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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I thought that "Messenger" (the third in the trilogy) was much better than "Gathering Blue", but that "The Giver" is still the best of the three. Lowry creates societies where mass thought takes control of communities, and where individuals must not only question their roles, but also question what it is to be a just person while questioning the choices of their leaders, or of the masses. "Messenger" re-emphasizes a point that the other two books brought up--the importance of finding one's calling, or gift, and using it for the right reason. It tries to pull together all the little bits left unanswered from the first two companion books, and does a pretty good job of it. The author leaves some important details up to her reader's imaginations, much like "The Giver" and "Gathering Blue", but since this is the final book in a series, I wish she'd tied up the loose ends a little more neatly. Regardless, I love this series and I loved the Messenger.
Unique, as most of Lois Lowry's books are, but not a very satisfying ending. Through the last 20 pages, I kept thinking, this is the climax, but how can there only be a few pages left? Unsatisfying.
Better than Gathering Blue, but not at good as the Giver. I like the message if the story, but I don’t like how the series moves more towards fantasy and further from dystopian literature as it progresses. This is fully a fantasy book which seems out of place with the world created in The Giver.
This is the third of the Giver series. It is a very different book from the first two. There are more fantastic/magical elements here, and it's kind of depressing. OK, like, actually depressing. Messenger brings up the issues of dis/ability and inequality again. And, this is an interesting portrait of dystopia/utopia. As a person long interested in both, I loved the way that the dystopia shifts toward a happier world in Kira's village, and the utopia of Village - which is, in so many ways, just a big ol' metaphor for America, give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses - sees its own utopia crumble. The plot is not as predictable as GB, but that's not saying a lot.
Bright moment: When Kira says she doesn't want her leg to be "fixed" because it's part who she is. Aw.
Most baffling: What the hell is the Trade Mart? Is this, like, a commentary on capitalism? Is this about the greedy ways we trade away our true selves? The trade mart was a major WTF feature for me. It seemed like an excuse for the discord and dissatisfaction of Village, and not a well-played plot point.
I am still glad I finished out the series, but that's mostly for my own smug satisfaction and being able to close this chapter of my life. I need to stop reading sequels to childhood faves.
Bright moment: When Kira says she doesn't want her leg to be "fixed" because it's part who she is. Aw.
Most baffling: What the hell is the Trade Mart? Is this, like, a commentary on capitalism? Is this about the greedy ways we trade away our true selves? The trade mart was a major WTF feature for me. It seemed like an excuse for the discord and dissatisfaction of Village, and not a well-played plot point.
I am still glad I finished out the series, but that's mostly for my own smug satisfaction and being able to close this chapter of my life. I need to stop reading sequels to childhood faves.
3.5 stars
Another very interesting story from Lois Lowry. It's so hard to include this as part of the The Giver series for me just because of how much I LOVED The Giver and have carried that story with me as one of my favorites ever since I was 12.
I zipped through the book in a matter of hours, but really, I wasn't as interested as I had hoped. My attention wasn't really grabbed until the end of the book and I loved how it all concluded. I was really surprised, actually!
Another thing I really liked was how it all tied back into The Giver as well as Gathering Blue even though each book is its own specific story. Very glad I finally got around to this!
Full review originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide: I have to admit - I went into Messenger quite skeptical. The Giver has been one of my favorite books since I was twelve (and that was thirteen years ago!), I reread The Giver last year (and still loved it) and then almost immediately after that, I read Gathering Blue and was pretty disappointed. Unfortunately, I felt the same kind of disappointment with Messenger.
All of these books are super quick reads (with the exception of my first time around reading The Giver, I finished each in a matter of hours in one day), but unfortunately I felt the same about Messenger as I had about Gathering Blue - the story was easy enough to follow and they both have very nice lessons (they are more for middle grade readers, I think) but I was just never quite as captivated as I had been when I first read Jonas's story.
I thought Matty's story in Messenger was actually a little bit more interesting that Kira in GB. It seemed a bit more magical as far as abilities go and I enjoyed the characters and the dynamics much more. Also, we got to see Jonas's reappearance as an adult who is now the Leader of Matty's Village. I really think that helped me make more of a connection to the book as well. I liked that this book felt a lot more like a continuation of a series instead of a companion since we see both Jonas and Kira from the previous books.
Another very interesting story from Lois Lowry. It's so hard to include this as part of the The Giver series for me just because of how much I LOVED The Giver and have carried that story with me as one of my favorites ever since I was 12.
I zipped through the book in a matter of hours, but really, I wasn't as interested as I had hoped. My attention wasn't really grabbed until the end of the book and I loved how it all concluded. I was really surprised, actually!
