Steven Brown and Michael Ullstrup Present
Lois Lowry's
The Giver
ABOUT "THE GIVER."
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"It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened."
Thus opens this haunting novel in which a boy inhabits a seemingly ideal world: a world without conflict, poverty, unemployment, divorce, injustice, or inequality. It is a time in which family values are paramount, teenage rebellion is unheard of, and even good manners are a way of life.
December is the time of the annual Ceremony at which each twelve year old receives a life assignment determined by the Elders. Jonas watches his friend Fiona named Caretaker of the Old and his cheerful pal Asher labeled the Assistant Director of Recreation. But Jonas has been chosen for something special. When his selection leads him to an unnamed man -the man called only the Giver -he begins to sense the dark secrets that underlie the fragile perfection of his world.
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.
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Purchase THE GIVER at Barnes and Noble
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MORE ON THE GIVER........
"The Giver" is a "Newbery Award" Winner that will be read and loved. It's a book that will touch young adults in deep places and inspire meaningful discussion. The Giver is the story of Jonas, an adolescent living in a world that has a decidedly futuristic feel. It is a harmonious world, governed by rules that seem different, but not uncaring.
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From the very beginning there is a strangeness that will make even the most reluctant reader question and keep reading. At the novel's outset, Jonas apprehensively approaches the ceremony of twelve where he is to receive his life assignment. He sees no special aptitude in himself and is shocked when he is given the honored assignment, the Receiver of Memory.
He is to receive from the Giver all the memories of the society. Jonas is given great privileges, new privacy, and information that allows him (and readers) to see through the society's apparent Eden. He learns pains and pleasures that let him see the sterility of the culture and the euphemisms that cloak its inner workings. Suffering under the weight of bearing memories for all, Jonas and the Giver come up with a courageous plan for change.
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Lois Lowry's already had positive response from teachers recounting the success of The Giver with their students. "Teachers are telling me, "she says, "that the kids are having the reactions that I'd wanted. They begin by liking the book and then react like the fifth grade girl, who said, 'I feel like there's something wrong with that book. I'm not sure, but I don't think the people have any feelings.'
One of the most gratifying things I hear from teachers is that it provokes kids to think and talk about what they think. Teachers have written that they've never had a book that provokes as much discussion." Perhaps the book provokes deep thinking because it comes from such a deep place in its author.
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From The Critics
Publishers Weekly
Winner of the 1994 Newbery Medal, this thought-provoking novel centers on a 12-year-old boy's gradual disillusionment with an outwardly utopian futuristic society; in a starred review, PW said, ``Lowry is once again in top form... unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers.'' Ages 10-up. (Sept.)
"Wrought with admirable skill -- the emptiness and menace underlying this Utopia emerge step by inexorable step: a richly provocative novel."
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Children's Literature
Lowry won the Newbery award for this book, her first science fiction story. Jonas is an adolescent living in a world that has a decidedly futuristic feel. When he turns twelve, he gets the job that will last him the rest of his life. He's the Receiver of Memory, the one who receives from the Giver all the memories of his society. Jonas is given great privileges, new privacy, and information that allow him (and readers) to see through the society's apparent Eden. At first his world seems great, but then, bit by bit, she tears away at the perfection she has built.
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Jonas lives in a perfect society. There is no pain, poverty, divorce, delinquency, etc. One's life's work is chosen by the Elders. At the Ceremony of 12, Jonas is shocked to learn that he has been awarded the most prestigious honor. His assignment will be that of Receiver of Memories. He studies with "the Giver," a man he comes to love. Within time he learns the horrifying secrets of his community and must make a decision that will test his courage, intelligence, and stamina. This is a stunning, provocative science fiction story that will inspire discussion.
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The ALAN Review
Winner of the 1994 Newbery Medal, Lowry's thought-provoking fantasy challenges adolescents to explore important social and political issues. The Giver trains twelve-year-old Jonas as the next Receiver of Memory, the community's receptacle of past memories. This seemingly utopian society (without pain, poverty, unemployment, or disorder) is actually a body- and mind-controlling dystopia (without love, colors, sexual feelings, or memories of the past). In an exciting plot twist, Jonas courageously resolves his moral dilemma and affirms the human spirit's power to prevail, to celebrate love, and to transmit memories. From the book jacket's evocative photographic images-The Giver in black and white; trees in blazing color-to the suspenseful conclusion, this book is first-rate. Just as Lowry's Number the Stars (which received the 1990 Newbery Medal) portrays the Danish people's triumph over Nazi persecution, The Giver engages the reader in an equally inspiring victory over totalitarian inhumanity.
