The Giver

The Giver

Lois Lowry

Genre: Juvenile Fiction, Dystopian Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  Jonas' world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Marcie's Review: Perhaps because I have recently read so many recent young adult dystopian fiction novels, I found this book (one of the first in the genre) to be slow and uneventful.  It is thought-provoking, sure, but nothing much actually happens in the book.  The dystopian world is one in which citizens have no free choice, but they actually seem pretty happy and content with their lives, so it was hard to feel that the society was too awful.  

Marcie's Rating: 3 stars

Becky's review:  I love how this book was written.  It certainly is thought provoking.  I agree that it was somewhat uneventful but the lack of action didn't bother me.  Jonas was learning about how the world was and what feelings are and that development was enough for me.  I felt the author described sensations amazingly and precisely.  Reading Lowry's descriptions made me feel things.  I thought their world was quite an interesting solution to ending problems with the world.  I am very intrigued to read the next books in the series.

Becky's rating: 4 stars