Deceptively Simple, Undeniably Deep
Referred to me by my wife, an elementary teacher, I was not especially excited at first to read this book. But, being an avid reader and believing that every book deserves a chance, I picked up The Giver and very soon found that I couldn't put it down. The Giver is the story of Jonas, a boy who lives in a futuristic 1984-esq society, where everything appears to be perfect. Selected to become the next "Receiver of Memory," the most important role in the community, Jonas is sent for training to a man who gives his name only as "The Giver."
Although a little slow to start, the story quickly picks up as Jonas begins to see the world in a way he never imagined before, and the reader quickly begins to see a world that we may not be to far from, a world that we may want to avoid creating at all costs.
As a future teacher myself, I feel confident in saying that the book itself is fairly easy reading, and could probably be read as early as 4th or 5th grade. The content, however, may be more appropriate for middle school or even high school. While the story does work on several levels, and could be understood by younger kids, there is a scene in the book that may be disturbing for them. But that is, in the end, the overall purpose of the book: to disturb us, to make us think and consider the nature of humanity and the cost of "perfection."
The Giver is a truly amazing book, one written with eerie clarity and foresight, one that could change your way of thinking in many, many ways.

Growing up in this world is Jonas, a bright 12 year old who is about to receive his career assignment. He is given the important but extremely rare job of "Reciever": the keeper of "memories" of what life was like before the creation of his utopian world. Slowly, he begins to see color, to learn what love, hate, death, and heartbreak are like. He begins to understand that some of the "happy" things around him maybe aren't so happy.

The brilliance of this book is that the world unfolds gradually. Lowry does not hit us over the head with an up-front description: in fact, the place starts out sounding fairly normal if a bit Montesori. Slowly, though, the reader realizes quite how foreign this world is. Lowry is a deft writer with an excellent sense of subtlety.

Ultimately, this book is about the importance of cultural memory. The idea of cultural memory is probably a new one for kids, and some of the concepts of death and destruction might be a little disturbing, so I recomend that parents read this book too so that they can discuss it with their children. This in no way means that I think that it is innapropriate for kids: I just think that it is an amazing starting point for discussion about what makes us human. Please read my review of "A Wrinkle in Time" (also made today) for my thoughts on how these two books are related.

This is a moving, thought-provoking book that is a great read for adults as well as kids. Adults might find it interesting that the idea of a drugged-to-make-them-"normal" population where everyone is encouraged to analyze and discuss every aspect of their lives sounds eerily familiar...

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