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Posted by Cheryl, Teen Services Librarian

The Giver, by Lois Lowry

The Giver is about a closed community that lives under strict rules that do not relate to the everyday life that we live. I think in many ways the community that the book describes relates to some of the communities around the world today. Even though, it made me think about a world with no pain, or suffering. But then again, a world with no tears means a world with no happiness, and that would be boring. I love The Giver, because it truly makes the reader think about how would it be if our world was different.

- Reviewed by Marika, grade 9.
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Teen Speak said…

The Giver, written by Lois Lowry, follows the story of a twevle year old boy named Jonas who lives a dystopian society where everyone is all the same. There is no arguing, no poor or rich, no love or hate and everbody is forced to conform to "Sameness", the means in which the society is equal. However, this causes people to lack emotional depth and cannot make decisions on their own based on what they feel. Instead, it is replaced by what is "logical", or in other words, what doesn't pose a threat to the Sameness way of life. Jonas' role unfolds when he is chosen to be the the Reciever of Memories. As the Reciever, he holds all of the memories that were before Sameness came, in case they are needed to make decisions that could not otherwise be made due to everyone being the same. The man resposible for storring these memories in him is called The Giver, who held the memories before him. Along with the memories, Jo nas is granted the ability to feel emotions and make his own choices, just how it was before Sameness. Now Jonas has a choice... to leave the society in its current state of equality with absense of emotion; or give thought and emotion back to the people of the society.

I absolutely loved reading this book. There are twists and turns which will leave the reader unable to put the book down and walk away without wondering what will happen next! As you read, you will start to see how the setting changes from what seems to be a perect place to live to a dark and emotionless place. As a fan of dystopian-type novels, I enjoyed this book very much and recommend it to any who like to read a rather different type of fictional work. The characters are well defined in their roles and the author doesn't spare any detail, drawing a vivid picture in your mind the entire time you are reading.

Reviewed by Cody W, grade 12.
November 29, 2012 at 10:41 AM
Teen Speak said…
The Giver by Lois Lowry is set in a perfect Community where everybody is equal and the same. Nobody has to deal with the struggles of making decisions because everything is already controlled for them. So when December comes, that means so does the annual Ceremony where each 12 year old receives a life assignment determined by the Elders. Jonas, the protagonist, is given a special assignment and is announced to be the Receiver of Memory. Only one other person in the community holds this job. Throughout his training Jonas discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.

The Giver was without a doubt one of the best books I have ever read. Everything about it was perfectly written and described. The way Lois Lowry manages to capture all of the feelings and emotions and just explains all of the memories was amazing. She found the words to describe things that I would never have been able to explain. I also loved the way how things unfold and you realize the truth, you can really relate to Jonas because you experience everything along with him. You also learn to just appreciate the little things and differences within people and the world and it teaches you to be yourself.

Reviewed by Nayri T., grade 10
Casa Verdugo Library
October 14, 2013 at 7:37 PM
Teen Speak said…
The Giver, by Lois Lowry, is about a perfect world in which people lived. But, the character Jonas finds out that it is not a perfect world. Everybody in the community gets assigned an assignment which is considered a job. His job is the receiver of memory. He finds out that the people in the community are living a lie, in a world without color and nobody knowing the past. In a perfect world nobody can choose anything. In the story, in the perfect world, people could not choose their spouse, cannot have children, and cannot see colors. This limited life was filled with no emotion. What will Jonas do to stop this madness? Would he let it be and pretend a life among these people, or would he open their mind about the truth of the world?

In my opinion, The Giver is a very unique type of book that is meaningful and worthwhile. What the author portrayed was an ideal yet somewhat unrealistic world that would never survive in today's society. It was an imagination of what a perfect world is. The reason why I really enjoyed reading this book is because it teaches you that knowing the truth is better than not knowing reality even though it is not perfect. With living a lie, life does not have a rich and meaningful meaning. This author gives a different type of a vision of what a normal life would be.

