Review of The Giver by Lois Lowry

Review of Lois Lowry's The Giver

Release Date: 1993

Synopsis as found on GoodReads.com:

Jonas' world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

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I really missed out by going to a private school for my Middle School years. Although, I would not have appreciated this book as much as I did back then as I do now. Long before I had ever even heard the term dystopian, Lois Lowry was opening up the door for some of my favorite books to be created. Without this groundbreaking series, where would we be today.

Even though it totals less than 180 pages and took me less than a day to read, The Giver
really packs a punch in the storytelling department. I can vividly see the community that Jonas lives in and the world that he has grown up in. When he began to receive images of pain & loss, the descriptions made me grieve with him. Little can be said negative about this book... except that I was left wondering what happened to him at the ending.

I immediately searched the internet to find out, because after re-reading the last few pages, I still didn't know. I am NOT a fan of ambiguous endings. I got my answer in that I need to keep reading until I get to the 4th installment in this series to find out Jonas' definitive end.