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 Oct. 23 2010 at 10:23 pm
DaydreamBeliever GOLD, Lockport, Other
15 articles 4 photos 140 comments

Favorite Quote:
If you live to be one hundred, I want to live to be one hundred minus one day, so that I'll never have to live without you. -Winnie the Pooh

I did not love the book either, and I did find some of it confusing but it was not the worst book I have ever read. I found it was an interesting way of looking at the world, and it was cool imaging what life would be like it their world. 

on Oct. 23 2010 at 8:28 pm
Maddyandsnoopy GOLD, Rocklin, California
10 articles 18 photos 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.&quot; <br /> -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I very strongly disagree with you! Lois Lowry is one of my favorite authors, and this is my favorite book by her. I absolutely love the story and the way it makes the reader think. I believe every single person should read this book.

However, I do appreciate you being honest and telling your opinion, even if it is unpopular! Honestly, this is the only time I have ever heard something bad about this book besides the controversy surrounding it (which is completely ridiculous, by the way).

Your review was well-written, too.


on Oct. 23 2010 at 8:03 pm
IsobelFree DIAMOND, Hamilton, Other
71 articles 20 photos 296 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;As long as there is open road, the familiar has the most formidable competitor.&quot; - Anonymous

Same with me! I don't really know what you're talking about when you say it hardly made sense - it was written very simply, and things are always explained. It was intense and intriguing, and not at all predictable - in fact, quite the opposite: I was always surprised. The only part I didn't like was the last few pages - they were very abstract. I hardly think this could be the worst book you ever picked up. It was the best book I've ever picked up.

raving2011 said...
on Oct. 23 2010 at 6:23 pm
I agree! I adore the book, I think people that didnt like it simply didn't read is careful enough to understand it. I absolutely loved the book.

raving2011 said...
on Oct. 23 2010 at 6:22 pm
I actually highly dissagree with your review, I like to hear a good review but one about such an awesome book is a bit confusing to me. The Giver was an amazing book, the mystery of the whole book kept me guessing the whole time. Although I didn't understand it in the beginning, the book opened my eyes and made me look beyond my own imagination to understand what Jonas was going through and the responsibility that was left on his shoulders were confusing in the beginning but as the plot built I found it amazing. Although I dissagree with your review, I think its an amazing piece of literature and I would recommend it to anyone :)

on Oct. 23 2010 at 4:34 pm
thebushhippie PLATINUM, Sandown, New Hampshire
24 articles 0 photos 49 comments

Favorite Quote:
Leave behind your own footprints! :0)

I've never read THE GIVER, but after reading this review I don't think I want to. Of course, I'm going to anyway, because I've heard from a ton of people (including over half of the people writing these comments) that it is a fantastic book that everyone should read. Why would you ever write a review that is so negative as this one??? I was really dissapointed when I read this. However, I have to say that I appreciate the fact that you didn't want to include any spoilers, and that you wrote this well. I know this wasn't the nicest comment ever, but I felt like it needed to be said. Again, sorry...

on Oct. 23 2010 at 11:03 am
charlyanne BRONZE, Sandy, Utah
2 articles 0 photos 1 comment
She did write two sequels: Gathering Blue and The Messenger. I think The Giver is an excellent book- one of my favorites by far.

on Oct. 18 2010 at 6:38 pm
boliviacookie27 BRONZE, Smithfield, Utah
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
You can tell a lot about a person by their eyebrows.

Yes definitely.  It was kind of a cliff hanger, but that is one of the things I like about The Giver.

on Oct. 15 2010 at 7:48 pm
TheNinjaStickFigure BRONZE, Bluffton, Ohio
1 article 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
Does this keyboard make my finger look fat?

I had to read this in class for English last year and I actually couldn't wait to read what happened. I thought it was one of the most well thought out books and really gives a new intake on life today and what it could be.

WhiteShadows said...
on Oct. 14 2010 at 8:21 pm
WhiteShadows, Ocala, Florida
0 articles 0 photos 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
You&#039;ve gotta work like you don&#039;t need the money/love like you&#039;ll never be hurt/<br /> Sing like no one is listening/ and live like it&#039;s heaven on Earth.-Anonymous

I read the giver and gathering blue. Is the messenger any good? Better or worse than the others?

