The Giver Book Review

Today, we will be reviewing the classic novel The Giver by Lois Lowry, a classic dystopian novel that changed the genre as we know it. Keep reading to find out what we thought of the novel and if you should add it to your to-read list!

The Giver Summary

12-year-old Jonas lives in a community that is isolated and everyone is assigned a role. The annual Ceremony of Twelve is going to take place soon and has Jonas worried. He will be assigned a job for the rest of his career by the elders and is nervous about it. But things take an unexpected turn and changes the course of Jonas’ life and everything he knew about the Community he grew up in.

Commentary

Normally, the book summaries are often longer but I feel like what makes The Giver a fun read is all the surprises the novel is filled with. I don’t want to spoil any of them because they were a big reason why I enjoyed the book as much as I did and want anyone reading the book for the first time to experience the same feelings I did.

The novel was first released in 1993 and went on to win the 1994 Newbery Medal and has gone on to sell over 12 million copies since publication. I was surprised to find out that this novel was part of a book series. And after looking into the other books, I found out that they follow different characters in the same world.

Dystopian Novels

The dystopian genre wasn’t always targeted towards young adults. They often were written for adults as they tackled heavy themes such as war and political unrest. The first dystopian novels written in the early 1900’s on the heels of World War I. Fears of totalitarianism and global anxiety were prevalent in early dystopian novels.

In 1993, Lowry’s The Giver flipped the script as it was one of the first dystopian novels written for young adults. Even after that, the genre was still mostly targeted towards adults but that changed with Suzanne’ Collins’ The Hunger Games. Without The Giver, there wouldn’t have The Hunger Games or the influx of dystopian novels written in the 2010’s that were written for young adults.

Conclusion

I enjoyed reading The Giver and will be giving the other book in the series a chance. The world that Lowry creates is fascinating and we don’t learn too much about it in this one book. After reading The Giver, I can see why it resonated with millions of readers and how it was different than your typical dystopian novel. This is a novel I recommend everyone to read. Happy reading!

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