Reviewed by Tiffany, grade 8
Grandview Library
April 29, 2014 at 7:06 PM
Teen Speak said…
In a community where everyone is the same and where there is no emotion, there exists one person who has knowledge of the past and he can feel emotion. A new person is selected to take his place, and that person is Jonas. He is imbued with all of the memories of happiness and sadness. Then, the giver and Jonas decide that it is time to release the memories back into the community, after Jonas learns about releases, which are like murders.

This was a very nice book. The society presented in the book was emotionless and almost robotic, making it an interesting topic to think about. This book was quite short. It should be possible to read this in one sitting. However, a lot was explained in that time, and the development of Jonas as a person was excellent. He changed a lot in a short time period. I would recommend this book to a friend.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 8
Grandview Library
June 24, 2014 at 6:37 PM
Teen Speak said…
The Giver is about a twelve year old boy named Jonas who is living in a perfect society promoting the utopic lifestyle that always seems to have flaws, "sameness." Under the pressure of having to finally pick his career path, this curious and indecisive boy has it chosen for him, to be the elite Receiver of memories from the past by a troubled old man, the Giver. There are many rules which the citizens of the actually dystopian community must follow, such as being extremely polite and taking pills which make them lack in any emotions. But, what will happen when Jonas reflects upon his history and notices the faults of the society he is living under?

I was immensely moved by the messages and themes that The Giver presents. The reader raises questions regarding the world they themselves are living in and how the media drives what is wrong or right. As a teen reader, I enjoyed the fact that the character was relatable, even though he lives in a different type of world. I was also intrigued by his strife to find out about the truth, even though he was brainwashed all his childhood otherwise. Those who would like this book are readers of other scientific/dystopian fiction. However, teens will like this adaption of the concept even more because it was one of the originals, written in 1993. Let's hope the movie version will be just as good as this wonderfully written book. Oh, who are we kidding?

Reviewed by Alexis K., Grade 9
Montrose Library
June 26, 2014 at 4:02 PM
Teen Speak said…
The Giver, written by Lois Lowry is about a boy named Jonas who is thirteen years old. He is born and raised in an unknown and confused society. Jonas is waiting to receive a job from the community. The job is called sameness. While he is about to get his job, he meets a man with the same pale eyes as him who in the book is known as the Giver. The Giver is a person who holds all the secrets and the memories of the community. Basically keeps the key to the city's secrets. In this community it is strictly under control, with no pain, hunger, death, and war. The city is basically like a rule zone. Everything is controlled by the elders and only they know the truth about life. They are the ones who know about pain, hunger and that life is unfair and very complicated. On the other side of the mountain is the real world. The Giver makes a very big mistake only for a specific reason. He is sick and tired of the community. Every house is the same, with the same windows and yards. It's basically a black and white city. He tells a kid not an elder about the real world. That life is not about no pain but about sacrifices. Everyone in the story has black eyes. While only one person a boy who is born as a brother to Jonas named "Gabriel". Gabriel soon becomes the only kid to become the Giver and goes through great adventures. All I could say is this is just the beginning of a new life in the book named "The Giver."

I am someone who doesn't read a lot. After I read this book. I started to love reading. This book is great. It taught me about life and that not everything is fair and that you should wake up. I recommend this book to a friend, because it's not only age appropriate but a perfect book. There isn't anything I did not like about this book. That's how great it was. I highly recommend this book to anyone. When I read this book I started to think differently. I became aware and that the message was so important and can happen in life that I woke up. Again this book is great and everyone who get's the chance should and can read it.

Reviewed by Nathan J., Grade 9
Pacific Park Library
October 4, 2014 at 5:18 PM
Teen Speak said…
Jonas lives in a perfect world. The people have no worries or cares and everything is under control. Everyone is the same in the Community. No one feels better than anyone else or different. Each member is given a position in their society and everyone has their job to do. When Jonas turns twelve, the Community chooses him to be the new "Receiver of Memories." The Giver is the only person who knows the truth and has any memories of the past, and now he must pass to Jonas. As he is receiving the memories he learns that there is another way to live life, where everyone can be different. The Community don’t want this to happen as they would lose their control of the people. This makes Jonas dangerous.

