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Guests | December 7, 2009

Theodore Gray: IMG The Cornucopia of Home Science

1 comment By Theodore Gray

Reading old books of science experiments for children, it's easy to become nostalgic for the days when you could buy jugs of sulfur and mercury at... Continue »
  1. $20.96 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe

    Theodore Gray

The Giver

by Lois Lowry

The Giver Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind this fragile community.

Review:

"In a departure from her well-known and favorably regarded realistic works, Lowry has written a fascinating, thoughtful science-fiction novel. The story takes place in a nameless, utopian community, at an unidentified future time. Although life seems perfect — there is no hunger, no disease, no pollution, no fear — the reader becomes uneasily aware that all is not well. The story is skillfully written; the air of disquiet is delicately insinuated; and the theme of balancing the values of freedom and security is beautifully presented."

Review:

"Wrought with admirable skill — the emptiness and menace underlying this Utopia emerge step by inexorable step: a richly provocative novel."
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About the Author

Lois Lowry is known for her versatility and invention as a writer. She was born in Hawaii and grew up in New York, Pennsylvania, and Japan. After several years at Brown University, she turned to her family and to writing. She is the author of more than thirty books for young adults, including the popular Anastasia Krupnik series. She has received countless honors, among them the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, the California Young Readers Medal, and the Mark Twain Award. She received Newbery Medals for two of her novels, NUMBER THE STARS and THE GIVER. Her first novel, A SUMMER TO DIE, was awarded the International Reading Associations Childrens Book Award. Ms. Lowry now divides her time between Cambridge and an 1840s farmhouse in Maine. To learn more about Lois Lowry, see her website at www.loislowry.com
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 9 comments:
www.green.tyler27, December 2, 2009 (view all comments by www.green.tyler27)
i think this book was realy good, but it left me hanging at the end after Jones runes away and he heres music.and i cut off like that
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shoemaker.01, June 7, 2009 (view all comments by shoemaker.01)
When Jonas figured out the truth about his community he was shocked, stunned and it changed his point of view on everything. The Giver, by Lois Lowry, is a very unique book for young adult readers. I liked this book because I thought that it had a very interesting plot and good characters. However, I disliked this book because I thought it was a little inappropriate for elementary school readers and it was hard to understand.

The book is about a boy named Jonas. He is a 12 year old boy who is assigned a very special job in his community. He doesn’t like this job and he sets out to do whatever he can to fix his community. Jonas’s world has a very interesting system that they need to follow. This is much different then our system in the sense that everything is controlled, how many children you have, what job you get, EVERYTHING. Jonas gets the job of Receiver of Memories’, a very important job, but one that he thinks is wrong and doesn’t like.
I would recommend this book because it makes you appreciate what we have in our society. I think it is most appropriate for 6th grade or older.
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(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
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Luisa Moran, March 19, 2008 (view all comments by Luisa Moran)
The giver is one of the famous book because it show to kinds what it is a responsibilities. This book get my attention because this book show you that you don't need all the thing to live happy and safe. Also is nice book because it teach you how to become a better person and how to be a lider. This book is well written, with fast pace and show you some dimentiones. Also shows that is no crime, no violence, no war, and no color does are some things that it make the book very interesting and the best one for me.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780395645666
Author:
Lowry, Lois
Publisher:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)
Author:
Lowry, Lois
Location:
Boston :
Subject:
Fiction
Subject:
Friendship
Subject:
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
Subject:
Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General
Subject:
Science fiction
Subject:
Social Situations - Emotions & Feelings
Subject:
Social Situations - Values
Subject:
Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Science Fiction
Subject:
Social Issues - Values
Subject:
Memory
Subject:
Fantasy & Magic
Copyright:
1993
Edition Description:
Trade Cloth
Series Volume:
no. 3
Publication Date:
April 1993
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
from 7
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
192
Dimensions:
8.53x5.76x.80 in. .81 lbs.
Age Level:
12-16
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