The Giver

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Summary: The Giver
Review: What would it be like to live in a world where everything is exactly the same for everyone? "The Giver" by Lois Lowery is a truly extraordinary book that ponders this very question. Jonas, a young boy, never gave much thought to the way things were until the day he was chosen to be the next Receiver. The Receiver is the one person who holds all the memories of the way things were, "Before" A decision has to be made. Should he allow things to remain as they are, or should he attempt, against impossible odds, to change them.
I greatly enjoyed the book. It made me realize how great it is to have a world of diversity. Pain is not always bad, it is what makes us stronger. Lowry thoroughly explored the concept of good vs. evil, and pleasure vs. pain. I recommend this book to anyone who wonders what it truly means to be your self in a "follow the leader" kind of world.

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Summary: This book's great!
Review: What would you do if you lived in a world with no color, no fear, and no pain? Jonas' world is perfect until he turns twelve. He receives special training from the Giver. The Giver has memories of before, before there were cures for everything. The memories that are now Jonas are of war, of sickness, and of fear. Jonas has never experienced such things before. Will Jonas quit or try to find that other world?

The author, Lois Lowry, is telling the reader that even though you're scared of things that you've not experienced, don't give up for what you want. I rate this book five ***** because it's suspenseful. You don't know what's going to happen next. It's one of those books that you just can't put down. So if you want to know more and find out what happens to Jonas read The Giver.

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Summary: Never Have I Read Such A Book
Review: What would you do if you lived in a world without color, without love, without pride, without choices? It wouldn't be hard if you didn't know it any other way. Jonas's world seems perfect. Everyone has a job, everyone has food, and everyone is the same. But what lays beyond this community? Is there something else? When Jonas is selected to be the Reciever, he learns that ther is a different way. A better way. There could be love, pride, and choice. Jonas holds the community's memories. He has no one to share the burden with but the Giver, the man who transmits the memories to Jonas. But when Jonas finds out of the community's dark secret, he must learn that when you don't know it any other way, you only do what you know. With hate comes loves, with love comes courage, and with courage comes the will to survive.

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Summary: Jonas has a lot to do
Review: When every child in the village reaches the age of 12 they are assigned a job they will attend for the rest of their life. SO when Jonas recives the job of the reciver of memory he's a little more than nervous. He's supposed to recive memories of the past so he can help instruct the leaders of the village. But as he recieves memories he sees a new society, of how things used to be. A place where color, music, pain, and war exists. He also notices the flaws ot the society that he lives in today. WHat will he do about it?

I found this book to be both moving and inspiring. Like other books I have read it forces you to think of what the future could be like. A more likely version than alien's taking over and having a Star wars-esque way of living. I would reccomend this book to anyone who has an open mind to orginal fiction. It's really a five star book!

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Summary: Soul searching and enlightening!
Review: When I began reading this book, I wasn't sure what to think. By the fourth chapter, I couldn't put it down. Jonas and The Giver force us to think about the role diversity, feelings, and humanity bring to our world. Your heart will lead you to an ending that will change the way you think about the world we live in!

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Summary: A Vision of Utopia
Review: When I began The Giver there was a sense of longing. A world where there is no crime, hate, or fear sounds perfect. It describes utopia, 'a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions'. It is very similar to Sir Thomas More's book Utopia. And like Utopia, there are many contradictions in this world.
The community's purpose is to create uniformity throughout the society. This is seen in the indistinguishable clothing that is worn, the elimination of material possessions, and the identical family units consisting of a male and female parent and a son and daughter.
"Almost every citizen in the community had dark eyes. But there were a few exceptions. Jonas himself, and a female Five who he had noticed the different, lighter eyes. No one mentioned such things; it was not a rule, but was considered rude to call attention to things that were unsettling or different about individuals."(p. Lowry 20)
Using the word individual in this quote contradicts the message it is trying to convey because the goal of this community is to eradicate any form of uniqueness.
In a Utopian society everybody's work is considered equal and important. Yet the book includes undertones, which uncovers hierarchy within jobs. When Lily confesses her desire to 'get assigned to be a birthmother' she is immediately chastised and is told "There's very little honor in that Assignment."(Lowry. p21) This alone shows the societies unfavorable stance towards life when a job that is directly related to the giving of life is thought of as inferior.
Overall Lowry's Utopian society exemplifies a lack of trust in human nature. Decisions are left up to 'The Elders' therefore eliminating any free will.

