Review of *The Giver* by Lois Lowry

Okay I have to pull myself away from internet research to find out why Lois Lowry wanted a photo of this man on the cover. Not why there's an old man on the cover--he looks like he could portray The Giver from the story--but why this man? Lois Lowry is credited with the photograph and I found out that Cliff Nielsen is the cover artist! To re-cap, Cliff has created the cover art for Ice by Sarah Beth Durst and The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare. But I wonder if Lois knew the man she photographed and why it's important for the cover of her book. It would be awesome if it was simply, "I thought he looked cool".

Although I don't love the cover, myself. It's actually put me off reading the book. I only took it up because I found the title on a list of dystopian themed books and I thought I'd give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised.

I really like The Giver. I'm still disturbed by the ending. It's a book that I can see myself reading again sometime just so I don't miss anything. Although I've seen alot of online reviews from people who have hated this book; I don't think it's for everyone. I love how strange it is--I took a lot out of this book, and simultaneously, nothing. I found it ultimately jarring.

An airplane accidentally flies over the town/compound(?) where Jonas lives and a voice from the public speaker system instructs everyone to stay inside their dwellings. The only other time a plane has been illegally seen by people is when a cargo plane lands to bring them their supplies. After a few minutes of confusion, the speaker announces that "Needless to say, he will be released", meaning the pilot. However you soon find out what it means exactly to "be released".

Up to half of the story in The Giver is setting the stage for a possible utopian future where pain and confusion have been eradicated, where families live together joined by empathy and consideration, and where all choices are made for you, eliminating the anxiety of possible regret or guilt. While I was reading I was thinking, "Hey some of these ideas aren't so bad". I even loved Jonas' father who is a caregiver for the government; he takes care of the babies produced by the birthmothers and makes sure they have a proper start before they are given to a family.

And then Jonas turns twelve and, like everyone else who turns twelve or has ever turned twelve in this community, he is assigned his career for life. And he is called upon to be the Receiver. Receiver of what? Jonas soon meets The Giver, the most important member of his society, and finds out the price of living in a utopia.

I really don't want to give too much away. I went in with no background info and loved finding out as I went along. Even the back cover synopsis of my edition keeps it wonderfully vague. I guess I wasn't surprised by how sophisticated the story is because of its awards and recognition, but I really enjoyed its depth. The Giver actually makes you see the necessity of pain in life and its absolute meaninglessness. And that ending...

The world in The Giver depicts more of a social dystopia or anti-utopia. There is no technology, no religion, and no Outside. I was also excited about its magic-realism elements (just the smallest dash) and the mythic manifestation of the human psyche. The Giver is a little hard to classify.

Mandy