innocence created around it. It’s supposed to intrigue you into reading more, inspire you, it’s powerful but I don’t see it??? I’ve read the same type of dark books or even darker but they’re KNOWN as dark, there’s no hiding behind a “oh this is suitable for kids!!”. Now , do youself a favour and search for better dystopian books. In my opinion and strictly mine, this isn’t a good book at all.

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stacy837's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

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

2.75

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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franjessca's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense

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

4.0

I have never read The Giver by Lois Lowry before until now. It was never a book that I never was tasked to read The Giver by Lois Lowry in school. I remember seeing the movie when it came out, but I never read the book. My oldest child had to read it in middle school, and I decided to squeeze the book into my reading schedule. I was supposed to read it last month (July 2021) for the Society against Book Banning but was dealing with medical issues at the time.

Storyline/My Thoughts: After reading The Giver, I did find some aspects of the book problematic, but some of it eye-opening. It’s supposed to be a utopian society, where there really aren’t any feelings (emotional ones). It includes sameness with everyone, and no one can see color. There is a Receiver who handles all the memories of the past (good and bad). For instance, Jonas has never known what snow looks like or feels like, and he’s never experienced hunger or death. He’s about to find out about it since he has been assigned the job of the new Receiver. Once Jonas starts receiving the memories of the past from the Giver, he starts seeing and feeling things differently. He also starts realizing that maybe the society he is in is not Utopia.

Here’s the problem with the book for me personally. I didn’t connect well with Jonas because there was nearly no characterization or world-building that I’m used to reading in other books. There were secondary characters in the book that I wanted to learn more about but never did. I only got snippets of them. Lois Lowry did describe what it was like to live in this society since Jonas told it from his POV. The book is only 179 pages, so I knew it would not give me much. There was also the ending that I felt ended abruptly. I was left hanging. I didn’t feel there was a real HEA to the story either.

There was an issue also with something that Jonas finds out in this book that bothered me. This is one thing I don’t like in books, but since this is labeled as dystopian, I was expecting something to bother me. I mean, the Hunger Games bothered me when it involved kids. The rest of the society found no issue with it, but Jonas immediately knew it was wrong once he found out the truth.

I found the book interesting at specific points. Everyone didn’t have to deal with a rollercoaster of emotions. They lived their lives. One of the downfalls to this is never experiencing love, even as a family. There was how Jonas got to learn from the Giver on experiences that were good and bad. He changed once he started learning more about life.

My daughter, when she read it, didn’t like it much because she found it boring. She was only 12-13 years old when she read it, and she’s my picky reader anyway. I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed the book as a teenager. I was into horror and mystery books around my preteen/teenage years.

I will say this I enjoyed the movie a little more than the book. I felt the film covered a little more, and I understood it better. The ending of the movie was better than the book.

Overall, this book gets four stars from me. This book is not my usual cup of tea, but I’m glad I read it. I don’t see a reason to ban the book entirely, but I see issues with a particular age group of kids reading it. My oldest daughter can handle things in this book, but my youngest daughter may be bothered by this book. She’s my sensitive child when it comes to certain things. She doesn’t like violence and doesn’t like seeing/reading anyone that gets hurt. She’s very empathetic.

Standalone or Part of Series: After reading the synopsis of the other books in the quartet, each seems to follow new characters. I’ve also read reviews of the other books from other readers who mentioned that each is standalone.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you enjoy dystopian books that include a utopian-like society in them. The characters in the book believe it to be. After I was done reading it, I know the community was flawed, and they didn’t realize it. I would also recommend watching the movie.

Trigger Warnings: Violence – Child Abuse/Murder; Infanticide and euthanasia

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