The Giver by Lois Lowry | Teen Ink

The Giver by Lois Lowry MAG

By Bapalapa2 ELITE, Brooklyn, New York
Bapalapa2 ELITE, Brooklyn, New York
1044 articles 0 photos 1 comment

After reading The Giver, I was left confused and disappointed. It seemed as if it would be interesting, but you can't judge a book by its cover. The contents were dull and predictable. Quite honestly, I wouldn't recommend it to any reader seeking a fine piece of literature. It just doesn't suffice.

The Giver is about a young boy named Jonas. He resides in a futuristic society in which each citizen is assigned a job, a spouse, and children. The children are born to mothers who will never get to see them. Trying not to give anymore away, I will only say that Jonas is assigned an important job and is challenged with the release of an innocent child. Jonas is left with the option of leaving his home, job, and family to save the child, or facing the harsh reality of his community and job, and enduring the release of the child.

This book was dreadful. I became more and more dissatisfied with each page. It was a waste of time and hardly made sense. I'll admit, there were a few interesting lines, but far too few to continue reading after the first chapter. Although I finished it, I regret doing so. It was, by far, the worst book I've ever picked up. It proved to be mediocre, no better than what the average person could conceive. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.


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This article has 588 comments.


on Dec. 19 2010 at 4:07 pm
Babygirl809 SILVER, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
8 articles 3 photos 19 comments
The Giver is a classic. I can see how some people might not like it but i loved it!!! 

on Dec. 18 2010 at 9:45 pm
Musicfeedsthesoul07 PLATINUM, Naperville, Illinois
25 articles 0 photos 95 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one. " - Bill Gates

I loved this book! 

I read it for English class in 7th grade and understood it fine!

I think it not only is a fantastic story line, but depicts a metaphor of sameness with an overly controlling government.


on Dec. 11 2010 at 4:25 pm
TheWordSmith SILVER, Placerville, California
5 articles 0 photos 51 comments
Nicki585: Gathering Blue is one of the books and it is already out. I didn't know there was another one.

on Dec. 11 2010 at 4:24 pm
TheWordSmith SILVER, Placerville, California
5 articles 0 photos 51 comments
I agree with you completely, nycsonya. It is rare to find an author with such talent as Lois Lowry.

nycsonya said...
on Dec. 11 2010 at 8:13 am
nycsonya, Brooklyn, New York
0 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
Well behaved women rarely make history.

I understand your point, but I strongly disagree. I was so moved by this book. The way it flowed, and the gift that Lois Lowry has that keeps us on the edge of our seats made this book fantastic. There was not a boring moment.

on Dec. 8 2010 at 10:18 pm
Internal-Love PLATINUM, Queens, New York
33 articles 3 photos 310 comments

Favorite Quote:
Nothing&#039;s black or white, its all just a shade of gray---<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> TI &quot;Live your Life&quot; ft Rihanna

ThaNK YOU!!:)

on Dec. 8 2010 at 8:30 pm
royaldancer BRONZE, Peoria, Arizona
1 article 0 photos 2 comments
i agree with you (Medina D.) i read this book in 7th grade and i understood it. it is also one of my favorite books ever. i think that this is a great book, really well-written, and has a deeper meaning to it.  They also haven't read Wait till Next Year if this is their least favorite book. your summary is much better :)

on Dec. 7 2010 at 1:36 pm
Internal-Love PLATINUM, Queens, New York
33 articles 3 photos 310 comments

Favorite Quote:
Nothing&#039;s black or white, its all just a shade of gray---<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> TI &quot;Live your Life&quot; ft Rihanna

Just recently i had to read this book for English class, and i LIKED it. ALOT. Alot of kids in my class did.

It's not confusing at all.

It takes place in the future, where humans decided to go into sameness (meaning they tried to demolish all differences). Therefore, they created communities, where people can only see black & white, have no feelings, and live a very organized lifestyle with hardly any of the independence we have today. To accomplish this, people have to take pills, medication, and other horrid things. However there is only one person in the community who has feelings-----the receiver. He is called that becuase he is bestowed memories of our day (or "the past") from the previous receiver. These memories allow him to see colors and have feelings. Jonas is the next receiver

It's not that hard.

