Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Dystopian teen fiction is pretty hot right now, with blockbusters like "The Hunger Games" and "Divergent." But the grandaddy of them all was "The Giver."
And long before it became chic, Lois Lowry produced a hauntingly memorable quartet of stories set in a world where emotions are suppressed and people with gifts are imprisoned. The four books are loosely tied together -- the first and last most tightly -- and mingle fantasy and science fiction, with haunting prose and some very strong characters, as well as a message of compassion and acceptance.
In "The Giver," Jonas lives in a rigid, joyless community where people use emotion-deprivation pills and adhere to insanely strict rules -- they have no conflict, poverty or discrimination... but they also have no love, no fun, and no creativity. When Jonas is selected as the Receiver of Memories, he is suddenly flooded with feelings and memories of both the good and the bad from humanity's distant past.
And as he comes to realize what his people have lost in their quest to be the same, Jonas begins yearning for the world he knows must exist outside the Community. But his quest becomes a more personal one when he discovers another price for the Community's existence: the "release" of babies that they don't deem good enough. The only one who can change the Community is Gabe.
"Gathering Blue" introduces us to Kira, a young girl born with a deformed leg in another community that leaves disabled or sickly people to die in the Field of Leaving. She is only kept alive because of her skill with embroidery and weaving, so she can make the Singer's robe. As she comes to realize the horrible flaws in her village's way of life, Kira must make an important decision -- stay and try to improve things, or leave for a place that would welcome her?
"Messenger" was somewhat controversial upon its release, since some fans of "The Giver" felt that it "ruined" the bleak ending they had imagined for the first book. In takes place in Village, a community made up of outcasts, misfits and disabled people, ruled by the kindly Leader. But the Village is surrounded by Forest, a terrifying and deadly forest that kills those who venture into it -- and though the awkward teen boy Matty has been able to go there, it is now growing darker and twisted. As the Village begins to close itself off from the outside world, Matty finds that he may be the only one who can save them all.
"Son" takes us back in time to Claire, a young woman whose entire purpose is to produce babies for the Community -- and her child is the sickly baby boy known as Gabe, who vanishes with Jonas into the great unknown. Her desperation to find her son inspires her on a years-long quest to find him -- and a Faustian pact with a terrible figure who only wants suffering.
Pretty much all young-adult dystopian fiction owes a debt to the Giver Quartet -- it has young people discovering the cruelty and callousness of their societies, and finding different ways to rebel. But Lowry doesn't shy away from asking the serious questions in her story, such as lack of respect for life (if it's inconvenient or doesn't fit in), kindness, compassion, and the good AND bad roots of what it means to truly live.
Lowry's writing is simple but poetic, winding through with some quietly eloquent language ("Now, on this shattered morning, he felt nothing but knots and snarls under his fingertips"). And she fills the stories not with bombast and battle, but with tragedy and quiet triumph -- and while the story is in a future world fragmented into multiple civilizations, there's a hint of the fantastical as well. Think special powers, the mysterious Trademaster, and whatnot.
And she creates a varied collection of characters. All of them are tied together into a story that culminates in "Son," and they all have the theme of seeking to improve the cruel, callous worlds they were in -- Jonas by leaving the Community to the memories they are trying to avoid, Kira by staying and working, and Matty through self-sacrifice. Claire is the odd duck out, a young woman adrift in the world, desperate to find her baby.
"The Giver Quartet" is a haunting memorable collection of novels, some of which inspired the current widespread dystopian novels. Rich, haunting and well-written.
And long before it became chic, Lois Lowry produced a hauntingly memorable quartet of stories set in a world where emotions are suppressed and people with gifts are imprisoned. The four books are loosely tied together -- the first and last most tightly -- and mingle fantasy and science fiction, with haunting prose and some very strong characters, as well as a message of compassion and acceptance.
In "The Giver," Jonas lives in a rigid, joyless community where people use emotion-deprivation pills and adhere to insanely strict rules -- they have no conflict, poverty or discrimination... but they also have no love, no fun, and no creativity. When Jonas is selected as the Receiver of Memories, he is suddenly flooded with feelings and memories of both the good and the bad from humanity's distant past.
And as he comes to realize what his people have lost in their quest to be the same, Jonas begins yearning for the world he knows must exist outside the Community. But his quest becomes a more personal one when he discovers another price for the Community's existence: the "release" of babies that they don't deem good enough. The only one who can change the Community is Gabe.
"Gathering Blue" introduces us to Kira, a young girl born with a deformed leg in another community that leaves disabled or sickly people to die in the Field of Leaving. She is only kept alive because of her skill with embroidery and weaving, so she can make the Singer's robe. As she comes to realize the horrible flaws in her village's way of life, Kira must make an important decision -- stay and try to improve things, or leave for a place that would welcome her?