The Giver, by Lois Lowry, was not one of my favorite stories. I did not find that it was easy to read most of the time. The story-line was a bit slow and difficult to get into. There was too much that was left unexplained at the end. I prefer something faster paced and simpler to read. It may not be for everyone.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 12
Glendale Central Library
November 8, 2014 at 3:42 PM
Teen Speak said…
In the giver there is a boy named Jonas who is born in a community without war blood and pain and one day when he becomes older he goes to ceremony where his age group get jobs assigned for them and when Jonas's turn came it turned out he was chosen to be the next receiver and nobody talked about what happened to the last receiver. The first day he had gone to go to his assigned location there was someone named the giver there he told Jonas that he was going to be the receiver of memories and the giver gave him a good first memory which was snow. He thought this was going to be really fun until he started getting bad memories and these memories helped him in situations like when he got a brother named Gabriel they were going to release him and he figured out what that meant. He has to try his best to spread these memories and emotions back to the community which back then was the normal way for them.

I really liked this book it had some scenes that really intrigued me and there were parts that made me angry euphoric and sad. The part I liked was when he was getting those nice memories and my least favorite part was him suffering from the bad memories of war blood and killing. I think people who like books that don't get into detail until the end people who like cliffhangers because the giver was a cliffhanger and I would like to recommend this book because if you start to read maybe the first few pages of the book I think you won't want to stop reading. The cover of the book makes you think like who is that what's in the background and if you get to the part where he gets the good memories when you read the memories it feels so strong you feel like your getting the memory or your in that position.


Reviewed by Alex A., Grade 7
Pacific Park Library
September 26, 2015 at 4:32 PM
Teen Speak said…
Lois Lowry starts out this powerful book by bringing the qualities of the world that Jonas lives in to the reader’s awareness. Jonas’ society was designed in a way that enabled the environment and the citizens to be perfectly controlled. There was no war, pain, fear, color, or decision making. The author describes this state as ‘Sameness.’ There seems to be complete peace-- or so we thought. As the plot unravels, Jonas realizes that along with those pleasures, comes the price that they pay, being that certain luxuries of life and diversity in all aspects were taken away from them.

This novel is by far one of the best pieces of literature I have ever read. The author’s diction and syntax adds so much more meaning to the text. It took a few rereads until I was able to uncover the several layers of meaning. I love this book because it helped expand my imagination and gave me a different view to look at things in society today. Jonas’ world is quite hard to imagine in real life. Emotions, memories, color, and diversity in general are such essential parts of life that it is difficult to comprehend a world without them. One of the main morals of this book is that anyone, no matter what conditions they are put in, has the power to stand up for what is right and and behave accordingly in order to implement change for the better.

Reviewed by RO, Grade 10
Casa Verdugo Library
September 27, 2015 at 12:15 PM
Teen Speak said…
"The Giver" is a book written by Lois Lowry and it is about a perfect world. This perfect world is set in the future and it is called the community. The community was created long ago to create a balanced place for people who wanted to overcome their current problems. So, now the community only inhabits humans (no animals) and everyone in the community is immune to pain, temperature, hate, war, and color. The book’s main character is Jonas. In the community, everyone who is turning twelve (at the ceremony of twelve which is held around December) is assigned their assignment to do until they become old enough to enter the house of the old. Assignments are jobs and Jonas’s assignment was to be the Receiver of Memories. The Receiver of Memories basically just inherits memories and emotions from the past to keep them so no one else in the community deals with them. The past Receiver of Memories had a tragic experience with Rosemary. Rosemary was supposed to be the new Receiver of Memories, but she could not handle past pains like child loss, war, and pain. So, she decided to “release” herself from the community. This basically just means that a doctor inserts a needle into you to slowly kill you. That’s what Rosemary did ten years ago. This is where Jonas comes in. Memories are transferred to him through The Giver touching his back. As more and more memories get transferred to Jonas, he and The Giver start to realize that they should cross the border of the community. This border holds all memories and emotions out and when Jonas crosses it he’ll spread all memories and emotions back to the people inside the community. This plot was all planed out until an unexpected misfortune was about to happen to Gabriel. He was going to be released for being an under-developed child. Because of this, Jonas decides that he should go as soon as possible. Latter the next day, Jonas starts his journey into the unknown.

