The Giver

Book: The Giver 

Author: Lois Lowry 

Illustrator: N/A 

Genre: Science Fiction 

Awards: Newbery Medal 

Age Group: 6-12

Summary: 

11-year-old Jonas lives in a society in which everything is controlled. There is no choice, no color, no pain, no war, and no love. Jonas is nervous about the ceremony of 12, in which a person's childhood is stripped away and they are awarded with the job in which they will train for and do until their own release of the elderly (when the elderly reach an age and are released out of the society). Jonas starts noticing strange occurrences nearing his ceremony, building upon his already increasing nervousness. Jonas is eventually given the role of The Receiver. In this role, The Receiver receives all the worlds memories and in receiving these memories, Jonas see's the horrors and wonders that the society has stolen from the people. From taking away human connections, choices, truth, and the horrible killings of the young and the elderly, Jonas struggles with having to fit in now knowing and having these memories. Not being able to cope from holding all this in, he and The Giver (the current Receiver) hatch a plan for Jonas to escape to Elsewhere (the land beyond the society); this thus causing the memories that Jonas has already received be released among the society. As Jonas goes through a grueling journey through Elsewhere, he receives hope when he hears the sounds of singing and of life up ahead. 

Evaluation and Comments: 

Due to the concepts of the book and the overall reading level, The Giver would not be suitable for younger children. However, The Giver is a great book for middle school and high school students. With its mature content and strong themes, this book introduces to students different ideas and the concept of a dystopian world. 

With all the questions that the book provides (like is it good to have a world that knows no pain or what are your thoughts over the concept of releasing individuals?), students can have very meaningful book discussions/debates. Since many of the topics of the book can be seen as controversial, students will no doubt have a great time sharing their thoughts and listening to the other viewpoints of their peers. Another fun activity you can give the students is have them rewrite the ending (what is something that you would change if you could change something?). 

In Conclusion, due to my plans of being an early education teacher, The Giver does not have my seal of approval (although, if we are talking about older students, it 100% has my seal of approval 🥇😄).