The Giver
by
Lois Lowry
1993
179pp
Newbery Medal
Rating: 4.5
I really, really liked this book. It is another "Big Brother" story similar to Fahrenheit 451 or 1984. Scary, scary.
I really, really liked this book. It is another "Big Brother" story similar to Fahrenheit 451 or 1984. Scary, scary.
Jonas is eleven years old. When he is twelve, he will receive his "assignment" or job from the Elders of his community. Everything is decided by the Elders. Who marries whom. Which occupation you will have. Which children you will raise. And even who has to be "released" from the community. When Jonas is selected for a special position that only one other person in the community has, it is considered a very high honor. What Jonas discovers about this "honor" changes his life completely.
I read this for the Banned Book Challenge. I'm not sure why it would be contested. Perhaps because there is some talk about the "stirrings" of beginning s* x u ality in Jonas. I didn't have a problem with this, but I'm really glad I read it before I gave it to my 13 and 12 year old sons to read. This book will make for a great discussion.
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4 comments:
I've never read this either but have always been interested. I just finished Fahrenheit 451 last night, and wow.
I love this book! It is a fantastic read and people always have different ideas of what actually happened at the end.
This is one of my favorite books. Like you I wondered why it had been banned. I found the following site that lists some reasons:
http://www.northern.edu/hastingw/Giver.html
Lowry didn't write a sequel, but she did write 2 companion novels: Gathering Blue and Messenger. Of these, Messenger is the best, but I think you need to read all 3 for full appreciation.
I read this 5 or 6 years ago and absolutely loved it. Gave it a perfect 10, as I recall. Definitely time for a re-read!
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