The Giver by Lois Lowry | Teen Ink

The Giver by Lois Lowry MAG

By Bapalapa2 ELITE, Brooklyn, New York
Bapalapa2 ELITE, Brooklyn, New York
1044 articles 0 photos 1 comment

After reading The Giver, I was left confused and disappointed. It seemed as if it would be interesting, but you can't judge a book by its cover. The contents were dull and predictable. Quite honestly, I wouldn't recommend it to any reader seeking a fine piece of literature. It just doesn't suffice.

The Giver is about a young boy named Jonas. He resides in a futuristic society in which each citizen is assigned a job, a spouse, and children. The children are born to mothers who will never get to see them. Trying not to give anymore away, I will only say that Jonas is assigned an important job and is challenged with the release of an innocent child. Jonas is left with the option of leaving his home, job, and family to save the child, or facing the harsh reality of his community and job, and enduring the release of the child.

This book was dreadful. I became more and more dissatisfied with each page. It was a waste of time and hardly made sense. I'll admit, there were a few interesting lines, but far too few to continue reading after the first chapter. Although I finished it, I regret doing so. It was, by far, the worst book I've ever picked up. It proved to be mediocre, no better than what the average person could conceive. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.


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This article has 587 comments.


on May. 13 2014 at 10:05 am
The giver is a very unique book and after reading it I found that it was a very complex book.

HayleyFther said...
on May. 1 2014 at 5:45 am
HayleyFther, New Hill, North Carolina
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life, it goes on.” -Robert Frost

I read this book and even though there are some points that i got tired and almost stopped reading,I still think it's worth to give it a try.

Larkbird GOLD said...
on Apr. 14 2014 at 1:38 pm
Larkbird GOLD, Pagosa Springs, Colorado
17 articles 1 photo 18 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is no point in working towards something that you do not want.

and we find out even more about him by reading Gathering Blue and Son ;)

Larkbird GOLD said...
on Apr. 14 2014 at 1:29 pm
Larkbird GOLD, Pagosa Springs, Colorado
17 articles 1 photo 18 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is no point in working towards something that you do not want.

I cannot agree with you more. I have also read the quartet and have found that the workings that the author undertakes in combining the books is simply remarkable. And i cannot say that The Giver by itself is a dull read either. It, like all the other books, gives us some of the best thought out symbolism and makes it readable to children. 

on Mar. 27 2014 at 3:20 pm
Mister_J PLATINUM, Colorado Springs, Colorado
42 articles 3 photos 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Captain, I wish to report a mutiny. I can name fingers and point names." - Captain Jack Sparrow

Some people here say that this book was very "childish" and "intended for children" but I don't think so. I found it a very good book, and it teaches people that creativity and breaking out from everyday order can be a good thing.

on Mar. 25 2014 at 9:53 pm
JesusandHisLawyers SILVER, Austin, Texas
7 articles 0 photos 99 comments

Favorite Quote:
"who the fuck has a favorite personal quote what does that even mean" - me, just now.

I feel like I've posted about the Giver before, so bare with me. The Giver is, at its core, a book intended for children with a very simple and childish understanding of literature, and by extension, what makes good literature. It takes some concepts that have been used before many times, and often used better (I think sombody mentioned Anthem?) and wraps them into an easy to swallow and simplistic chunk of nothing. That's what it is, really. Nothing. Charactres so flat that you can't help but not care what happens, plot that barely chugs along, and a universe so lazily crafted that after a certain point you stop caring about the inconsistentcies and unexplained bits. It was a desperate grab for a Puilitzer and it worked, it was "deep" and it was "thought-provoking", but only in a bare-boned and childish way. And I guess that's what they were looking for.

on Mar. 19 2014 at 12:27 pm
EllyApolloRose GOLD, Washington, Pennsylvania
14 articles 18 photos 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
"When you’re alone, you can make any choice you want. But when someone loves you, you lose that right."
-Alice Paul in Iron Jawed Angels

I completely agree, this book was awsome!! Have you read any of the sequals?

on Mar. 19 2014 at 12:25 pm
EllyApolloRose GOLD, Washington, Pennsylvania
14 articles 18 photos 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
"When you’re alone, you can make any choice you want. But when someone loves you, you lose that right."
-Alice Paul in Iron Jawed Angels

I really loved this book, but when you read it, you have to keep an open mind. It was very confusing at first, but when i reread it, it was better. There are multiple sequals/books about the same utopian world. If you still have problems understanding the book, you should also read the others, they might help you understand it a little better. This is just my opinion though, but i really love the "what if" factor of utopian books.

on Mar. 9 2014 at 9:26 am
WrappedUpInBooks, -, New Jersey
0 articles 0 photos 4 comments
I read this in the seventh grade and was not very interested. I've been meaning to re-read it, but to be honest my memory of it is basically summed up by this review. It was a bit confusing and the end really bugged me. Out of all the dystopian fiction I have read, this was probably my least favorite. 

