The Giver by Lois Lowry Review

Title: The Giver
Author: Lois Lowry
Published: April 26th 1993

Summary from Goodreads:

Jonas' world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, 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.

My Thoughts:

I've always wanted to read The Giver ever since I was young but I never had a chance to. I've heard lots of people praising it and now I finally know why people liked it so much. The story is set in a dystopian world where children get assign job/roles as they turned the age of twelve. The main character of this book, Jonas, is turning twelve soon and he's nervous on what job he'll be assign for the rest of his life.

Jonas' character seem out of the norm. He sees things others don't and he began to question his beliefs. His family are very loving and yet they are not able to express their feelings well because very limited emotions and ideas are prohibited in the community. To his amaze, he was chose to be the next Giver. As Jonas trained with the current Giver, a world of vast information flooded through him, which made him question the community even more. Concepts like colors, war, pain, and lying was nonexistent in the community and Jonas now knows about it and feels it all at once. Will he be able to handle it? Or will he find a way out...

The world building in this story may be minimal but it does explain a lot about why the people in the community act the way they do. I find it similar to 1984 where people have a specific tasks and roles to follow without question the authorities or else they face the consequences. I was a bit confuse about the ending but overall The Giver is a great book to read. I recommend everyone give it a try if they'd like to read something that's different.