Book-to-Movie Review: The Giver, and How it Kind of Surprised Me

Some of you may remember my post last week on 6 Reasons Why I'm Terrified to See the Giver Movie. You may also remember my crazy ranty-ness throughout the post and through other social media avenues the past few weeks as I re-read and reviewed The Giver and had a lot of time to think about everything. I was thoroughly convinced that I would hate every single aspect of the movie and that we'd have a repeat of Beautiful Creatures (I really should write a review on that one for reference, huh?).

I went to see the movie last Friday night with my cousin who grew up on The Giver as I did and had crazy high expectations, and my sister who recently read The Giver for the first time and didn't hold the crazy love in her heart for it like I do, and had little to no expectations. Basically, here's what happened.

THE BEGINNING: My first impressions

As I expected, the beginning started off a lot like Divergent, talking about times of great unrest or something like that. They showed this weird map of the community which I of course scoffed at. The map showed many communities, not just one, and it was this whole strange set up. It looked a bit like a floating island in the sky. That then reminded me of a book by Lauren DeStefano, Perfect Ruin, which indeed was about a floating island in the sky - and the government constantly referring to people as being "lost to the edge" or something to that effect. It was weird - out of place. They could've done anything else to reinforce the fact that the community was isolated and that once you got past the border, memories would go back to the people living there. There was no need for the floating island look with fog around the border. At all.

I was annoyed already, but it was hard to stay mad when I started getting choked up at Jonas' "graduation" ceremony (aka Ceremony of Twelve - because Jonas is like 18 in the movie). It was modern and weird and aged up, but I still couldn't stop the chills skating up my spine at hearing the community chant his name when he was selected.

THE ROMANCE: Did it really affect the story?

I will admit it distracted the crap out of me. I think the movie would have stood just fine if they had played up Jonas lusting after Fiona, developing feelings of "love" as described in the book, but I think the mistake came from making her have feelings back, making her skip her injections, making her rebel, too. Like I mentioned in my post last week, in reality, Jonas would've only had someone else's memory to go off of, and Fiona would have had nothing. Hormones maybe, but don't we think that after living life the way they did, they wouldn't just jump into a romance with ease? I mean, Fiona was freaked out, but I don't think she was freaked out enough considering how things ended up.

I stand by what I said - the actual romance should've been out. Let Jonas feel how he feels, but watching him try to make out with this chick because he had someone else's memories of love and people kissing was just too much.

ASHER WAS A PILOT?: Of all the WTF-ery!

When the kids were assigned their jobs, Fiona was assigned Nurturer. Oh, wait, you noticed something wrong with that, too? Yeah, she was not a Nurturer in the book, she was a Caretaker of the Old. This didn't bother me all that much just because the Nurturing Center played somewhat of a part in story. But Asher, our dear Asher was assigned as a Pilot who flew out of the community limits, probably to deliver things to other communities, but not outside of the real boundaries. Our irresponsible friend almost instantly turns serious, abiding by the rules that Jonas is developing a distaste for. This adds for some extra drama when - gasp - Asher has to hunt down his own friend when Jonas tries to escape. It was wayyyy overdone and not necessary. I think the near-capture scenes would've been just fine if they altered things a little and left that tidbit out. Does it effect anything all that much? No, but like I said, way overdone and it was another thing that made me roll my eyes.

WHAT I LOVED: Yes, there were actual things I enjoyed!

Even with the things I didn't enjoy, e.g., the romance and the overly modern nonsense that you can see right from the trailer, a good portion of the movie stayed marginally close to the book. Surprise, surprise.

I loved Jonas' passion for the memories, the world as he's never seen before, his passion for love and happiness and doing what is right. Brenton Thwaites really pulled this off well. In the book, Jonas' passion doesn't develop until later on, whereas in the movie it's almost instantaneous after Jonas becomes the Receiver, but it was wonderful to watch his thought process play out (even if it was on fast forward).

