The Book



Title: The Giver
Author: Lois Lowry
Synopsis: This haunting story centers on Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he’s given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community.


Award(s): Newbery Medal (1994), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Children’s Literature (1994), School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, Golden Duck Award for Hal Clement Award for Young Adult (1994), Booklist Editors’ Choice (1994) Garden State Book Award for Teen Fiction Grades 6-8 (1996), Rebecca Caudill Young Reader’s Book Award (1996), Buckeye Children’s Book Award for Grade 6-8 (1997), Grand Canyon Reader Award for Teen Book (1995), Golden Sower Award for Young Adult (1995), Pennsylvania Young Readers’ Choice Award for Grades 3-8 (1995), Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader’s Choice Award for Senior (1996), New Mexico Land of Enchantment Award (1997), Wyoming Soaring Eagle Nominee (1996), Regina Medal (1994), William Allen White Award (1996), Wyoming Indian Paintbrush Nominee (1996), NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature Nominee (2013), Oklahoma Sequoyah Award for YA (1996), Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor for Fiction (1993)
Rating: 5 out of 5 fairies
Review: I was introduced to this book when I was a preteen I think. Maybe a little younger. It changed my life in so many ways. This book is a work of art, and should be required reading for everyone. It’s a lot of important life lessons and morals packed into a book that somehow manages to avoid sounding preachy.
Fun Fact: The Giver is actually the first book in a quartet. It is followed by Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.

The Movie

Title: The Giver
Released: 2014
Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Screenplay: Michael Mitnick and Robert B. Weide
Rating: PG-13
Award(s): Heartland Film 2014, Won Truly Moving Picture Award
Rating: 5 out of 5 fairies
Review: This is one of those rare moments when I feel like the movie actually captures the spirit of the book. I was genuinely impressed, and I highly recommend that people see this book.