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Summary: An extremely good book!
Review: When I finished reading this book at first, my first thought was that it was a little weird. But later I decided that the "weirdness" was what made it interesting and hard to put down. This definitely is one of my favorite books, because it is well-written in its details and very original in its plot.

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Summary: The new Receiver
Review: When I first began to read "The Giver," I thought it was going to be a good book, but I had no clue what a great book Lois Lowry had in store! This book has sad parts, surprising parts, and happy parts. I loved the main character, he had so much determination, courage, and he is so kind. This is truly a great book!

A boy named Jonas lives in a 'perfect' community. Everyone has their own family unit. And they're all assigned their own jobs. When Jonas is about to turn 12 he is chosen to be the new Receiver. He now is in training to receive all the memories from the past. He is being trained by the Giver. The Giver is the only one in the community who holds all the memories of the past, now he must give them to Jonas. All of the new things he's learing from the past, he never knew about, does Jonas really want to be the new Receiver?

A lot of my friends have read the Giver and told me it was a great book. And they all told they truth! When I first looked at the cover it got my attention, then when I began to read, I became hooked. Lois Lowry is one of my favorite authors, all of the books I've read that she has written have all had me at the edge of my seat. This is most deffinatly one of my favorite books! A wonderful book by Lois Lowry.

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Summary: A truely powerful work of literature.
Review: When I first picked up the library copy of The Giver, I didn't know what to expect - the cover was intriguing, the plot summary didn't tell much...

...I finished reading it in one sitting, then almost immediately began rereading it, because the book had struck me as so powerful that I wanted to reexperience it, and let it sink even deeper into my soul. Not only is the book well-crafted and a powerful idea, but it contains many levels of meaning. The Giver is the sort of book that different people will interpret differently, based on their views and experiences - and all of those interpretations are right. This is a book ripe for discussion and rereadings (for rereadings bring new insights and new discoveries, and a further understanding of both the book itself, and the significance of the book).

I highly recommend this book to almost anyone (and do so on a regular basis - several of my friends have already adopted this book as one of their favorites)

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Summary: You Won't Put the Book Down
Review: When I first read the Giver by Lois Lowry, it was too much for me. There was too much discription, so I couldn't get beyond the first couple of pages. I put it back on the bookshelf for a couple of months. Later after I read through it, I found that it was one of the best books that I ever read. In the Giver, Lowry did an excellent job of giving his readers a peek at a different culture where a council makes all of the big decisions of a persons life like who work what job (the job is the Assignment), when a he\she gets a spouse, and when the couple can start a family unit. Jonas (main character) has lived in "the community" since he was born. In this community there is no color, no mountains or hills, and no great or evil events. Because of this, everything is neutral. Each year the children are given special privilages to represent thier age. At eight years old, they are given new bikes and are allowed to start community service. They work a certain number of hours in order to get their Assignment. At twelve years old, they are allowed to receive their Assingment that the Chief Elders chose for them as long as they completed thier community service hours. As an Eleven, Jonas was ready for the Ceremony of Twelve. Twelve isthe last age that is celebrated in that culture. Aperson who is twelve years old is then an adult. At twelve, the rest of the adult privilages are given to that person. At the Ceremony, Jonas was picked for the Receiver of Memories, which is the most important Assingment in "the community". This person holds all of the memories of the world before "the community" existed, when there was color, mountains, and great of evil events. These memories are too painful for the citizensof the community and noneof them are allowed to know the memories. Now his whole life is going to change since he can't communicate what he knows to anybody. I like how Mr. Lowry showed the difference between "our world" and "the community" in more than just one way. People who like fiction and different cultures should read the giver by Lois Lowry.