The Giver
by Lois Lowry
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Book Summary Information
Author: Lois LowryReader: Ron Rifkin
Edition: Music CD
Format: Unabridged
Published: 2001-02-27
ISBN: 080726203X
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Listening Library
Book Reviews of The Giver
Book Review: Experience the highest highs and the lowest lows - or be mired in mediocrity
Summary: 5 Stars
Eleven-year-old Jonas is a typical boy living in a futuristic world of mediocrity. Even the geography, (completely flat) and the color scheme (only black and white) are bland. The elder of two children (all that is allowed per family unit), he attends school and enjoys the company of friends like any other kid. But in his town, everyone's behavior is closely monitored, Big Brother-like, with physical punishment meted out for infractions of its many rules. The community gains 50 babies per year and at prescribed ages, persons are given certain freedoms and/or responsibilities (for example, bicycles are given to nine year olds). Once a family's children move away, former parents (babies seem to be born in vitro) move out of their homes and in with others in the same situation until their eventual move to the nursing home and, finally, "release."
Jonas's life changes drastically when he is given his life job assignment, the most respected of the lot, Receiver (of memories). During his training, he gains the freedom of being allowed to ask any question of any person, but is unable to share his newfound knowledge with family and friends. He sees and feels the formerly unimaginable, love, hate, joy and sorrow, and, for the first time, experiences color. He also learns the truth about the procedure known as "release." Author Lois Lowry has created a simply written, amazing book with a memorable plot and engaging characters in this story about social conformity. Of the Newberry Award winners I've read, The Giver is my favorite. Similar science fiction: Feed by M.T. Anderson, The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, and Fearless by Tim Lott.
Summary of The Giver
In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.Read by Ron Rifkin
4 hours, 48 minutes
4 CD's
December is the time of the annual Ceremony at which each twelve-year-old receives a life assignment determined by the Elders. Jonas watches his friend Fiona named Caretaker of the Old and his cheerful pal Asher labeled the Assistant Director of Recreation. But Jonas has been chosen for something special. When his selection leads him to an unnamed man-the man called only the Giver-he begins to sense the dark secrets that underlie the fragile perfection of his world.
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