And the WORST book you've ever read??? If this is so, then you haven't picked up the book "the road to memphis"


Nicki585 said...
on Dec. 4 2010 at 9:19 am
What are the titles of the next two books? When do they come out?

on Nov. 29 2010 at 8:58 pm
WritingJulia SILVER, Binghamton, New York
6 articles 0 photos 72 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Kind words can be short and easy to say, but their echoes are truly endless.&quot; -Mother Theresa

I read the book about 2 months ago for English class, and we had some pretty humerous discussions.  It proposes some interesting thoughts regarding society though.

LunaLives GOLD said...
on Nov. 20 2010 at 5:58 pm
LunaLives GOLD, South Bend, Indiana
17 articles 0 photos 237 comments

Favorite Quote:
Because I can!-Me &quot;Life is a choice and death is a decision&quot;-Lil Wayne

I have read this book and many others. But this one really sticks out in my mind. I found it very captivating and am quite exited to find out there are two more books following it. I can't wait to read them!

on Nov. 16 2010 at 6:57 pm
isabel17 BRONZE, NEW TRIPOLI, Pennsylvania
4 articles 0 photos 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
beauty is only skin deep.

 rosey red * cheeks

on Nov. 16 2010 at 6:57 pm
isabel17 BRONZE, NEW TRIPOLI, Pennsylvania
4 articles 0 photos 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
beauty is only skin deep.

haha thats great... kiss my rosey read cheeks. i also loved the book :)

on Nov. 16 2010 at 6:55 pm
isabel17 BRONZE, NEW TRIPOLI, Pennsylvania
4 articles 0 photos 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
beauty is only skin deep.

i totally agree :) i love lois lowry. have you read number this stars? amazing book also. i also read the book in sixth grade :) yeah she definitely makes u  thnik! great response! are the other two boooks good too? i started reading gathering blue and never finished...

AshTree SILVER said...
on Nov. 14 2010 at 11:08 am
AshTree SILVER, Clarksville, Tennessee
7 articles 0 photos 196 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Live your art&quot; -made this one up myself. Simple, but true.

oops i meant gathering blue is the sequel then messenger sorry got confused

AshTree SILVER said...
on Nov. 14 2010 at 11:06 am
AshTree SILVER, Clarksville, Tennessee
7 articles 0 photos 196 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Live your art&quot; -made this one up myself. Simple, but true.

I read this book in the 6th grade and probably understood the meaning behind it better than you did. If you couldn't make sense of it that was your fault. I personally loved the book and it was made to make you think. I like it because the author isn't spoonfeeding you, you have to comprehend why this is wrong, why people think it's right, and in the end Lois Lowry leaves you to once again THINK. I don't mean to be rude but I loved the book and the messenger is somewhat a sequel to it and the messenger is probably my favorite thing that I've read by lois lowry. She is an amazing author and this was a great book.

on Nov. 14 2010 at 8:13 am
When i first read the giver in 8th grade i was really dissapointed in the end and i was really upset, but then  i wanted to get lois lowry's sequel to the giver a year later so i had to read the giver agian to remember what happened and guess what, once i read it again i really had a better out look on the book and i appriciated it alot more, also i would recommend her books gathering blue and the messenger to anyone who reads this they are really great. :)

on Nov. 10 2010 at 1:30 pm
My feelings on this guy or girls comments u horriable.I hate this top huge comment cause this book rocked and I would tell everyone to read this book.And if u dont like my comment kiss my Rosey red cheaks!!!!!!

on Nov. 6 2010 at 12:24 am
BookWorm579 PLATINUM, Elk Grove, California
26 articles 0 photos 33 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;&agrave; c&oelig;ur vaillant rien d&rsquo;impossible [nothing is impossible to a willing heart]&quot; -French Proverb

This book is so wonderful because it forces you to look at life and conformity in a new and different way.  Something powerful about this book is that it doesn't say outright what's wrong with Jonas' world.  It just gives cryptic hints through context and memories.  Additionally, the ambiguous ending allows the reader to decide what they believe happens to Jonas.

Anthem, by Ayn Rand is a similar read and, in my opinion, another insightful incarnation of the dystopian society.


mothyl said...
on Oct. 25 2010 at 12:24 pm
Me to!!! I really like the book and would tell everybody who can read English (I live in NL)  to read the book. I really liked it because of the learnings of Jonas and the way that you understand step by step how that community is.