~post by Consuelo
Confession: I did not read The Giver when I was a kid. Somehow, the endless amounts of Baby-Sitter’s Club and Boxcar Children books that were available in the books section of my small-town video store in the early ‘90’s kept me satisfied. And even as an adult, although I knew it was in the wheelhouse of things I like to read, I did not make reading The Giver a priority until I knew that Lois Lowry will be visiting BookPeople for the final release in the quartet, Son. Boy, had I been missing out.
In the world that Lowry has created, everyone in The Community has their specific duty to fulfill. Everything is safe. Everyone has a purpose. Twelve-year-old Jonas is chosen as the new Receiver of memory – to protect society from the knowledge of all the pain and suffering that came Before. But Jonas comes to realize that though The Community may be free of hardships, they are also denied color, music, sunshine, and most importantly, love. All the things that make life worth living.
There has been an onslaught of dystopian fiction for young readers in recent years. I have read my fair share of it. Each has its own hook or gimmick that makes it unique. They are mostly all adventurous and action-packed. But none of them can match The Giver in terms of its honesty. It deals less with plotting to save the world and focuses more on the human aspects (or lack of humanity) involved in such a society. It hit me straight in the heart and is a wake up call for the soul. I can imagine that reading it as a child can greatly influence one’s worldview. That’s a beautiful thing – books SHOULD influence people, especially when they are as thoughtful and thought-provoking as The Giver.
______________________________________
Lois Lowry will speak about & sign Son, the finale to The Giver quartet, here at BookPeople on Monday, October 15 at 6pm. The speaking portion of the event is free and open to the public. Tickets are required for the signing portion of the event. Visit www.bookpeople.com for more info and to order signed copies of Son. We ship internationally.
BookPeople 
I loved this book as a young adult. Definitely the first dystopian fiction I ever read, which meant that it was pretty shocking to try to wrap my head around. But I had no clue there were more books in the series! I’ve been thinking about rereading “The Giver” anyway, and now I have a pretty good excuse. 🙂
You’re not alone – many readers, including fans of The Giver, didn’t know there were more books. You should go for the whole quartet!
I remember reading this book in grade 8 with the rest of my class. it truly amazed me.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I read The Giver in primary school and loved it – it had a profound affect on me and I still remember scenes that broke my heart or made me think. It had a hand in forming the person I became and how I feel about certain things – self determination, community, memories, etc. I read Atwood’s “A Handmaid’s Tale” a few years later and it had a similar (but lesser) impact.
Anyway, I say thank you because I could never remember the title or author and have yearned to re-read the book for years… now I can!!! I probably should have googled key parts of the plot, but hey, at least I have the title now!
I hope your signing goes well 🙂
This is so wonderful! Thanks for sharing your memories. It’s such a powerful book. And I’m glad we could be of service with the title and author.
WAIT! There’s a quartet? I think I just died of happiness – thank you again!
Ha ha. YES – once SON is released (next Tues), you can read the whole thing!
This is such a wonderful book! I haven’t read the quartet, but the first one always makes me cry!