The Giver
A Newbery Award Winner
HarperCollins · Print & ebook · July 1, 2014
In Lois Lowry’s Newbery Medal–winning classic, twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world.
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- Who it’s for
- A lean, thoughtful read that stays sharp long after the last page.
- Themes
- dystopia, memory, identity
- Pacing
- Reflective
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Start with this bookAbout this book
In Lois Lowry’s Newbery Medal–winning classic, twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind his fragile community. Life in the community where Jonas lives is idyllic. Designated birthmothers produce newchildren, who are assigned to appropriate family units. Citizens are assigned their partners and their jobs. No one thinks to ask questions. Everyone obeys.
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Everyone is the same. Except Jonas. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Gradually Jonas learns that power lies in feelings. But when his own power is put to the test—when he must try to save someone he loves—he may not be ready. Is it too soon? Or too late? Told with deceptive simplicity, this is the provocative story of a boy who experiences something incredible and undertakes something impossible. In the telling it questions every value we have taken for granted and reexamines our most deeply held beliefs. The Giver has become one of the most influential novels of our time. Don't miss the powerful companion novels in Lois Lowry's Giver Quartet: Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
Sharp and Spare
A lean, thoughtful read that stays sharp long after the last page.
Come here for
- a spare, unsettling take on values and choice
- the clean, fast pull of a layered YA classic
Expect
- identity questions without a lot of hand-holding
- a vivid, slightly edgy mood
Where it sits
| YA Dystopian Fiction | 99% |
|---|---|
| Coming of Age | 73% |
| YA Science Fiction | 57% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- YA Classics
- Coming of Age
- YA Dystopian Fiction
- YA Family Stories
Show all 8 publisher categories
- YA Stories About Girls & Women
- Emotions & Feelings for Teens
- Finding Your Footing
- Values & Choices
- Authors
- Lois Lowry
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- July 1, 2014
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- dystopia · memory · identity
- Reading lane
- YA Classics
Around this book
- Lois Lowry Says 'The Giver' Was Inspired by Her Father's Memory LossAn interview from NPR. Lowry explains how her father’s memory loss inspired the novel’s imagined world without painful memories.
- In-depth Written Interview with Lois LowryAn interview from TeachingBooks. Lowry reflects on The Giver’s themes, its lasting effect on readers, and the choices at its heart.