"Messenger" was somewhat controversial upon its release, since some fans of "The Giver" felt that it "ruined" the bleak ending they had imagined for the first book. In takes place in Village, a community made up of outcasts, misfits and disabled people, ruled by the kindly Leader. But the Village is surrounded by Forest, a terrifying and deadly forest that kills those who venture into it -- and though the awkward teen boy Matty has been able to go there, it is now growing darker and twisted. As the Village begins to close itself off from the outside world, Matty finds that he may be the only one who can save them all.
"Son" takes us back in time to Claire, a young woman whose entire purpose is to produce babies for the Community -- and her child is the sickly baby boy known as Gabe, who vanishes with Jonas into the great unknown. Her desperation to find her son inspires her on a years-long quest to find him -- and a Faustian pact with a terrible figure who only wants suffering.
Pretty much all young-adult dystopian fiction owes a debt to the Giver Quartet -- it has young people discovering the cruelty and callousness of their societies, and finding different ways to rebel. But Lowry doesn't shy away from asking the serious questions in her story, such as lack of respect for life (if it's inconvenient or doesn't fit in), kindness, compassion, and the good AND bad roots of what it means to truly live.
Lowry's writing is simple but poetic, winding through with some quietly eloquent language ("Now, on this shattered morning, he felt nothing but knots and snarls under his fingertips"). And she fills the stories not with bombast and battle, but with tragedy and quiet triumph -- and while the story is in a future world fragmented into multiple civilizations, there's a hint of the fantastical as well. Think special powers, the mysterious Trademaster, and whatnot.
And she creates a varied collection of characters. All of them are tied together into a story that culminates in "Son," and they all have the theme of seeking to improve the cruel, callous worlds they were in -- Jonas by leaving the Community to the memories they are trying to avoid, Kira by staying and working, and Matty through self-sacrifice. Claire is the odd duck out, a young woman adrift in the world, desperate to find her baby.
"The Giver Quartet" is a haunting memorable collection of novels, some of which inspired the current widespread dystopian novels. Rich, haunting and well-written.
All of these combined would probably equal to more of a 3 or 3.5 stars for me... but I love "The Giver" so much that I bumped it up to 4 stars.
I had previously read "The Giver" and "Gathering Blue", this was my first time reading "Messenger" and "Son". I honestly wonder if it would have been better had I left my reading of this quartet to the first to books which I ranked so highly. I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading them but felt like the last two books were a let down. If you look at my review of "Son" you will see why I feel this way. Let's just say not all the books in "The Giver Quartet" are created equal.
I had previously read "The Giver" and "Gathering Blue", this was my first time reading "Messenger" and "Son". I honestly wonder if it would have been better had I left my reading of this quartet to the first to books which I ranked so highly. I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading them but felt like the last two books were a let down. If you look at my review of "Son" you will see why I feel this way. Let's just say not all the books in "The Giver Quartet" are created equal.
The Giver Quartet is a series of short stories about different dystopian societies. It begins with Jonas who lives in a society where pain and suffering is no longer known. But the price paid for a life without pain is a life without love, a life without happiness. Everyone in the community is a follower of Sameness; and they live by many strict rules. Precision of language is important. It doesn't do to use words with abstract definitions; if the definition is too broad, how will you ever understand the meaning behind the spoken word?
In December, Jonas becomes a Twelve. It's the start of their last days as a child; it'll be the start of the rest of his life. At the ceremony, Twelves are assigned a job to keep for the rest of their lives. There's caretakers, and teachers and any title that helps keep the community going like it always has. But Jonas isn't assigned anything like that. No, Jonas is to be the new Receiver of Memory.
His job is to carry all the memories from the past. To keep the community without pain; it's his job to carry the bad memories of pain and hurt. But he soon realises there's so much more to it. There's good memories too. Memories of what a snowflake feels on your nose, or what it is like to love. It's a feeling hard to forget – and he has a hard time letting go of the thought that there must be more to life than Sameness.
Oh, wow. The first short story, The Giver, completely blew me away. It hit me quite hard on a personal level. It was just as beautiful and empowering as it was sad. I don't necessarily agree with the whole ”if you don't know sadness, you can't know happiness” point of view but the story definitely made me think my own experiences over; both good and bad. I feel like the point is that all the memories and experiences make us who we are.
I didn't like the second story as much. I feel like I would've liked it if it hadn't dragged out the beginning so much – I would've loved it not to end as soon as it did but rather that the first half became more like the first half of the first half. It was slow and ended just as it got interesting. The same more or less goes for the third one; it feels forced and unnecessary. Like it was mostly done to link The Giver and Gathering Blue together.
But the fourth one? I do have some issues with what parts the author decided to give more pages but over all, the plot is just as beautiful and painful as The Giver. I'm sad it's last in the series because I have a feeling the quality of Gathering Blue and The Messenger will cause a lot of people to give up reading; which means they are missing out big time. It was definitely worth to get through those stories to get to this one. It's going to be hard to ever forget it.