“The Giver” is my favorite book and I would recommend it to anyone any time. I loved the great story telling of “The Giver” and I loved all the characters in it. I feel that this book should be the most read book in the world. From the moment I started reading to the second I finished the book, I just could not stop reading. I would read day after day until I finished the book. The movie, however, was horrible. It came out years after the book. I would recommend the book over the movie any day.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 9
Pacific Park Library
December 14, 2016 at 1:26 PM
Teen Speak said…
A 12 year old boy named Jonas is part of a dystopian society where people are considered brainwashed in their present "modern-day". A society like this can be pretty odd because of many rules it has such as no intimate relationships allowed or no one shall know nothing with the exemption of the roles you must take part in assigned by The Receiver. People in Jonas's community are also forbidden access to the memories they have made whether it just happened right now or in the past. One of the biggest things Jonas has to face in his life is this one task that The Receiver assigns to him since it is kind of similar to getting promoted to a higher-worth job at a workplace. But before all of this, he must go through a series of training to get "promoted", also known as getting promoted to being called The Giver.

It has been a long time from reading this book and I really liked it when I first started. I thought the book was going to be boring because of how the cover looked since it looked so dull and plain. The cover made me think at first whatever it looked like it had no valuable meaning that connects to the story. But when taking an actual look at this novel, it had a very dark, mysterious side to it. Living in a place where Jonas is involved would definitely never happen in reality which helps make it a very well-written and creative book. If the author would've only thought of a different way to make the book cover. There are many adaptations of course to this book because this is a well-known thing bookstores and libraries would sell but the one I had was a small, tiny copy with a depressed-looking cover and it gave me a vibe at first glance this was going to be bad. I think this is a book that everyone will be able to cognitively take in but maybe around preteens you should be able to understand this story a little bit better than other younger individuals. And the book is always better than the movies since there is a movie related to this story but the movie in my opinion can really relate to the book well because most of the time the scenes are black and white. I hope you guys can enjoy this book as much as I did!

Reviewed by Hannah R., Grade 10
Downtown Central Library
June 21, 2019 at 5:17 PM
Teen Speak said…
The book, The Giver, is and always will be one of my most enjoyable reads. This book was published in 1993. It was written by Lois Lowry, a young adult at the time. The main character is a twelve year old young boy named Jonas. This book takes place in a fictional world vigorously controlled by the government. Jonas is selected by The Elders to be the receiver of memory. This position is very unknown to Jonas because only a certain few have been selected for it. Jonas now faces many new challenges he must overcome.

The book, The Giver, written by Lois Lowry, is and always will be one of my most enjoyable books reads. I very much liked reading this book, and did not want it to end. This book had many impactful messages that I learned from. This book teaches you that a world that everyone is different, is better than a utopia, a world where everyone is the same. It also teaches you that it is ok to be different than others. I would highly recommend this book to all teenage readers who want a good story.

Reviewed by Alexander B., Grade 9
Downtown Central Library
July 3, 2019 at 2:09 PM
Teen Speak said…
From the point of view of a boy named Jonas, the future has a dystopian government. Everything is contained, there’s no pain, war, or any conflict; even the day everyone dies is decided. No one can choose what to do with their life. It's all decided for them and they’re perfectly fine with that. Everyone has assigned jobs at age twelve, assigned spouses, assigned children and have no control of what they do every minute of their lives. After the children grow up the parents go live with other adults that don’t have children until they get put into the House of Old and get released. During the daily routine of families sharing how they “feel” Jonas says he feels apprehensive about the Ceremony of Twelve. On the day of Jonas finds out he’s given the most important job of all, a Receiver. As a Receiver he must get all the memories from the old receiver, the Giver. Jonas must bear the pain of all the people and keep all the memories from unleashing and for everyone else seeing the truth, that there’s more to the world than the dystopian version they are living in.