WhiteShadows said...
on Oct. 14 2010 at 8:20 pm
WhiteShadows, Ocala, Florida
0 articles 0 photos 38 comments

Favorite Quote:
You&#039;ve gotta work like you don&#039;t need the money/love like you&#039;ll never be hurt/<br /> Sing like no one is listening/ and live like it&#039;s heaven on Earth.-Anonymous

Great review! Well written and nice. But I totally disagree; The Giver is one of my fvorite books. Also, if you read "gathering blue" by Lois Lowry, it ties up some loose ends from "the giver" and helps you understand it fully.

I so agree that the end was abrupt and I wasn't sure what happened to Jonas. And Gathering Blue" helps you determine the end of the book.


on Oct. 13 2010 at 7:50 pm
Lilacs_Smell_Wonnerful PLATINUM, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
40 articles 2 photos 86 comments

Favorite Quote:
When life gives you lemons make grape juice. Then sit back and watch everyone look at you in amazement. :)

Yep! Two other books in the series. :)

-Lilac


on Oct. 13 2010 at 6:18 pm
xxPhoenixDevilxx SILVER, Pinckney, Michigan
5 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I suck, but at the same time, I&#039;m pretty freakin&#039; awesome.&quot; ;)

there r sequals!?!?

on Oct. 13 2010 at 6:15 pm
xxPhoenixDevilxx SILVER, Pinckney, Michigan
5 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I suck, but at the same time, I&#039;m pretty freakin&#039; awesome.&quot; ;)

i agree, i think it is a very good book and i would LOVE Lois to create a sequal to tell the rest of the story.

on Oct. 10 2010 at 1:43 pm
boliviacookie27 BRONZE, Smithfield, Utah
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
You can tell a lot about a person by their eyebrows.

I really like your review, but I have to disagree.  Lois Lowry is one of my favorite authors and I think her work is misunderstood.

on Oct. 10 2010 at 1:24 pm
sOmE_nIgHtS SILVER, Wayne, Pennsylvania
5 articles 0 photos 39 comments

Favorite Quote:
Yes it&#039;s hard to write, but it&#039;s harder not to.

I completly agree! I had to read The Giver for English class in 7th grade and I didn't like it.

PoetPanda10 said...
on Oct. 3 2010 at 1:40 pm
I completely agree- this book was dreadful, utterly lacking depth, and I hated it. Finally, someone who sees it the way I do. Everyone in my class seemed to love this book and I could never understand why- I still don't.

on Oct. 2 2010 at 6:07 pm
Brook_Dlin SILVER, Joplin, Missouri
6 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Man can no more diminish God&#039;s glory by refusing to worship him, then a mad man can put out the sun by writing the word &#039;darkness&#039; on the walls of his cell&quot;---C.S. Lewis

Everything about the giver was deep. It takes a very analytical mind. The point of the book can be summed up in one question: Can you have happiness, joy, love, and peace without pain, heartbreak, sadness, and suffering. 

Lois Lowry did an excellent job telling of just might happen should the government ever try to take away the difficult parts of life. Keeping in account that everything about The Giver is symbolic for something else:

Jonas - Jonah of the Bible

Gabriel - The archangel

The Giver/Jonas/Gabriel - As Christ

Even if Lois isn't a proclaimed Christian, writers have been drawing parallels between their works and the Bible for centuries. 

I thought that The Giver was an awesome story about just how far people would go to make life easier and about the realities and relationships between pain and joy, love and hate, peace and suffering, happiness and sadness...


on Oct. 1 2010 at 9:52 am
Lilacs_Smell_Wonnerful PLATINUM, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
40 articles 2 photos 86 comments

Favorite Quote:
When life gives you lemons make grape juice. Then sit back and watch everyone look at you in amazement. :)

Lol, yeah, I figured out what "released" meant almost right away too, but it still shocked me to find out I was right.

-Lilac


on Oct. 1 2010 at 9:44 am
Lilacs_Smell_Wonnerful PLATINUM, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
40 articles 2 photos 86 comments

Favorite Quote:
When life gives you lemons make grape juice. Then sit back and watch everyone look at you in amazement. :)

I really liked the Giver, and if there were unanswered questions, that's okay, it makes you think. I thought the book presented quite a few good ethical points, and was especially good for a younger young adult audience. And if you don't like the unanswered q's, check out books two and three "Gathering Blue" and "Messenger" -Lilac