In December, Jonas becomes a Twelve. It's the start of their last days as a child; it'll be the start of the rest of his life. At the ceremony, Twelves are assigned a job to keep for the rest of their lives. There's caretakers, and teachers and any title that helps keep the community going like it always has. But Jonas isn't assigned anything like that. No, Jonas is to be the new Receiver of Memory.
His job is to carry all the memories from the past. To keep the community without pain; it's his job to carry the bad memories of pain and hurt. But he soon realises there's so much more to it. There's good memories too. Memories of what a snowflake feels on your nose, or what it is like to love. It's a feeling hard to forget – and he has a hard time letting go of the thought that there must be more to life than Sameness.
Oh, wow. The first short story, The Giver, completely blew me away. It hit me quite hard on a personal level. It was just as beautiful and empowering as it was sad. I don't necessarily agree with the whole ”if you don't know sadness, you can't know happiness” point of view but the story definitely made me think my own experiences over; both good and bad. I feel like the point is that all the memories and experiences make us who we are.
I didn't like the second story as much. I feel like I would've liked it if it hadn't dragged out the beginning so much – I would've loved it not to end as soon as it did but rather that the first half became more like the first half of the first half. It was slow and ended just as it got interesting. The same more or less goes for the third one; it feels forced and unnecessary. Like it was mostly done to link The Giver and Gathering Blue together.
But the fourth one? I do have some issues with what parts the author decided to give more pages but over all, the plot is just as beautiful and painful as The Giver. I'm sad it's last in the series because I have a feeling the quality of Gathering Blue and The Messenger will cause a lot of people to give up reading; which means they are missing out big time. It was definitely worth to get through those stories to get to this one. It's going to be hard to ever forget it.
Wow. I loved this. I loved how all the books tied up in the end.
The Giver is pretty much kiddie dystopia. I loved it when I was young. It's an easily digestible introduction to the genre for grade school readers. The whole series is an odd mix of dystopia and fantasy and filled to the brim with moral messages. Writing has major plausibility issues that kids may overlook, but that are annoying as an adult. Instead of creating a universe and then establishing and following rules governing this universe, Lowry seems to make things up at random as necessary for the story's progression.
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Each book can be read independent of each other and does challenge the way we see our world.
I just can't figure out exactly how I feel about this series. I truly enjoyed [b:The Giver|3636|The Giver|Lois Lowry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1342493368l/3636._SY75_.jpg|2543234] and [b:Gathering Blue|12936|Gathering Blue|Lois Lowry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388195391l/12936._SY75_.jpg|2134456], but by time [b:Messenger|12930|Messenger|Lois Lowry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386924375l/12930._SY75_.jpg|901952] and [b:Son|13324841|Son|Lois Lowry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349952095l/13324841._SY75_.jpg|18252076] came around, I was worn out. They each were great stand-alone books. However, as a series, I'm not so sure. Due to Lowry focusing on different characters for each book, I felt that I only got a superficial understanding of each. I found the characters so endearing, but I felt that they weren't allowed to reach their full potential.
I loved Claire's story, but she wasn't thrown into the ring until the very end and then was only really involved with half of the last book. Additionally, while we saw her recover her memories, we never learn how she lost them in the first place. I do think Lowry values her readers' imaginations and I enjoy that I am given the opportunity to come up with my own conclusions on so many of her developments, but this one just felt like she almost forgot to write it.
Jonas had a great arc, but I hardly was able to see it. I absolutely adored Kira, but at the conclusion of the quartet, her story felt like it hardly mattered with the rest aside from being carelessly mentioned in [b:Son|13324841|Son|Lois Lowry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349952095l/13324841._SY75_.jpg|18252076] as a wife and kind mother. And Matty? My sweet Matty? Sure, he became a hero, but again, I hardly got to know him.
Ultimately, I did enjoy the series and think it is a great introduction for young readers into more mature conversations. I loved the idea of each book offering a different perspective from a character. [b:Son|13324841|Son|Lois Lowry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349952095l/13324841._SY75_.jpg|18252076] was a good ending, but the last fifty pages really felt rushed and not at the same level as the beginning of the story. The details of Claire's climb kept me on the edge of my seat and literally biting my fingernails as I read. However, this attention was not given to Gabe's journey. At the end, I found myself just saying, "Oh, okay, I guess that works." While I do enjoy sudden finality in some regards (i.e. Voldemort's quick, unclimactic death), this felt like it was attempting the same feat, but it just fell short (and really did not even make sense).
This series is an enjoyable, quick read that I would definitely recommend to families. While I do find a lot of the plot developments written as though Lowry had an ending in mind and wasn't sure how exactly to get there (Matty's story, [b:Son|13324841|Son|Lois Lowry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349952095l/13324841._SY75_.jpg|18252076]'s ending, etc.), I think it as an extremely creative story and I thoroughly enjoyed my journey with these wonderful characters.