I read this in my English class a year ago and I really enjoyed it. I like the dystopian features in the book and how realistically everything is written in this story. While reading the book, it makes you wonder what life would be like for you if you were living in that future, and if you were experiencing the same things as Jonas is when you found out the truth about the world. I recommend this book to people who enjoy reading dystopian fiction and like captivating books. This book is a good pick for anyone who likes to read possibilities of what the future might be like.

Reviewed by AK, Grade 9
Montrose Library
May 28, 2020 at 1:34 PM
Teen Speak said…
Lois Lowry's novel The Giver, emphasizes how one believes in a perfect society were color in unknown and life is completely figurative, whereas another would portray this life as a dystopia. A boy named Jonas lives with his father, a newborn caretaker, his mother, a judge, younger sister, Lily, and a newborn Gabriel. In their society age is widely referred to as a crucial number. At every certain age, there are different responsibilities. With this, at an annual ceremony, they announce a child's new age. Jonas became 12, at this age children are given special jobs fitting their traits and strengths. All of the children received normal jobs, yet when it came to Jonas he was told he will be the new Receiver. He was confused as to what the Receiver does and was told to meet a man. The man himself was The Giver he appeared as old and worn out in away. He soon begins to transfer memories of their past life prior to this "utopian" life. Jonas soon realized how flawed society is. He experiences countless new memories that create a physical and mental toll on him. A few of which were snow, color, etc. Soon after he decided that he did not want Gabriel to grow up in this bland life. He escapes society and overcomes numerous obstacles. Eventually, he arrives in an unknown society.

Personally, I truly enjoyed this read and would strongly urge anyone to anyone to read The Giver. The book used imagery to allow the reader to perfectly imagine society as they wish. With this, I was capable to see the story as a movie in my mind as I read guiding me to understand how Jonas felt throughout the plot. Moreover, this is an amazing book for anyone who is looking to use their imagination as they read.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 9
Glendale Central Library
November 13, 2020 at 2:22 PM
Melissa said…
In a perfect world, in a perfect community, in a perfect family, and in a perfect life, our main character, Jonas, is about to turn 12 and get his assignment. 12 is a big year in their community. Each year getting up to 12 has its own ceremonies, but 12 is the last and most important one of all. Getting your assignment is like opening the doors to adulthood. All 12 year olds were excited for this ceremony, including Jonas. But, during the ceremony, something goes wrong. Jonas is... skipped. He is chosen to be have different assignment, an assignment that hadn't been given for years. He was given the assignment of The Receiver of Memory. Using his power he uncovers memories given to him by The Giver, and finds out the truth about sameness and their perfect little community.

This book is very interesting, and I mean very interesting. Throughout the book you try to find who the real villain is, or try to make yourself believe that the community is evil, but you can’t. All they wanted to make was a utopia, the community IS a utopia if you look at it from the community's view. To them, they have everything. A family, friends, a stable job, a home, a community, and a life. Despite no real feelings being shared, it seems that way because they don’t know the truth. It’s strange because there aren’t too many books I've read which have no villain. Despite being strange, I had so much fun reading it, and it’s still one of my favorite books till this day. I’d say give it a try if you like dystopian literature.

Reviewed by Arpi, Grade 9
Glendale Central Library
May 5, 2022 at 5:31 PM
Melissa said…
The Giver is about a dystopian society where crime, feelings, and emotions are eliminated. People live in a bland world where they are constantly under control without realization. The main characters in the novel are Jonas, The Giver, and Gabriel. Jonas is a young boy who lives with his family. His father is a nurturer and takes care of newborns, one of which includes Gabriel. His mother has a position in the Department of Justice. This society has its own rules and expectations of how everything is supposed to be each day. For instance, all the residents are required to take pills, to control their "stirrings". When children meet the age of 12, they are assigned to their jobs which they are required to do for the rest of their lives. Everything is chosen for the people such as their parents, families, and partners. Individuals don't realize they are living in a dystopian society and rather view it as a Utopia since everything is provided for them and they do not have anything to worry about. The purpose of these rules and expectations is for sameness, equality, and fairness to be maintained. As Jonas grows up and matures he realizes the society he is living in, is really not the way it seems.

