Lowry, L. (1993). The Giver. NY: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 0395645662.
Plot Summary: Jonas lives in a futuristic society and until the age of twelve, has led a peaceful and relatively normal life. He has two parents, a mother who is happily employed at the Department of Justice, and a father who is happily employed as a Nurturer. In Jonas's world, everything (from an individual's desire, to the weather, to a person's career) is regulated. The community's rulers ensure that everyone occupies a productive role in their society. Yet when Jonas is selected to be the Receiver of Memory, he discovers that nothing about his idyllic community is what it seems to be. He is ambivalent about his role, but if he doesn't cooperate, he risks being "Released" from the community.
He agrees to train with The Giver, who transmits his memories to Jonas, including beautiful memories of love, as well as those of war, pain, hunger and death. These memories drastically change his understanding of his community, his friends, and himself. Jonas begins to conceive of things being different, where people could make choices for themselves, even if they were wrong.
Jonas and The Giver form a plan for Jonas to disappear from the community and thereby release all of the memories he has received back into it. However, on the night the plan is to take place, Jonas learns that a newchild, Gabriel, who has been staying with his family, is scheduled for Release in the morning. Jonas deviates from the plan and flees the community with the newchild. They avoid the search planes, but their situation grows more desperate. Finally, in a snowstorm, Jonas is certain they are coming to the promised Elsewhere, where people are waiting to rescue him and the baby.
Critical Evaluation:
It’s interesting how authors portray utopian/distopian societies and how the stories tend to involve losing some important aspect of essential humanity for the sake of a larger goal. There’s always a compelling lesson to be had and this one is captivating. This society is efficient and regulated, yet there isn’t much room for individual choice. The world (and life) is filled with such happiness and sadness, cruelty and kindness. This is the reality of their (and our) experience no matter how hard they (and we) try to control it. This is a well-written book that is easy to understand by younger and older teens. It’s a special book that should definitely be read and discussed.
Reader’s Annotation:
In Jonas' perfect world, everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. But when Jonas learns the truth about their existence, there is no turning back.
Information About the Author:
Lois Lowry is an author of childrens and young adult literature. She was born in 1937 and has worked as a professional journalist and photographer. Her work drew the attention of publisher Houghton Mifflin who encouraged her to write fiction. She has since written more than 30 books and been the recipient of the prestigious Newbery Medal for The Giver. She is known for writing about difficult subject matters, including racism, terminal illness, murder and the Holocaust.
Genre:
Contemporary Life: Coming of Age
Science Fiction: Utopia/distopia
Adventure: Survival
Curriculum Ties: English class, Social Studies class, Science class, Government class, Humanities class, Book clubs, Social clubs
Booktalking Ideas:
1. Do you think Jonas reaches a safe place at the end of the novel?
2. How Jonas's attitudes about the community change during the course of the novel
3. Why The Giver and Jonas decide that Jonas should leave the community?
4. The importance of being able to make choices, regardless of the consequences?
5. Utopian societies and what you imagine to be ideal
Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 7-12
Challenge Issues/Defenses: This book has often been challenged since it’s publication in 1993.
Potential Challenges:
• Depictions of Violence
• References to Sex
• Portrayals of Suicide and Euthanasia
Defense Strategy:
• Provide our Collection Development Policy (which includes Young Adult scope): http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/library/collection.asp
• Refer to awards won by this book from reputable organizations:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giver
• Provide book reviews by literary journals and media publications:
http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/guides/give.html
• Provide a book reviews by actual readers on a publicly accessible website:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Giver/Lois-Lowry/e/9780440237686
• Provide book club discussion questions used to address issues or book content:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400032716&view=rg
• Provide advisory reviews for parents about book content and age appropriateness:
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/Giver.html
Why This Book Was Included: Lois Lowry books have become a classic in young adult literature and I wanted to include a few well-known ones on this blog list. This book is consistently requested by students for class assignments so I wanted to see why. It’s an important book and I’m glad to see that many schools discuss it instead of try to ban it! Also, it's an interesting concept for librarians to read about places where memories are stored because our facilities often serve as repositories of our community's history, too.
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