The Giver by Lois Lowry

This is the first time I have ever read this book and I can't believe it took me so long to read it. Actually, I feel a little cheated that I wasn't assigned to read it in elementary, middle, or even high school. But who knows, maybe I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I read it when I was younger. In 6th grade I had to read A Wrinkle in Time and I did not like it. I thought the reason must be that I just didn't like science fiction. So, when I found out that The Giver was science fiction, I thought I was going to hate it. The truth is, I was just too young to fully understand and appreciate science fiction. I bet that if I read A Wrinkle in Time today, I would like it. So maybe it is a good thing that it took me so long to read The Giver.

This book is about a boy named Jonas who lives in an Utopian-like community where everyone is governed by rules every minute of the day. There is no pain, choice, colors, seasons, animals, or individuality. When Jonas turns twelve in December (along with everyone else in his age group) he is assigned the job of Receiver of Memories and the person that gives him the memories was the old receiver, now referred to as the Giver. The Giver gives Jonas memories of the past including experiences such as sledding, rainbows, holidays with family, and sunshine. But along with the good things, he experiences bad things such as starvation and war. Jonas feels cheated in his life because he was never allowed to experience these things so he runs away which leaves all the memories with the people of the community. He feels that they should all get to have the experiences and a freedom of choice.

I like this book because of the community that Lois Lowry creates. She has to have some imagination to have created it. The community is obviously something that doesn't exist today so the idea of it came from pure imagination. She explained everything with such detail that I could easily picture it in my mind. Lowry adds such an element of suspense that I had to keep reading to see what would happen. I was disappointed when the book ended because I wanted more, but I think if Lowry would have continued, the book wouldn't have been as good. She ended it leaving the reader thinking and I think that is what a good book does; it doesn't give you all the answers to your questions, it gives you a chance draw inferences.

Although the text in this book is easy, the meaning of the text is deep. Kids in elementary school could read this book but I think older kids (such as middle or high school) would appreciate it more and would be able to think more critically about it.