Rating: 
Summary: The Giver
Review: The Giver exposes the dark side of trying to create a perfect world. On the bright side, everyone is harmonious and obedient, there is no poverty and no want or need, but with light, there's shadow. The main character Jonas has led a sheltered life of ease. Upon his twelfth birthday he is assigned his job that he will do for the rest of his life as everyone else will, he becomes "The Receiver of Memories". The role is one of high honor and Jonas accepts it with a twinge of sadness but with pride. As he trains for his new role in the community he begins to learn of the horrors of human history and the present. His perspective on the world is forever altered. He must decide his fate, but is it the right one?
This book is fantastic and I'm very glad I spent the time to read it. The Giver offers a view into what would go wrong if one tried to create a utopian society. Lois Lowry does a wonderful job of creating a world that the reader feels involved in. She sets up contrasts and foil that keep a reader enthralled in the story. The Giver is definitely a book that everyone should add to their library.
Rating: 
Summary: The Giver
Review: I just got done reading this excellent book! It is about a boy named Jonas. He lives in the community with his friend Asher. At age 12 you are assigned a job by th elders. Jonas's job is to be the Reciever of Memory which is a very important job. He meets the Giver and he trains him. Jonas job is to recieve memories. It's a very painful task. But he gets through it. I recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery and adventure. P.S. It might seem a little strange at first but keep reading it gets BETTER!!!
Rating: 
Summary: ok
Review: Disturbed was what i was after i readd this book and for those of you who want t read it i wont give away the ending but though disturbing it wa very well writenand i commemorate lois on this book. By the way jonas dosent die the companion bookthe gathering blue vompanion not sequel has a Q/A with mrs lowryand she says that she is going to tie the books together in a third book.
Rating:
Summary: Really good, but really heavy
Review: One of my friends recommended this book to me after her dad told her to read it, and I am very glad that she did. I was a little skeptical at first, but then I decided I might as well read it, because if I didn't like it I could always stop. I was very surprised at the plot, because it was so interesting. Imagine living in a world where there was no poverty or pain, but there were no feelings, success, or emotions. It would be awful if your "parents" were really just two adults chosen to raise you. There is an element of suspense because the main character discovers something that he can't describe. That thing is color. It would be very weird if we had no color. It teaches you that everything has an opposite, so if you get rid of pain, you'll get rid of pleasure. I don't mean to say that the whole book has moral lessons, but it does teach you things. I'm not saying that this is light reading, because it is the exact opposite. You should get this book, but I would recommend that you take breaks from reading it (although it is very hard to put down) because if you don't you'll get overwhelmed. It is still a good book, though.
Rating:
Summary: The Giver
Review: I would not say it was the worst book I have ever read about a utopia,
but it wasn't the best either. The idea of a place where there is no pain is good; a
lot of fiction books use that idea. There's something wrong and Jonas the lead
character breaks most of the rules to get a child out of the colony while the government uses
all its resources to get him back. He escapes from the only end in that place: death.
The ending, I think, doesn't make sense. Lois Lowry just chose an easy
way to end it. Even so, it is a classic and I rate it 4 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Good
Review: The Giver The Giver was sort of a desturbing book. For example, while the old man was giving up his memory to Jonas, he was losing his own memory. I didn'n really like it , because it wasn't interesting enough for me. The book, however, would be interesting to some people, because of its mysteriousness. The book makes the reader think about our society today as you try to figure out what's happening.
Rating:
Summary: Not just YA: Will make you see the world differently
Review: I bought this book after hearing the author interviewed on NPR. I think I had read some of her books as a girl. And every now and then I will read a YA novel. I read it in one afternoon-- I'd have gotten through it sooner, but had to look up and around the room and cry from time to time. I'll never see the color red in the same way again-- now it's something precious, a gift. This book is far more than a dystopia for kids, or a simple allegory. Some of the ideas in the book-- the notion of group memory, the questioning of the "greater good"-- are very sophisticated and presented with great subtlety and art. But the power of the book lies in its story. The book takes us on a journey through a world that seems idyllic at first, and it is only gradually, and terribly, that we, with the main character, discover the sadness, the real horror, at the heart of the society. And perhaps the true horror is that the awfulness is not even understood by the people. There is no malice in this world. There is just absence-- absence of memory, absence of attachment, absence of all the complicated feelings that can lead us to love and grace. As he accepts the responsibility to become the receptacle of society's memories, the main character learns how his society really works-- how it eschews, even destroys, those who don't contribute, how it abhors individuality, how it ultimately rejects the idea of love. And he begins to see in color. This is all discovered through the eyes of a child, and told very simply. The final escape is much debated-- did he die, or find a better place? I firmly believe that he found a better place, but in the end it doesn't matter. What does matter is that once again a human being has discovered what it means to be human. This book truly deserves its awards and should be read not just by teachers and students, but by anybody who enjoys a good story. Thornton Wilder has the Narrator say in his wonderful play OUR TOWN, to Emily's question, "does anybody realize life while they're living it, every, every minute?" "Poets and artists, they do some." After reading THE GIVER, you'll be inspired to remember to do that too. Life is precious, and its memories, even its painful ones, are an incredible gift.
Rating:
Summary: The Giver On the Inside
Review: The Giver by Lois Lowry is awesome, I give it five stars. It's filled with action, suspense and drama. A boy named Jonas lives in a town with very strict laws and very weird ways. People have no memories, see no colors, and everything they have is the same. People here live in dwelings with one of each a mother, a father, an adopted son and daughter. The adopted son and daughter come from birthmothers who are the only ones who give birth. Jonas lives with his mother, father, and sister Lily. Jonas is worried becuse he is soon going to get his assignment. An assignment is a person's job for the future. When Jonas gets his assignment he becomes Reciever of Memory. The Reciever is the most important job there is, Jonas will soon hold all the memories of the past and will hold colors to see with. Jonas will hold good memories but also bad ones. Jonas soon starts training from the old Reciever that Jonas calls the Giver. Jonas continues training for about a year, when he finds out what happens during a release. A release is when an elder, a new child, criminal, or anyone goes on to another place. What Jonas finds out is horrible. So Jonas and the Giver devise a plan to get away from the release process and getaway from sameness, but does the plan work? Read The Giver to find out!
Rating:
Summary: Pleasantville
Review: I think that The Giver was a great book. It has great detail and makes you want to keep reading it until you're done with the book. If I were to compare this book to something it would probably be the movie "Pleasantville." The town that they live in is very predictable and boring. Everything in the town is planned out and scheduled. Even births are scheduled and couples register for a child. All of the people in the town except for the Receiver see everything in black and white. I could see this book turning into a movie in five years from now. If they did make it a movie I would definitely go and see it ten times. This is just a wonderful book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read for youth and adults alike!
Review: A friend's daughter was required to read this book for school, and the mom was so struck by it she gave it to me. It is haunting, compelling, hard to put down. A lot to think about. This book should make us question where we are going and also make us take a hard look at the past. This current weekend of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday was an excellent time to read this. As the book addresses much about memories, both painful and pleasurable, this is an opportune time to reflect on our beliefs, actions towards others, and what we want for our children. An outstanding book, The Giver is wonderful for young people and adults. This book will stay with me, as some other books in my life have done, constantly challenging me to think and feel when I recall the story. Top-notch!
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