Our Rating: A

How would you feel if you had no memory of the past? What would happen if life became something you never experienced? If you were never capable of feeling anything and had no saying in your life or what you wanted to do? In The Giver by Lois Lowry, society is exactly like this. Jonas is the main protagonist of the book. He is your average 11-year-old, until things start changing for him.

The society in this book is very strict and dull. Everyone dresses the same way; there’s no change, rules are enforced, decisions were made for you and there is no color. In a family household, parents, products of arranged marriage, are only allowed to have two kids, which are given to them. Everyone is supposed to drink a pill that will get rid of any love or sexual interest toward people. This shows that the council, the regulating government in the novel, didn’t want love or sexual intercourse to exist.

Kids are categorized by age: Ones, Twos, Threes, Fours and so on until you reach 12. Every year, there’s a ceremony where everyone is given something to represent maturity; for instance, when you turn 9, you get a bike. Jonas turns 12, meaning he is considered an adult and will be assigned a job. Jonas is given the job of being The Receiver, a person in the community who collects memories. The training to become The Receiver is painful, and Jonas cannot tell anyone about it. Here is where the title makes sense: The Giver is the one who will be teaching Jonas how to prepare to become the next Receiver.

The book goes through many small climaxes until the final one is reached at the end. The climaxes are what allows the story to be continually interesting. Lowry’s style of writing contains a bit of suspense, which leads readers to suspect and wonder what will happen next. The usage of suspense makes readers want to read more so their questions can be answered. In the end, Lowry is able to create one of the best dystopian novels out there.

The Giver is mostly interesting and fun to read, though it slows pace towards the end. This was good and bad for the pacing of the book; you don’t want the book to end, but at the same time you want to find out the ending. If you find yourself with some extra time over winter break, you should pick it up because it’s definitely a must-read that is enjoyable! There’s also a movie, which is great for those who love to decide which one is better. You won’t regret checking out this amazing novel.