In my opinion, I really liked this book and consider it as one of my favorites. It was very interesting reading it, in realization that only The Giver and Jonas truly know about the society they are living in. This book made me feel grateful for not living in a society with no color, emotions, etc. On the other hand, there is a benefit since crime, war, theft, and other socioeconomic issues are eliminated, making it a safer place to live. I think teens and adults would really enjoy reading this book. All in all, I would recommend this book since it is very captivating and made you want to keep on reading non-stop.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 9
Glendale Central Library
May 10, 2022 at 6:52 PM
Melissa said…
The Giver, by Lois Lowry, is a young adult dystopian book that circulates around a world where there is no pain or pleasure. Jonas, a twelve year old is selected to become The Receiver of Memory and, with the help of The Giver of Memory, sees what life was like in the past. He soon realizes that his own world is not that perfect and that it lacks feelings of love and happiness. Jonas ends up running away to a place called Elsewhere, a Utopian setting where there is all the things his world lacks.

This was a wonderful book filled with suspense, twists, and of course, the chilling truth behind a perfect society. I personally loved this book. The plot was shockingly divine and I finished the book within 3 days! Of course I found it very misleading toward the ending, when Jonas is freezing to death on his way to Elsewhere. Lowry makes it seem like Jonas is dying and Elsewhere is the afterlife but for people who have read the quartet, we know that he lives and is welcomed into Elsewhere. But overall it was a great book and I would recommend it to people who like stories that have sudden dark turns and end in painfully suspenseful cliff hangers.

Juniper Austen, Grade 9
Glendale Central Library
June 30, 2022 at 1:51 PM
Melissa said…
This book revolves around a dystopian community where a boy named Jonas finds out the hidden truth about his people. Jonas grows up as an innocent child unaware of his surroundings and would only follow the rules set by 'The Elders'. Although the town may seem perfect and normal, the Chief Elder took away an important part in the community which Jonas finds out about later in the book. He was chosen to have an important role for the people and little by little knows about the secret 'The Elders' had hidden.

Honestly, as I was scanning through the earlier chapters, I got genuinely confused about the plot but then had a deeper understanding of what's happening when every single confusing bits were added together. Kind of like a puzzle. It made me take a few pieces and formed a bigger picture together. I liked this idea of foreshadowing some of the events. This novel showed me different perspectives and how human connection is so important for us. It made me more aware of making great relationships with other people.

Reviewed by RK, Grade 9
Glendale Central Library
June 30, 2022 at 4:02 PM
Melissa said…
This book is a very interesting book, it is greatly written and a truly creating plot. The author Lois Lowry wrote the giver, it is about a world where everyone is controlled and no one could see color, have memories of the past present or future, and couldn’t feel pain, they gave it all away to one person keeping it all. The main character is a boy, who is chosen to be the person to hold the wishes, and he is trained by the previous wish holder. After all of the wishes from the previous wish holder were transferred to the boy, the boy could now see, feel pain and have memories. And from there the book get Ms a lot more interesting.

This book is an amazing book, it is very interesting for a teen like me. I love to read books and this one in particular caught my eyes attention. It is a very underrated book. The topic of this book is very interesting and is about a world where people are controlled, are having to take pills, not being able to feel pain, and can’t have any memories of the past, present or future and are not able to see color or have any sort of feeling towards others and themselves. In brief, this book was made an amazing book and especially for children my age, teenagers, I recommend this book to you.

Reviewed by Suren, Grade 9
Brand Library & Art Center
July 12, 2023 at 2:38 PM
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