The Giver

Written by Lois Lowry

A book for readers in grades 6 and up reviewed by Donavan

        

The Giver is a novel about a child named Jonas, who lives in a society where everything is the same. People who live in this society only see in black and white. They are also unaware of their history. After he is chosen to be the Receiver of Memory and the current Giver’s successor, Jonas slowly acquires many memories, which leads him to begin seeing things in color and become knowledgeable of his society’s history.

I did not find The Giver to be very engaging. The storyline failed to excite me, and I found it to be frustrating at times. A moment that disturbed me was when the release (or murder) of a baby took place because of their condition. This didn’t make me sad as much as it made me angry.

It is later revealed that the previous Giver couldn’t handle memories and released herself. I found this to be one of the only upsides of the book, since it adds more to the responsibility that the Giver has.

Overall, this book is all over the place and didn’t personally click with me.