The acting was on par. In fact, it was above par. Brenton Thwaites did a lovely job as Jonas. I especially loved Odeya Rush as Fiona. Yes, I thought Fiona has too much of a part, but Rush was fantastic playing what was given to her. She got me all worked up at the end. Katie Holmes, Alexander Skarsgård, they were fantastic. TayTay (Swift), however, whom I adore because she's so adorable, was just alright playing Rosemary, a character that had no real part in the book.

I did struggle a bit with Meryl Streep. Not because of the acting - obviously Meryl Streep is a goddess and is amazing. I just struggled because she was another character who has a significantly smaller part that was played way up. It added to the drama and excitement but she was not a likeable character, so that was hard for me.

JEFF BRIDGES. Oh my heart, Jeff Bridges. He played the Giver and he was amazing. He made the movie for me. He was absolutely brilliant. He was exactly what I imagined, though maybe a tad younger and a tad more groomed than the book-Giver. He is one of the main reasons I didn't hate this movie, or why I actually kind of enjoyed it. Jeff Bridges brought the Giver's character to a new level but not like all the other characters, by adding in things about them that aren't true. He was just... perfect. He was another character who brought me to tears.

Which leads me to the main reason I actually kind of enjoyed the movie: THE MEMORIES. The most perfect parts of this movie were the parts that were actually adapted directly from the book. Watching Jonas receive memories was so fun (like his first memory of the sled, or of being on a boat in the ocean at sunset), but then the movie did this thing: it showed a montage memories, of what the world is. We see everything, people dancing, laughing, crying, praying, going to concerts and parties, having babies, dealing with heartbreak, fighting a war, EVERYTHING. Everything that makes this world beautiful and horrible all at once. Let me also point out how beautiful and appropriate it was for them to end of the montages on a picture of Nelson Mandela. Freaking brilliant. It was the one of the most moving things I've ever seen and every time they showed it, I was tearing up like a fool.

OVERALL: It got the point across

All I could think of when we left besides "I don't know what to think" (which is what a ton of people were saying when it was over) was that Lowry was right. Before I went to see the movie, the production company tweeted me a link to a video of Lois Lowry talking about the adaptation:

She mentions how true the movie stays to the book. I remember watching this clip last week before the movie and thinking, psht, how could you call that staying true to the book? Like, was she even watching the same clips that I was?

But after watching I know exactly what she meant. They changed a lot, they really did, and in my opinion some of it was so simple and it didn't even need to be changed (like the weird birthmarks in place of light-colored eyes on the ones who could see/hear Beyond). But still, she was right. I could plainly see that the movie still delivered its message: making people think about what is important, making people appreciate the world in all of its beauty and glory, realizing that we can't forget our history no matter what horrible things have happened, we need to learn from it in order to grow and be better people. If we forget the bad, we lose the good, too. We lose what makes life worth living. I may not have loved the execution but it stayed so true to Lowry's core values and message in the book that I couldn't be mad.

SHOULD YOU GO SEE IT?

Well... that's for you to decide. Like I said, they've changed a lot. If random little changes, the romance and overly-modern work and rebellion are going to bother you that much then honestly, no. I'm not saying you should pass it up entirely, I'm just saying wait for red box, rather than spending 10 bucks to go see it.

If you're more generous like me and you can see past Hollywood's need to make everything more sexy and exciting and focus on the amazing beautiful scenes between Jonas and the Giver which really made the movie for me, then I say yes. It's only 10 bucks right? And if you're as big of a fan as I am, even though some things will down right piss you off, you'll still find that it did its job. Oh and, FYI, for any changes or stupid things I didn't mention specifically, you can just assume that it wasn't important enough to make any kind of impression on me, and if you see this adaptation at all like I do, then those things won't really matter to you either.

And finally, for those of you who haven't read the book and don't plan to, GO SEE THIS MOVIE (even though I'd really love it if you read the book, too). If you have nothing to base it off of, I promise you, you will love it. The things that annoyed me will seem like nothing if you don't have anything to compare to. It's action packed, meaningful, well done as far as production and acting go, and its overall a good movie when it's totally separated from the book.

