The Giver

The Giver. By Lois Lowry. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 1993. 192 pages. TR. $ 17.00 ISBN 978-0395645666

Summary: Jonas lives in a word seemingly devoid of inequalities, unhappiness and unemployment, a world without crime, violence, conflict and human emotions. The novel opens with Jonas dreading the annual December ceremony, a right-of-passage that all twelve-year-olds go through to determine their calling. Jonas is awarded with the most honored position - the Receiver of Memory. As Jonas trains for the job, the knowledge of his community considerably broadens, challenging him to rethink how he perceives the world. 

Critical Review: As he embarks upon his training under the guidance of the Receiver of Memory, Jonas is conferred with considerable leeway to read whatever books, and to ask whatever questions come to mind. Moreover, no longer is Jonas forced to reveal his dreams like the rest of the populace.  In a society where everything is guarded, Jonas’s training is highly unusual. He’s required to keep his training a secret. This is necessary, for part of it consists of criticizing his community. The Receiver’s job is to delve into the histories of bygone eras, and while there’s much to find pleasure in here, there is also a lot to bring pain. Jonas learns that in his job as Receiver, he’s required to relieve the community from the knowledge of pain. In theory, by bearing the world’s pain, Jonas allows the community to progress through life in relative bliss. As his sessions with the Receiver progress, Jonas comes to the tragic awareness of the repressive regime at work. This knowledge forces Jonas to make life-altering choices. He decides that he cannot remain in a society that condones the murder of newborns and the elderly, and with the help of the Receiver successfully escapes. 

Genre: Science Fiction

Series: 1^st book in the Giver Trilogy (subsequent books in the series include Gathering Blue and The Messenger)

Reading/Interest Level: 10-14 years

Reviews: Booklist (September 15, 1998)

Publisher’s Weekly (August 8, 1994)

Voice of Youth Advocates (August 1, 1993)

School Library Journal (May 1, 1993)

Kirkus Reviews (March 1, 1993)

Publisher’s Weekly (February 1, 1993)

Awards: Newbery Medal (1994)

Young Reader’s Choice Award (1996)

Rebecca Caudill Young Reader’s Book Award (1996)

William Allen White Children’s Book Award (1996)

Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (1994)

Golden Sower Award (1995)

Great Stone Face Children’s Book Award (1996)

Land of Enchantment Book Award (1997)

Buckeye Children’s Book Award (1997)

Golden Archer Award (1997)

Maine Student Book Award (1995)

Garden State Teen Book Award (1995)

Grand Canyon Award (1995)

Sequoyah Book Award (1995)

Author Website: http://www.loislowry.com/

Similar Materials: O. T. Nelson’s The Girl Who Owned A City

Subject/Themes: Coming-of-Age Story; Dystopia

Character Names: Jonas (receives the job of Receiver of Memory, at the Twelve Ceremony); The Giver (Jonas’s teacher experiences emotions); Lily (Jonas’s seven-year-old sister loves children); Gabriel (Gabe) (was kept back another year before moving on to his First Year Ceremony and was later “released”); Asher (Jonas’s best friend, assigned as the Director of Recreation); Jonas's father (works as a caregiver); Jonas's mother (works as a lawyer); Fiona (Jonas’s friend, assigned the job of Caretaker of the Old).

Brief Annotation: This award-winning Newbery Medal novel features the coming-of-age of twelve-year-old Jonas, who uncovers the horrors of his dystopian world, through his work with the Giver.