Up until last month, no one in my house had read The Giver, by Lois Lowry. No one. Very unusual for a house full of book lovers.
Since we spend many hours on the road commuting to sports practice in a nearby town, I decided we should use that time to listen to The Giver together. And it was so much more beneficial than everyone staring at electronic devices for 90 minutes.
The Premise
At the opening of The Giver we meet Jonas, a boy eagerly anticipating The Ceremony of Twelve. At this ceremony, the Elders of his Community will give all the 12 year olds their Assignment, or adult occupation. The Elders choose the Assignment for each Community member based on several years of observation. Jonas can’t wait to learn his.
But The Ceremony changes Jonas’s life in unexpected ways. He isn’t named a Nurturer, or Instructor, or Caretaker. Instead, he is called to be the Receiver, the one person responsible for holding all of the Community’s memories. Jonas immediately starts to worry.
Now, for the first time in his twelve years of life, Jonas felt separate, different.
His fears escalate when he reads the guidelines for his Assignment, which include:
- From this moment, you are prohibited from dream –telling.
- Except for illness or injury unrelated to your training, do not apply for medication.
- You are not permitted to apply for release.
- You may lie.
Wouldn’t you worry too?
What Works Well
Remember that by definition, a dystopian society has at least one inherent, horrible flaw. Lowry builds tension and interest by slowly revealing multiple problems with Jonas’s Community, which was founded on the principle of “Same”. All irritating irregularities have been removed. The people exist in a peaceful environment of competence, politeness, and security.
At a great price. Yet they don’t realize it.
As Jonas gains memories from his trainer, The Giver, he learns about everything, and everyone, that has been sacrificed to maintain the stability of Same. With each memory he receives, Jonas moves closer to a difficult decision: should he do the right thing, or the safe thing?
Jonas’s dilemma, and his reaction to the knowledge he receives, sparked great discussion with my kids, aged 6-12. I asked them things like:
- What do you like about Jonas’s community?
- What is missing?
- What would you do if you were in Jonas’s place?
- What is something you would like to change in our community?
- How can “sameness” be a bad thing?
Words of Caution
Very little violence occurs in The Giver, except that people deemed no longer valuable to the Community are “released”, and that includes children. Late in the book, we finally learn for sure what “released” means, as Jonas witnesses the lethal injection of a baby. My kids listened in stunned silence, and afterward, I hit pause so we could process together.
We all truly enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it, but the ending disappointed me. Too many loose strings. On the positive side, that led to more discussion. I’d love to share my daughter’s interpretation of the ending, but I hate to spoil the book. E-mail me after you read it, and we’ll talk.
There are three more books considered to be “companions” to The Giver:
Can you recommend a dystopian book appropriate for younger readers? If you have read The Giver, what did you like/dislike about it?
Julia
Hey, I found you! Nice site and I’m anxious to see how much more you like it…
Beautiful review! I have loved The Giver since a child and it totally set me up from that young of an age to love dystopia. I recently read and reviewed Son and found it absolutely fantastic. Great blog! 🙂
I’m passing this link on to my sister. Sounds like a book she and her 10 yr old daughter would love. And good for you for taking time to tackle such a tough subject with your kids. I know you handled it well 🙂
Loved The Giver (and linked my review at the bottom).
I have a great recommendation for a dystopian series for children. The City of Ember series is amazing, non-violent, and very interesting! A bunch of my fifth grade students read it and forced me to read it, too. But after starting the book, I was hooked and did not need their encouragement!
http://loveatfirstbook.com/2012/08/11/the-giver-by-lois-lowry-book-10/
I always appreciate good literature reviews esp. those including kids. I’ll mention this one to my family too. Maybe the library has it on CD. 😉
thanks Julia,
Hester, 😉