Rating: 
Summary: Even my mom liked it
Review: I read this book when I was in fourth grade and I thought it was really great. I read it over and over- about 5 times in all -and every time I found something I hadn't paid close attention to before. Later, my mom read the book to see why I liked it so much and she read it twice! It's a great book for any age.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking
Review: I read this book when i was younger and i didn't care for it much. i didn't understand Jonas's community, but when reading it again at an older age it was very interesting to think about and conclude myself. Other people who had read it thought of a different ending, and it was intreaging to discuss our different points of view.
Rating:
Summary: Surprise! They Liked it!
Review: I read this book when selecting it for an elementary public school library. I really liked it and wanted to include it with other books by Lowry. But I really didn't think the kids would like it much (or understand it). Was I ever wrong!! My fifth graders all stood in line for that little paperback copy! We all had some great discussion about the meaning of the ending. And I got a better understanding of the depth of a fifth grader's comprehension!
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Creepy
Review: I read this book with my daughter of 11 and found it to be frightening and kind of a downer. The parts about the young boys budding sexuality was disturbing to me. I realized it was probably my own uncomfortableness about this rather than the fact that my daughter was reading this. She is probably having some of the same thoughts but I'm just not aware of it. I would strongly recommend this book to kids 11 or older. Probably not the best for younger kids.
Rating:
Summary: A book for all ages, targeted to the young
Review: I read this book. At first it was a summer reading book so I neglected it. I read that it is a bk for 6th grade and I am in 12th grade. I wondered why the jump? I read it in 5 hrs one day and finished it. It was really good. I was surprised. A world with many restrictions but still safe. I wouldnt want to live in it, though. Jonas is a such a brave person to bear all of memories of all time.
Rating: 
Summary: It's ok I guess...
Review: I read this books for the first time when I was ten years old, and I loved it. It was one of my very favorite books. In the seven years since then, I've read Brave New World, 1984, and especially Ayn Rand's Anthem and discovered that The Giver is extremely, extremely unoriginal. Virtually plagiarized. The Giver has some pretty heavy ideas in it that I didnt really understand at ten years old, so I think it's be better for kids to skip it altogether and then read BNW, 1984, and Anthem when they're a few years older. If you're even into that sort of thing. As a liberal, I tend to get annoyed at the idea that any minor attempts at some level of equality will lead to a society of faceless drones - that's a really black-and-white way to see the world (no pun intended, to those who have read the book). I'm kind of bummed that Lowry, one of my favorite authors as a child, is apparently being so extreme, and I can only hope that she isn't really another Rand, as I'm not really a fan of hers. Politics aside, I commend this book for its storytelling and for the fact that it at leats has some intelligent ideas in it, unlike lots of the stupid, trashy books out there that kids read. However, like I said earlier, some scenes are too depressing and intense for your average kid, and plus it's completely lacking in originality. My vote for a favorite dystopian novel goes to Orwell's 1984.
Rating:
Summary: Eye opener
Review: I read this novel as a required text in a childrens' literature class. I was completely absorbed. I can actually envision our society moving in that direction, the direction of "oneness". It seems that the more we strive to be individuals in this country, the more we are criticized for being different. One too many people think individual choices are bad, and that if others just did things "my way", the world would be a better place. I think this novel is an eye opener. It is a "must read".
Rating:
Summary: Challenges the exsistence of life and what's to come...
Review: I read this novel very quickly(about 2 hours), but it has stayed with me for a long time. It reminds me of a shooting star. A gorgeous sight that comes along once in a blue moon and is not to be missed. And when it does come it holds an impact that with last forever. A beautiful story about a boy who tries to break away from something so right, but later very wrong. This novel reminds me of a poem by Pink Floyd: Overhead the albatross hangs motionless upon the air And deep beneath the rolling waves in labyrinths of coral caves The echo of a distant tide Comes willowing across the sand And everything is green and submarine And no one showed us to the land And no one knows the wheres or whys But something stirs and Something tries And starts to climb towards the light Strangers passing in the street By chance two separate glances meet And I am you and what I see is me And do I take you by the hand And lead you through the land And help me understand the best I can And no one calls us to the land And no one crosses there alive And no one speaks And no one tries And no one flies around the sun And now this is the day you fall Upon my waking eyes Inviting and inciting me to rise And through the window in the wall Comes streamin in on sunlight wings A million bright ambassadors of morning And no one sings me lullabies And no one makes me close my eyes So I throw the windows wide And call to you across the sky.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent novel. Thought provoking, Full of emotions.
Review: I read this novel with my sixth grade students. The discussions that were developed brought up many real life issues and controversies. My students absolutely loved the novel, and it reminded them of how lucky we are to live in such a diverse society where we can learn from our differences. It also reminded us to respect our freedom of choice. We now appreciate so much more of what life has to offer. One can easily get lost in this novel, it is hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: Great story, ending leaves much to be desired
Review: I read this story in order to prepare for when I have my class read it. I thought the story was well done and very rivoting, that is, until the ending. The story goes along fine until the last chapter and it seems like Lowry just got tired and wanted to finish it off without having to really develop it. It was quite abrupt and disappointing. I know that the author wants to leave the ending open, the reader comes up with their own conclusion. But I think she was wrong with leaving it so ambiguous. Even when she was given the Newbery award she refused to clarify the ending. This is not the kind of thought provoking ending I want to give middle school students. I believe they will find it disturbing and feel cheated (as I did) at leaving it unresolved. I read "Gathering Blue" and felt much better after having read that book. Lowry did state in and interview that she sees the ending (in The Giver)as optimistic ... I can't take ambiguity! I need closure! The book would have deserved a 5, except for the ending.
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