If I had a chance to re-do the movie, of course there are things I'd change - lots of things. But there are also things I'd leave exactly the same (the memories, mainly, and the wonderfulness that is Jeff Bridges). The Giver movie really, really surprised me by not being the complete disaster I was expecting. I honestly think I'll be going to see it again, to analyze a bit more.

Did you go see the Giver movie yet? What did you think - and were you a fan of the book first? If you haven't seen it, what do think about the trailers and other reviews? Do you think you will go see it or are you staunchly against this adaptation? I can't wait to hear what you thought!

A.

Review: Son by Lois Lowry

ISBN: 9780547887203
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Series: The Giver Quartet #4
Released: October, 2012
Length: 393
Goodreads  |  B&N
*Please note, this review may contain spoilers for the previous books in the series*

     SUMMARY

They called her Water Claire. When she washed up on their shore, no one knew that she came from a society where emotions and colors didn’t exist. That she had become a Vessel at age thirteen. That she had carried a Product at age fourteen. That it had been stolen from her body. Claire had a son. But what became of him she never knew. What was his name? Was he even alive? She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. Now Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice. Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of the Newbery Medal winning book, The Giver,　as well as Gathering Blue and Messenger where a new hero emerges. In this thrilling series finale, the startling and long-awaited conclusion to Lois Lowry’s epic tale culminates in a final clash between good and evil.

     REVIEW

Finally FINALLY after all these years, there is an ending to one of my favorite books in the entire world. I've read The Giver so many times since childhood, I've lost count. Son came out back at the end of 2012. I ordered the entire new hardcover set as soon as Son was released and never read it until now. Maybe I was afraid considering everyone was saying how much they hated it and how horrible it was.

Well, let me just make it clear how much I disagree with those opinions. After reading Gathering Blue which was a bit underwhelming and Messenger which I really enjoyed, I was so eager to read the conclusion. I needed to know about Claire, about Gabe, about how it all happened.

Son is broken up into three parts: the happenings of The Giver from Claire's point of view; what happens to Claire immediately after; and her quest to find the son she lost so many years before. I enjoyed every single part, every single word of this book.

I especially loved reading about Claire in the community of The Giver. It was our first glimpse at that world other than the glimpse we got through Jonas many years ago. It never ceases to fascinate me, that "utopian" society. I wish there was another entire book on it.

I lovelovelovedddd reading about what happened to Claire after The Giver was over. It was beautiful and lovely and tragic all at the same time and I wish things could've happened differently so I wouldn't be sitting here heartbroken before you, but it is what it is. I've accepted it and am beginning the road to recovery.

The final section I suppose was my least favorite but that's because I was less fascinated by Village than I was by Claire's oceanside home for much of the book and by the community of The Giver. But this third part is where all of the action happens, where all of the metaphors and lessons come into play. A lot of people didn't appreciate the villain and what he stood for, but I did. He was so creepy all on his own, but this book spoke to me on a whole other level. Maybe I took things a little too seriously, I don't know, but I really was blown away by the implications of Son and what it portrayed about our world and the evils we succumb to. I won't go on though, or else we'll be here all day.

Aside from the profound meanings deeply rooted in this entire series, especially in Messenger and Son, it really was an emotional ending for me. I've obviously grown attached to the characters over the years and seeing things play out the way they did... it was tragic and heartbreaking but beautiful and gave me a huge sense of satisfaction when it was all said and done. I of course still have so many questions about the little things but I'm okay with never knowing, or with drawing my own conclusions as I have done with Lowry's books for so many years now. I'm happy with how it ended. I am.

     THE BREAKDOWN

RATING: ★★★★ 1/2 - Really enjoyed it!

Son was a brilliant ending to The Giver Quartet after so many years waiting to find out what happened next. I guess I never really expected to know what happened next considering Lois Lowry wasn't exactly known for giving specific and detailed endings to her novels in this series. The deeper meanings and symbolism in this book blew my mind and left me thinking long after I'd finished. It also left me a little creeped out - just sayin'.

