Cricket Readers Recommend
The Giver
by Lois LowryI loved this book, my family and I listened to it on our way up to Washington D.C., and it was one of the best books I've ever heard. READ IT!!!
submitted by Vivian, age 11
(November 19, 2013 - 8:33 pm)
(November 19, 2013 - 8:33 pm)
Hi Vivian! I have heard the Giver is a relly good book. But can you tell me what it is about? Thank you!
~Hannah B.
(November 22, 2013 - 7:19 pm)
Only three chirps so far? You kidding? This is probably the best dystopian book of all time! Reading this book changed my life, man!
@Hannah B: Meet Jonas, an eleven-year-old boy who lives in a rigidly controlled society some time in the future. In his "community," there is no suffering, hunger, war, and, as you will soon see, no color, sex, music, or love. Everything is controlled by "the Elders," right down to who you will marry, who you receive as children, and what you will be "assigned" as a job. Individual identity has gone the way of cassette tapes, and everyone is essentially just like everyone else. It seems that no one has really left the area, except to visit other neighboring communities. To get "released" is a big deal. It only happens to sick infants or really old people, or to people who break the rules.
In short…this world is a lame place to hang out.
Right, so because Jonas is almost twelve, it's almost time for him to get assigned a profession. There's a big ceremony at which the decisions are announced. Jonaswatches all his friends get their jobs (Recreation Director, Caretaker for the Old), but then he's skipped over. The Chief Elder finishes the ceremony and explains that Jonas has been "selected" to be The Receiver of Memory, which is a BIG DEAL. Jonas looks over at the current Receiver, an old man who, like Jonas, has light eyes. This is also a big deal; Jonas is one of very few people in the community with light eyes.
Speaking of light eyes, Jonas's family has been taking care of a sick baby named Gabriel with this same unusual characteristic. If the baby doesn't get better within a year or two, he's going to be released from the community.
OK, so now that Jonas has been selected to be Receiver, he gets a list of rules. They tell him that he isn't allowed to discuss his Receiver "training" with anyone, that he's allowed to lie (!), and that he can ask anyone any questions he wants, even if it's rude. Nice.
And then Jonas starts his training, which consists of receiving a series of memories from the old Receiver, who is now referred to as The Giver. These aren't just any old personal memories; rather, the old man is passing on to Jonas all the memories of humanity, going way back. The memories are from before their community was established, back when there was color and love and music and emotions and hills and snow and sunshine, all of which are notably absent from Jonas's world. The very first memory he receives is that of sledding down a hill in the snow. While Jonas gets to experience lots of fun things like Christmas and birthday parties, he also has to deal with the bad memories, like sunburn, loss, death, and warfare.
Needless to say, this completely changes the way Jonas looks at his world. He realizes that no one around him has ever felt any real emotions at all.
SOURCE: shmoop.com
(July 3, 2014 - 7:21 am)
@Naomi C.
That's a super long summery!
It's verymuch ike that! You sound like you have read it many times!! Have you read Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son? They are pretty much add-ons to the giver. I f you liked this series, you'd also like a eries that starts with the book Ember.
(July 8, 2014 - 12:32 pm)
Well, It's not mine.... I've seen Ember before, I'll have to try it out!
(July 13, 2014 - 5:18 pm)
I really liked this! Despite its dystopian base (and I never like dystopian) I really liked how all the characters interacted, and how the world felt really real without the usual accompanying violence. The movie looks really bad, though; it doesn't seem at all like how Lois Lowry wrote it. I never got around to reading the sequels, though I did find out that Jonas made it to Elsewhere, which was nice. :)
(August 8, 2014 - 8:14 pm)