The Giver by Lois Lowry | Book Review

Hello again and welcome to Danwhitebooks! In today's video I'm reviewing The Giver by Lois Lowry.
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The Giver (Paperback) - amzn.to/3DgguvQ
The Giver (Hardback) as seen in video - amzn.to/2XviWhZ
Next week's book review is Billy Summers by Stephen King - amzn.to/3hD5EH7
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[@Johnnybomb1]

"But perhaps it was only an echo."
I remember reading this book back in the 6th grade for an assignment. We had to read a chapter per day for a month, if I remember correctly. Anyway, it was the first book to ever intrigue me, and I ended up reading it in just two weeks. 😅
Looking back as an adult, it's clear that Lowry was heavily inspired by works like 1984.

[@TH3F4LC0Nx]

This was one of the first really "important" books I ever read. Read it when I was 9. When Jonas finds out what his dad does to the reject babies...that changed the game. Looking back, it really is kinda like Brave New World for kids. Yeah, it's a little simplistic, at least for an adult, but it did in a way prepare me for reading other, bigger books later on, like Huxley's. So I'll always owe The Giver a certain debt.

[@DanWhiteBooks]

I sense I would have really enjoyed this book as a kid considering how much I love dystopian fiction now. It was one I missed unfortunately. The baby scene is rather shocking, especially the way it's described. It's all so care free, like something straight out of a horror book.

[@supersmartgaming1233]

As a very historic kid I’m reading this book (on chapter 13) and in school the theory I suggested is “A world without Religion in the future and they all love communism..” When I got to the chapter I’m on I was like “IM RIGHT!”

[@andrewschuschu3499]

We can call it simplistic, but I think that’s the whole point. Its meant to be simple. Simple things ignore the reality of nuance. They ignore color. They ignore emotion. They ignore love. They ignore that people are dynamic and capable of change. They ignore choice. They ignore freedom.
We can’t contain those things. Life is inherently dangerous and we have to allow for those nuances to exist. The book is supposed to feel “wrong.” Because that life of oligarchic control- IS wrong. You’re supposed to feel like “wait what the hell happened” at the end- because, literally, this world, should not happen.
Jonas realizing that a nuanced world is one of love and freedom, and sometimes pain, which is better than one of oligarchic predictability is the whole point. This book is supposed to feel “wrong.”

[@TheUniqueen999]

I've read a really good dystopian book before titled 'Matched' by Ally Condie

[@troytradup]

It will be interesting to see if your feeling toward ambiguous endings changes as you grow older. I know mine did. Now I think I prefer them in a way, because they seem more like real life to me. Actually, if I'm perfectly honest, I've sort of reached a point where I'm only interested in the setup of stories (novels and movies) and don't really care at all about the resolution. Hm ...

[@DanWhiteBooks]

I just love closure, however I'm open to the thought. Many things have changed with me over the years and that may just be another. I think there's a way of doing ambiguous endings and I didn't feel it was particularly good in this book. It was so sudden, like a film cutting to black.

[@GabrielTheMagolorMain]

My kid just read this for school and I had him listen to your review, as I find that helpful for me even sometimes after I’ve read a book. His teacher said he was struggling with some of the more macro/societal consequences in this novel. This was such a wonderful thought out review, and very helpful, thank you!
He totally agrees with you about the ending as well. 😊

[@DanWhiteBooks]

What a lovely story. Thank you, and I'm glad I could help 🙂

[@PloKoonTheOne]

I read this in 3rd grade by accident in my thirst for knowledge and it was hard to understand what was going on back then.