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Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.
Synopsis:
Winner of the Newbery Medal and named as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, Lowry's unforgettable tale introduces 12-year-old Jonas, who is singled out by his community to be trained by The Giver.
Lois Lowry is a multi-award-winning author who has written many popular books. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the author of the popular Anastasia Krupnik books and was the recipient of the Newbery Medal for Number the Stars and for The Giver.
tlc503, June 7, 2009 (view all comments by tlc503)
Jonas’ world is perfect. There is no pain, no wars and there’s no fighting. Jonas’ life is as usual, as everyone else’s. That is until he becomes the new Receiver of Memories. He goes through Pain and War and Fighting in his mind, but he also has happy memories. He wants his community to change but how? Will Jonas’ community ever change? Will Jonas use his memories to help him? Read it and you’ll find out.
I enjoyed The Giver because it makes you think. It’s an easy read, but the ideas are complex. When you’re reading The Giver you’ll think about your life and how lucky you are. The Giver has spots that you have to decide, spots that the author thought you could decide. Even at the end it leaves you on a cliffhanger. That’s why I enjoyed The Giver.
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Ally222, June 7, 2009 (view all comments by Ally222)
Jonas lives in a world with no pain, no fear, no love, no happiness, a world without feelings. When a child turns 12 he/she is assigned a job. When you grow too old to be in the community you are released. Everything is controlled, all choices are made for you. At Jonas's year 12 ceremony he is signaled out to receive special training from the Giver, therefor becoming the new Receiver, keeper of all memories. Jonas is given many memories some of which are: the memory of pain, of fear, of weather, of love, of happiness. Jonas slowly begins to realize that the community he lives in is unfair. No one has actual feelings. Compared to Jonas and his newly acquired feelings, everyone seems like robots. Jonas wants the rest of the community to have feelings too, to have freedom, to truly experience life as Jonas knows it is supposed to be lived. Jonas knows the world he lives in is wrong, but can he change it? Very unlikely.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves science fiction or books about the future. The Giver isn't a difficult read, you just have to read between the lines, and the whole concept can be hard to grasp. This is a truly amazing book, lots of action, detail, and suspense. The 4/5 grade class that I'm in read this book as a book club book, so it's appropriate for 4th graders. The only less "age appropriate" parts are when Jonas is bathing a elderly woman and when he has a dream caused by the stirrings (puberty), but even those parts really aren't bad. The Giver really makes you think about the world we live in today, how fortunate, and unfortunate we really are. How our world is controlled. Even if you do not like the plot outline, I would still recommend this book, it is a very short read, why not give it a shot?
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maggie_Brenner, June 4, 2009 (view all comments by maggie_Brenner)
Jonas lives in a perfect place called the Community. In the Community each age has it's own group. By the time you reach the age twelve, they stop counting. Unless you go to the records. But another thing special happens when you reach the age twelve. You get a job. The town Elders basically decide what is best for you, and at the Twelves Ceremony you are told what you are assigned to. Jonas thought he might get something interesting, like a Nuturer like his father, or maybe work with the old. But what he gets turns his world around, and when he finds the truth about the community, he sees it in a whole different way. This book will make you think, make you re-read, and argue with other people on what you think happens. I liked The Giver because it had a sense of adventure, mystery, and creepiness all rolled into one. I also liked it because it made you think. I'd recommend it to older kids, because it has some things that littler kids couldn't understand.
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"Synopsis"
by Libri,
Winner of the Newbery Medal and named as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, Lowry's unforgettable tale introduces 12-year-old Jonas, who is singled out by his community to be trained by The Giver.
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