The Giver

What would be necessary in a utopia? Would there be no sickness? No grief? What about no color, no love, and no sense of family? How could someone think that such a society was perfect? This is the question that comes to mind when reading Lois Lowery's The Giver. This book had me reading enthusiastically from cover to cover until I was done.

The Giver tells the story of a boy named Jonas who lives in a seemingly perfect society. His life gets turned upside down when he turns twelve. In his society, all children are considered adults once they turn twelve. They receive their job and become functioning members of society. Most children get assigned to be judges, teachers, or care givers, but Jonas is chosen to be the new Receiver. This means that everyday he will go to the current Giver to receive the memories that were taken away when this utopian society was formed. As Jonas begins to receive these memories, he realizes that his society is not so perfect after all. An internal struggle begins to take place inside Jonas. He questions what is truly best for people and community. How does Jonas take all of the changes that he can now see in his life?

The setting of The Giver is different from any other book that I have read. In the community in the novel, everything is the same and no one can see colors because they do not have the memories of them. I had great difficulty imagining the setting because The Giver is set in a place that is very different from our own. Lowery did not provide a whole lot of description of the setting. However, this did not prove to be too important in the understanding of the story.

The characters in the novel were very well developed. I grew attached to Jonas and began to feel his pain. I felt sorry for characters such as Fiona who did not know what great things they were missing out on. I worried for the outcome of the questionable Gabe. Each character had his or her own struggles and triumphs. Lowery did a wonderful job in the creation of her characters.

Overall, I enjoyed The Giver very much. I would recommend this book to anyone. The Giver was easy to read and interesting.