There has been a renewed interest in dystopian books recently. And if this is a genre you really like, I recommend The Giver by Lois Lowry. This is a young adult book about a perfect society. The book deals with love, difficult choices, and perseverance.
In The Giver, Jonas, a twelve-year-old boy, experiences a profound sense of alienation within his community, feeling distinctly different and struggling to find his place. At the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas receives a unique job that holds all the secrets of his community. He and his instructor, the Giver, share memories with each other and receive different memories every day. Jonas is eager to gain different memories and discovers that no one else can feel what he feels from the memories. He learns that his community is hiding something from everyone. Jonas goes on a journey trying to change this so people can feel the things he feels.
In The Giver, the community hopes to achieve a seemingly flawless world without negative experiences, marked by an unsettling uniformity. However, this pursuit of perfection demands the suppression of emotions, and strict adherence to sameness is enforced, discouraging any hint of individuality. The governing elders believe that by ensuring everything remains uniform, they can eliminate conflicts and problems within the society. You might like the idea of a perfect world where there are no problems, conflicts, or worries, but you would lack the small things you don’t even realize you have in your everyday life, such as seeing color, deep emotion, and freedom.
I believe The Giver is truly outstanding, and I highly recommend it for readers in 8th through 12th grade. Once I dug into the book, I found it captivating—I couldn’t stop reading. Each page had me absorbed, eagerly looking forward to what would unfold next, making it nearly impossible to set the book aside. I could picture the scenes and imagine my life if it were like the book. West Branch student Mollie Hall says, “I really enjoyed this book. It is one of the books I got lost in while reading it. I like the book much better than the movie because while reading it, I was able to picture the characters in my head.” This book provides a valuable lesson: the importance of embracing both good and bad experiences. Additionally, it emphasizes that recognizing the past is essential for the well-being of current and future generations.
The Giver is a dystopian book about living in a perfect world, but there is a price to living in a flawless world. They lack simple things that we feel and have every day. Would you give up all feelings and basic privileges to live in a perfect world?
Interested? Borrow a copy from the library and curl up with a good book over Thanksgiving break.
