The Giver

I have read The Giver 4 times--twice to myself and two other times to other people. This is one of those books that should be read more than once, just because of all the information in it. The Giver starts off slow, and migh deter some younger readers, but once it gets a few chapters in it becomes very intriuging and thought provoking. This is a wonderful book for young kids to first realize and understand the freedoms and other important things we have in our world today. This also teaches that sometimes living through the bad in life is worth it to get the good. I really cannot say enough about this book. It is simply excellent.

This book, to me, was just brilliant. I love the idea of another time and society, which were expressed so originally in this story. Rules, safety, everything made for what could have been a perfect society. But it is what lies beneath these things, what they choose to cover up, that makes the story really interested.

Jonas, at twelve, grows up way too fast. It is traditional for twelve year olds of his society to be an adult at 12, but Jonas is the only one who truly experiences any real growth.

Given the choice to protect the world they live in or unleash everything unknown, he has a powerful choice to make, and does so accordingly.

This book gripped me right up until the end, which was the only slight let-down. While the end was good, it wasn't great, as the rest of the book was. But overall, I highly recommend this book to everyone. An instant classic.

First of all, WOW, WHAT A BOOK! Of all the newbery books I've read so far this one has been the best, and pushed me to read faster than any book I've ever read.

The Giver introduces the reader to some interesting subject matter such as communistic living, where everyone has a place and everyone works for the greater good. While there is benefit to this style of life, you eliminate indiviuality, and the freedom of choice. Uniqueness is thrown out the window in favor of predictability and stability.

What makes the book interesting is how the different characters handle the mode of life, especially Jonas, who is suddenly given a taste of the truth, and finds the world he is living in unbearable.

The book reminded me of the movie "The Time Machine" (the one with Rod Taylor), In the movie when George gets to the distant future the people there live similarly to the way they do in the book, communaly with no thought to emotion, knowledge, or creativity. There is one scene in the movie that is eerily like a scene in the book where someone falls into the river and drowns. I can't help but wonder if Lois Lowry watched the Time Machine before she wrote the book.

The book is great and Lois Lowry is a brilliant writer, I can't wait to read more of her work.

This book is one of the most thought provoking stories that I have ever read! I read it when I was in the 6th grade and I didn't get it... only after reading it again in highschool did I really see the wonderful creativity of this book.

I hear that they are making a movie of this book that should come out by 2011. I only wish 2 things: 1)they don't take so many liberties; 2)that it would come out sooner, Christmas 2009, perhaps. I really don't know why I like this book. I've never read its "adult counterpart" 1984 by George Orwell. It is a Newberry award winner. While I read many Newberry winners as a child, I didn't read this one until I was grown. Maybe that's good because some things about this book may shock children. It is very cerebral until the end, not your usual children's book, in my opinion. I guess I enjoy it because it is disturbing and also hopeful. It teaches readers of any age to appreciate things that we now take for granted and gives us a look at what life would be like without them. A Dark but Wonderful Read!