I loved Son and I can't wait to read it again to (hopefully) go through it on a less emotional level and really be able to understand everything that is this book, aka Amazingness. I was thrilled with this final book and I can't help but wonder what it was that others found so lacking that they specifically disliked it (or even hated it - gasp). Either way, it was my second favorite in the series next to The Giver and I recommend the entire series to anyone who has read and loved The Giver or to anyone who wants to experience speculative (children's) fiction at its finest.

Have you read Son? Did you read the entire series? What did you think? Were you among those that wasn't happy with it for a conclusion to such a popular series, or were you like me - loving the crap out of this book? I can't wait to hear what you think!


A. 

Messenger by Lois Lowry: I've been lied to all these years!

ISBN: 9780547995670
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Series: The Giver Quartet #3
Released: 2004
Length: 187 pp
Goodreads  |  B&N

*Please note this review may contain spoilers for the previous books in the series. Click here for a spoiler-free review of book 1, The Giver*

     SUMMARY

Trouble is brewing in Village. Once a utopian community that welcomed strangers, Village will soon be cut off to all outsiders. As one of the few able to traverse the forbidding Forest, Matty must deliver the message of Village’s closing and try to convince Seer’s daughter Kira to return with him before it’s too late. But Forest is now hostile to Matty, too, and he must risk everything to fight his way through it.

     REVIEW

After reading Gathering Blue, the second book in this series, and being somewhat disappointed, I didn't think I was going to enjoy Messenger much. It was the one of the three previously published books in the series that I hadn't bothered reading when I was younger (probably because I hadn't loved Gathering Blue back then either) so I had almost no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Messenger was about Matty (formerly Matt in GB) who was pretty much my favorite character.

*Okay, so as a precursor to the rant I'm about to go on, if you haven't read The Giver or Gathering Blue, just turn back now. What I'm about to say will spoil The Giver. Probably not GB and it most certainly isn't a spoiler for this book, Messenger, but if you plan on reading Giver, just come back later.*

So, when Son, the fourth book in this series, was released back in 2012, I had a total freak out. Being a huge fan of the The Giver, I was so excited to find out what happened to Jonas and Gabe and whether or not what they saw at the end of The Giver was real or whether it was a hallucination (I'd always been convinced [or hoped beyond hope] that it was real). A lot of reviews, posts, discussions, etc., even touted Son as the book that would tell me what happened to Jonas and Gabe.

Then I get to Messenger... and I frickin' find out what happened to them. I obviously will go no further, in case you decide you want to know for yourself, but WTF! Seriously, what. the. frig. I felt like I'd been bamboozled. Like I'd been lied to my whole life about this really important thing that happened to a couple of fictional characters that I happened to love like real people. I guess maybe that was my own fault, right? I should've just read Messenger back in the day and been done with it. But I was like 12, what do you want from me? I wasn't the masochist I am now. I wasn't going to read something I wasn't interested in. But I'd been researching this for like... over a decade, trying to figure out what happened to them, and here it was all this time (since 2004, anyway), waiting for me. Why didn't anyone tell me!!!

*For those of you that chose to stick around but wanted no spoilers, it is now safe to read spoiler-free.*

Messenger itself, once I got past that bombshell, was pretty great. It was creepy and it drew me in right from the beginning. Lowry has a knack for creating worlds we need to know more about. This is the third one in this series that she'd created and I'm still in awe. I loved Matt in Gathering Blue and he was still a great character to read about, especially as a lead, in Messenger.

The symbolism is rampant as always, but I can't go into it for fear of 1, going on forever and ever, and 2, spoiling something from the next book. The series has grown up a bit though. Matty is older, a teenager basically, I feel like this hooked me more because I considered it a YA novel rather than MG - obviously it's easier for me to relate to someone ten years younger rather than fifteen. That was also probably the reason I was so much more emotional with this one, too. I played right into Lowry's hands and she tore me right up.