Funne GOLD said...
on Feb. 5 2014 at 6:18 pm
Funne GOLD, Cleveland, Ohio
19 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I never ask a man what his business is, for it never interests me. What I ask him about are his thoughts and dreams."

-H.P Lovecraft

This is a very good book to me. I think it shows why a Utopia might not be a good idea. 

on Feb. 4 2014 at 12:33 pm
wildandfree13 BRONZE, Littleton, Colorado
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Dreams Aren't Always Meant for Sleeping

i completly disagree this book was interesting and worth while reading this book was very intersting 

on Feb. 4 2014 at 12:32 pm
HelloKitty456 BRONZE, Littleton, Colorado
2 articles 0 photos 1 comment
WildandFree13 says you make Horrible Book Review and disagrees.

on Jan. 5 2014 at 11:27 pm
well said. noone could hav said it better

cometear said...
on Nov. 8 2013 at 3:11 pm
I competely agree. This book sucked.

on Oct. 24 2013 at 11:36 pm
ThomasB9 BRONZE, Newton, Massachusetts
3 articles 0 photos 3 comments
I have to disagree. The giver is anything but a dull and predictable book and that is the exact word I would use to describe it, fine. The plot is enticing and makes you want to keep reading. And the idea of a world where you have to learn to see color is incredible. Lois Lowry composes an unforgettable piece, inextricable from the group of top kids novels of all time.

on Sep. 10 2013 at 5:06 pm
the book was confusing since u dont hav any experience to relate to in terms of finding the lights and all. and my teaxcher completely changed the meaning so that might hav beeen the reson  didnt get i. frankly, he thought he knew everything. anything he says is right. at the end of the book he said that the kids die cuz thats what happens when u faint or something, u c what u wanna c or something?? anyway he "faints and "dies" at the end of the book. so i was confused. i asked him a billion times if hes sure thats right that he died. he said yes. i asked him how bout if hes wrong. he said hes most likely almost defineltly not wrong. later i ound out the boy does live. i get the whole thing. Whoop de doo, so know i understad that book, only not a few parts. i wonder what other parts he said qwrong......................................................

on Aug. 9 2013 at 10:00 am
Kestrel PLATINUM, Warrenton, Virginia
29 articles 11 photos 189 comments

Favorite Quote:
-There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. (Shakespeare, Hamlet)

While I enjoyed The Giver the first (and only) time I read the book, I now agree whole-heartedly with you, as I have since read Anthem by Ayn Rand. Anthem was written literally decades before The Giver, and is the exact same concept, with almost identical characters and plot developement, only it is written beautifully. You should read it next; it is very short, and unlike The Giver, it is original.

on Jun. 1 2013 at 7:52 pm
ramfthomas4 PLATINUM, South Bend, Indiana
26 articles 1 photo 98 comments

Favorite Quote:
“If the present world go astray, the cause is in you, in you it is to be sought.”
― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

I'm sorry, but I disagree with you.  I read this book and would recommend it to any aquantaince.  It is truly a fine piece of literature.  If one is expecting the usual sci-fi action adventure, I could see how you would be disapointed, but I found this to be a meaningful and poignant read.

Bookworm77 said...
on May. 1 2013 at 10:26 pm
I have to completely disagree, when read correctly and thoroughly, this book is one of the best novels writtenin modern society. To understand the novel, you must understand symbolism and you must be able to correctly identify many symbols in very close relation while actively reading the book (taking notes on book, re-reading sections). Once fully read correctly, the book is by far, one of the best books I've ever read, but you have read carefully and slowly and understand the allusions and symbolisms that the book is almost entirely made up of.

Brittmiller said...
on May. 1 2013 at 9:00 am
Brittmiller, Talking Rock, Georgia
0 articles 1 photo 1 comment
There are many other books after it if you read all of them it may make more sense to you.