Another thing I really liked was how it all tied back into The Giver as well as Gathering Blue even though each book is its own specific story. Very glad I finally got around to this!
Full review originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide: I have to admit - I went into Messenger quite skeptical. The Giver has been one of my favorite books since I was twelve (and that was thirteen years ago!), I reread The Giver last year (and still loved it) and then almost immediately after that, I read Gathering Blue and was pretty disappointed. Unfortunately, I felt the same kind of disappointment with Messenger.
All of these books are super quick reads (with the exception of my first time around reading The Giver, I finished each in a matter of hours in one day), but unfortunately I felt the same about Messenger as I had about Gathering Blue - the story was easy enough to follow and they both have very nice lessons (they are more for middle grade readers, I think) but I was just never quite as captivated as I had been when I first read Jonas's story.
I thought Matty's story in Messenger was actually a little bit more interesting that Kira in GB. It seemed a bit more magical as far as abilities go and I enjoyed the characters and the dynamics much more. Also, we got to see Jonas's reappearance as an adult who is now the Leader of Matty's Village. I really think that helped me make more of a connection to the book as well. I liked that this book felt a lot more like a continuation of a series instead of a companion since we see both Jonas and Kira from the previous books.
Recurring characters from the first two books in the series. This one is more sinister. The ending is sad, but hopeful at the same time.
It's so good to see the characters using their powers to do good and change things. Every character is endearing and well-created.
It's so good to see the characters using their powers to do good and change things. Every character is endearing and well-created.
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm new to the world of audiobooks. I'm slowly but surely getting there. I really enjoyed this one. I loved The Giver. I think Lois Lowry is amazing but I really think that I was afraid to read the other books in The Giver trilogy because I was afraid of ruining the original. I think I accidently went with the third book next. Oops. But I still loved it.
This also marks my first experience of listening to an audiobook while driving. I know it sounds weird to say but it's a totally new experience for me and I'm starting to enjoy it.
This also marks my first experience of listening to an audiobook while driving. I know it sounds weird to say but it's a totally new experience for me and I'm starting to enjoy it.
My video review for this series can be found here: https://youtu.be/o-qn6wy81L0
This book helped to connect the characters in the first two books of the series together, though it definitely felt more related to Gathering Blue than it did The Giver. It follows Matty (Matt from Gathering Blue) several years after we last saw him.
This book, despite being over a decade old, felt eerily relevant to life today in 2019. The entire plot revolves around letting people in need enter a village and a subset of the population wanting to keep them out (partly by building a wall). It was a good read on the subject, if a little simplistic, and I found it a little more compelling than the series' previous installment.
That said, there were some serious flaws with the way the book was structured. Primarily, the ending.
Another major problem I had was with the character of Trademaster and the Trade Mart; specifically, that none of that got explained.
Right now, my feelings on this series as a whole stand to veer greatly in one direction or the other, depending on what the final book contains. I'm going to need Son to explain why everything that happened in this novel happened and to also go back and address what happened to the society from the first book. Otherwise, this series as a whole will just feel a bit sloppy and directionless.
This book helped to connect the characters in the first two books of the series together, though it definitely felt more related to Gathering Blue than it did The Giver. It follows Matty (Matt from Gathering Blue) several years after we last saw him.
This book, despite being over a decade old, felt eerily relevant to life today in 2019. The entire plot revolves around letting people in need enter a village and a subset of the population wanting to keep them out (partly by building a wall). It was a good read on the subject, if a little simplistic, and I found it a little more compelling than the series' previous installment.
That said, there were some serious flaws with the way the book was structured. Primarily, the ending.
Spoiler
I figured out pretty early on that Matty would probably need to heal the villagers and possibly all of Forest, and that was fine. I appreciated being given the clues needed to figure it out. My problem was that there was no compelling explanation for why Matty couldn't have just done this healing immediately. Why would Leader tell him to save his power and then wait until everyone was on death's door before advising him to use it? Why didn't he see immediately what Matty could do and have him do it right then and there without ever having to leave Village? There is no reason--aside from perhaps that neither Matty nor Leader thought of it. I don't really believe that "I didn't think of it" is a good excuse for why something should be drawn out that significantly in a book.Another major problem I had was with the character of Trademaster and the Trade Mart; specifically, that
Spoiler
he basically seemed like the source of all the evil in this book andRight now, my feelings on this series as a whole stand to veer greatly in one direction or the other, depending on what the final book contains. I'm going to need Son to explain why everything that happened in this novel happened and to also go back and address what happened to the society from the first book. Otherwise, this series as a whole will just feel a bit sloppy and directionless.