My only gripe, and the thing that made dropped the rating by a whole star, was that as always, Lowry left so much unresolved. Maybe she thinks it's a cool thing to do, like how she ended The Giver. Yes, it worked that once. You don't have to leave me hanging every single time! Not even making 200 pages, I feel like if she'd made Messenger just a smidge longer, as long as the other books maybe which would have added about 30-50, she could have resolved the one other important thing (which yes, is kind of explained in the final book, but still!) and it would have been a really fantastic book.

Either way, I guess it doesn't matter since I know how that part of the story resolves now that I've read Son. So with that being said, I really did enjoy Messenger, almost as much as I loved The Giver.... almost. :)

RATING: ★★★★ - Enjoyed it!

I'd heard so many things about the two companion books to The Giver over the years, mainly about how crappy they are compared to The Giver. I won't make any excuses for Gathering Blue, but I was so pleasantly surprised by Messenger that I still have a hard time finding why it's so disliked. It drew me in from the beginning with (limited as always, but still) great world-building, characters you can understand, relate to and grow to care for and love, and simple but beautiful and profound writing that always manages to send one heck of a powerful message. I like to think of Matty as being the one to deliver this particular message (once you read this book, you'll know what I mean...).

I enjoyed Messenger so much and am glad that I finally decided to continue the series. Have any of you read Messenger? What did you think - as compared to Giver, to Gathering Blue, on its own? Did you, like me, find yourself surprised by how much you enjoyed it and enjoyed being sucked into a story like you'd been with The Giver? Or did you think it fell flat? If you did, was it because of the lack of resolution for certain parts of the plot?

Can't wait to hear what you think about this one!

A.

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry: That Time I Was So Let Down by a Favorite Author

ISBN: 9780547995687
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover/eBook (alternating)
Series: The Giver Quartet #2
Released: January, 2000
Length: 241 pp
Goodreads  |  B&N

     SUMMARY

It is a society ruled by savagery and deceit that shuns and discards the weak. Left orphaned and physically flawed, young Kira faces a frightening, uncertain future. Blessed with an almost magical talent that keeps her alive, she struggles with ever broadening responsibilities in her quest for truth, discovering things that will change her life forever.

     REVIEW

I remembered from long ago... back in the day (am I old enough to use "back in the day" now? Do I have a "day"?) picking up this book in the book store back home. I was probably around 12 or 13, and I was excited that there was a (supposed) sequel to my favorite book at the time! I also remember being pretty disappointed. The thing I didn't remember was why.

I went into this one after re-reading The Giver, which is still one of my favorite books of all time, a bit apprehensive because I knew from some vague experience that I didn't love this one. Not to mention the the ratings for this one were quite a bit lower than they were for Giver. The first few chapter dragged, though I think that was all in my head. I had been psyching myself out so I'd totally given myself bad juju where this book was concerned.

Eventually I forced myself to dive in and actually found myself enjoying the novel. I finished the more than half that was left in one sitting. The book gave me a similar feeling to when I read The Giver, in the sense that I was interested in what was happening, I was intrigued by this new world Lowry had created and I cared about Kira, the main character, and her little companion Matt.

Then... (cue dreadful sound drum sound) I got to the ending. And I was like... what? I kinda sorta didn't exactly remember the twist that was coming, but I kinda sorta did, so I wasn't necessarily surprised by it, but I was surprised by the way it was handled. Basically: WTF?

Kira, the main character, was pretty passive and naive on some important things in the novel, but she was strong and resilient, enough that I didn't mind it. I took her passiveness as a trait she'd grown up with and wasn't something that would be easily changed.

So anyway, when we get to a mostly predictable but still pretty great plot twist - Lowry does nothing with it!! It was like the inconclusive ending to top all other inconclusive endings. I know what you're thinking - why am I so mad when Giver had a hell of an inconclusive ending? NO. Giver was totally different and you know it! (This is where I stomp my feet and call you a poopie head. This book put me in full on tantrum mode). In The Giver, Jonas did something, something was happening, we just didn't know what he fate was after he did.

