The Giver

    In  this blog post, I reviewed Lois Lowry’s The Giver, the first installment in the Giver YA dystopian series, this timeless classic is compelling and a fascinating read. For Jonas, he’s just a 12-year-old boy who lived in a community where you have to obey orders in school, in society, and also at home. Some words you can’t speak of or feel. It wasn’t allowed. At the Ceremony, he waited for his turn to be given a societal role and duty like a chosen career. At the end, he was shocked he was passed over for some reason. Later, he learned that he was given the most coveted role of being the Receiver in training in the Giver. And there, he began his training with the Giver, an old man who shared with him memories of the past to feel love, experience colors, and learn pain. During this apprenticeship, he learned more about the role and the Giver himself. But when it became enough when the newchild Gabe was to be Released along with a weak twin, he asked the Giver about Release and how to change society’s rules. They planned how he could break away to escape to Elsewhere. Throughout it all, he would risk it all to make change and to find freedom in a whole new world.

This  gripping YA dystopian is tailor-made for all ages for this coming-to-ages story. I cared for Jonas and the dangerous role that had befallen upon him. He had to endure it all and keep it as a secret between him and the Giver, who was weak and old. The futuristic location is mesmerizing and enchanted like anything you read in an ordinary and strict world. The theme of the story is that it takes one person to change the world, one step at a time, to learn about feelings that we all experience as memories from the past. 

This amazing YA dystopian novel is intriguing and compelling.  I rated this book, four out of five stars for no reason. If you love YA dystopian novels that focus on a new version for the future, and is filled with non-stop dramatic action, plenty of suspense, and exciting page-turning tension, the Giver is a must-read for you. This book is recommended for those who love dystopian novels like the Handmaid’s Tale and other futuristic novels that scintillate the mind.