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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
read this book a long time ago but it was so good and i feel like it’s one of the only good school books you read
dark
emotional
hopeful
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:
Complicated
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
It’s been 25 years since first read this book and listened to it with my kids this time around. The writing is clear and clean with her ideas presented well. Enjoyed it the second time around.
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
This will be a Lit Circle book this semester, and I wanted to re-read it, because it's been a lot of years and I've forgotten the nuances. And some of the not-so-nuances! It is a relatively easy read; the language level is for about 4th grade, but the themes and their execution are deep enough that slower reading by a child makes sense. Lowry lays out a happy society in which everyone is well-cared for, has clear roles, a family with little or no conflict, and carefully-developed rules to support politeness and responsibility. The introduction of the society is meant to be unsettling; on the one hand, everyone is helpful and cooperative and seemingly very content; the society is egalitarian, and the leaders of the Council do not profit from their role. On the other, everyone is watched, every small infraction is announced to the whole town, and banishment is a possibility for repeated infractions. A children reach their 12th year, they are assigned a career, and the protagonist, Jonah, is given a job that seldom comes up: to be The Receiver. What he discovers this means is that he is the receptacle for the civilization's memories, which the rest of the populace do not have. The technology by which memories and qualities of life (color, music, etc.) were removed is never explained. The transmission of memories from The Giver seems magical rather than technological, though the tone of the book suggests this is a post-apocalyptic world in which technology has been used to rebuild. The reader learns that The Giver, because they hold all of society's memories, is considered the wisest of the counselors, consulted by The Council when anything unusual happens. The reader also learns that the person who holds the memories for the community will spill these memories out upon their death, unless they are transferred to another memory holder. Thus, as Jonah gathers memories and begins to hold deep pain for the community, and also learns of practices that he comes to find immoral, he confronts the dilemma of how to rid himself of this unfathomable burden, how to change a society that doesn't understand its past and therefore its present, without causing the community great trauma by releasing the knowledge he holds. The ending of the book leads Jonah into new territory, and sets up the possibility of a later confrontation. I don't think Lowry originally intended to write a sequel, though she eventually wrote three; I haven't read any of them, so don't know how she intended this confrontation to come about. But as a stand-alone book, the reader is left to ponder the balances of responsibility without understanding, which societal ills are worth banishing and at what cost, and what it means to have choice, individually and as a culture.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes