With Lois Lowry visiting the store in just a few days (Monday, October 15 at 6pm) to speak about and sign her new novel Son, our booksellers have been talking about their favorite Lowry books and what her work has meant to them over the years.
Merrilee:
“I only read Lowry as an adult. The Giver came out when I was already an adult. I always thought it was the best kids’ book I’d ever read…until I read Son. I’ve read the whole quartet and The Willoughbys. And Gossamer, too. Everything she does is completely and totally different and yet she’s really good at all of these different things. I’ve met celebrities and famous people here before and I’m not usually excited, but I really can’t believe I’m going to get to meet Lois Lowry next week.”
Emily:
“I first read Number the Stars when I was a kid. I liked it because I didn’t feel like it was talking down to me. It was an interesting, compelling story which I could understand. Lowry took big, complicated ideas and brought them down into one family and one work that was easy to digest for a ten year old. I really want to read The Giver and the whole quartet because everyone who’s read them seems to love them and have a special place in his or her heart for the series.”
Marie:
“I read The Giver when I was in sixth grade. To this day it’s one of my favorite required readings. The creativity of her story and the way it unfolds was so novel to me at the time. It’s affected my view of “excellent writing” ever since then. It was a mind-blowing book for me. It had such a large impact as far as showing me the power of creative writing and what storytelling can do.”
“The Giver is one of the few books I was obligated to read as a kid that I really enjoyed. I can still conjure the feeling I had when I read it. I was totally freaked out! I think it’s spurred a lot of today’s dystopian fiction. One of my favorite books is The Road and I think there was a clear path for me from a book like The Giver to what I’m reading now.”
Tommy:
BookPeople 
Sadly, I won’t be able to make it to the event, but I’ve been a fan of her book “The Giver” when I read it back at around 6th grade or so as part of a library event. It was with a group of other young adults and we read as well as discussed the book together. I no longer have the original book that I read back then, but I still remember the final chapter when Jonas, after a dangerous escape out of his community, hears the faint echos of singing and music.