The Giver is a Newbery medal-winning juvenile fiction featuring Jonas, a preteen boy of unusual equanimity who lives with his family in a highly controlled community. The town’s systematic management results in what appears to be, in many ways, a nearly idyllic environment. Families, with rare exceptions, get along well. There is gender equality and a fair amount of autonomy. People enjoy their work. All needs are met. Crime is rare, and personal contentment flourishes.
When the community’s twelve-year-olds are assigned their careers, Jonas is named the new Receiver, a position of singular distinction and great honor. In this role, he must receive and safely guard all ancient memories of the society, never sharing them with the other members of the community, because the memories will threaten the peace. As Jonas receives these memories, he begins to understand the enormity of the sacrifice required to sustain their ordered society. The more memories he receives, the less he can conform with the society and, in small ways, he starts to buck the system. Finally, he makes one huge move that will alter not only his life but the entire community irreparably.
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| "But suddenly Jonas had noticed...the apple had changed." |
Based on the rave reviews I’d heard (from friends and family, on NPR, and on Amazon), I was expecting The Giver to be great. Instead, I found it, on the whole, only pretty good. The premise is spectacular, and the story will make children and adults reconsider much of what’s important and beautiful in our flawed world. But the book is undersatisfying because of what the author omits. First, Lowry fails to portray the community’s system as wholly undesirable. I admit, this may be deliberate and not an entirely bad move; the ambiguity can spur discussion and debate in a classroom of young readers. Nevertheless, I was hoping for a deep, dark dystopia. Yes, the story is written for a juvenile audience, and maybe that’s why Lowry keeps it fairly light. But I think that middle-school kids can - and should - handle more intense material. Ironically, and probably unintentionally, Lowry treats her audience like Jonas’s community: She overprotects them, and as a result, they lose an opportunity for emotional growth.
Worse yet, Lowry completely ignores huge and crucial elements of the story. We never see what happens within the community upon Jonas’s final rebellion, and we hardly know what becomes of Jonas either. Just when the book should ramp up, it ends. Maybe Lowry intentionally keeps the book short for her young audience, but if so, she underestimates them again. Children will read a long book if it’s great, and The Giver should have, could have been incredible. Perhaps Lowry will extend it into a series. Unfortunately, I’ve seen no indication of that so far.
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| Lois Lowry |
Lowry’s writing style is perfectly appropriate for preteens. It’s simple but not childish, always clear, well-paced, and engaging. Without question, The Giver will help children and adults understand the importance of diversity and discomfort, as well as the drawbacks associated with heavy controls. Also without question, its premise could have been even more poignant if Lowry had gone bigger and bleaker. I’m casting my ballot for a redeeming sequel.