Kira, in Gathering Blue, was given this news, a sort of solution to the problem that had been building for most of the book, and instead of doing what I expected her to do (which still would've been pretty lame and the easy way out, though she would have at least been doing something), she did nothing. I guess she technically does something but it is literally in no way shape or form explained. We can make some sort of assumption, but it's not even like with Jonas in Giver where the conclusions are nearly drawn for you and you just have to pick which one to believe. No. We just seriously don't know what the point of Kira's decisions are because it isn't explained well.

Damnit. I sound like I really hated this book, don't I? I didn't, but I really hated the ending. The only saving grace is that there are two more book in the series. Thank God I'm reading them now when they're already published. These books were released years and years apart. Imagine the immense frustration after reading this one if I had to wait five years for the next book to come out!?

Either way, the writing was simple but wonderful as always and Kira was a character I ended up caring about. I loved Matt, the main character's young friend, especially, and the world-building, while not terribly in-depth, was sufficient - until the ending! Grrrrr. Okay. I'm done now.

RATING: ★★★ 1/2 - Liked it

Despite the crazy rant I just went on, I actually liked this book. Lois Lowry has a beautiful writing style and she builds unique worlds that I feel like I just need to know more about. She just has this special talent for using her fictional worlds to help others understand our real one.

Though the ending was the complete and total opposite of what I deem to be satisfying and acceptable, it was a good addition to the Quartet and definitely made me think about what I value in life and whether I'm placing importance on the right things.

Have you read Gathering Blue? It definitely doesn't hold a candle to The Giver which is one of my favorite books of all time, but I enjoyed it nonetheless and look forward to continuing the series. Did you enjoy it? Who can resist Matt? I mean come on!

Tell me what you thought!

A.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

ISBN: 9780547995663
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Series: The Giver Quartet #1
Released: 1993
Goodreads  |  B&N

     SUMMARY

The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Lois Lowry has written three companion novels to The Giver, including Gathering Blue, Messenger,and Son.

     REVIEW

I first read The Giver in my 7th grade English class. I can't remember the teacher's name - only that I didn't like her much and I don't think she liked me. I didn't like the class as a whole either. Actually, I never much liked any of my English classes or teachers. This is difficult even for me to believe (it must be blasphemy) since I am, and almost always have been (there was this period during high school...), the book nerd I am today. I liked my English Tech class in 11th grade, where we used computers to do more cool book-related things rather than sitting at a desk and handing in traditional essays (I still have the portfolio/binder thingy they made us put together. Oh my God, I'm totally uploading those!) Anyway, I digress. The only thing I remember liking about my 7th grade English class was this book. It stayed with me for quite a while after I read it that first time.

In the years to come, I would re-read this book several times, forcing it on anyone who made the mistake of asking me for a book recommendation or asking what my favorite book was. If I can think of one reason why I loved it so much at the young age of twelve years old (Jonas's age. Coincidence?), it probably wouldn't be for the reasons I love it so much today. I probably loved it for exactly the same reasons that dystopian novels are all the rage these days (slowly fading, but still flooding the market). Seeing such a drastically different world was intriguing, it was fascinating.

Of course, I'm sure the class discussed all the hidden meanings and deeper reasons while we were reading it because obviously that's the point of English class, but I was twelve and definitely didn't care. Nowadays, these things are much more important to me. Okay, I lie. They're only a little bit more important to me. I usually just like a good story, but it's books like The Giver that make me think that end up staying with me for much longer than a smutty romance or fun mystery do (not that there aren't romance or mysteries that defy this logic - I'm just sayin').

I read Fahrenheit 451 earlier this year and in the copy I read was an Introduction by Neil Gaiman that goes into lengthy, but nevertheless enlightening, detail about dystopian novels. "...although [speculative fiction] doesn’t try to predict an actual future with all its messy confusion. Instead, [speculative fiction] takes an element of life today, something clear and obvious and normally something troubling, and asks what would happen if that thing, that one thing, became bigger, became all-pervasive, changed the way we thought and behaved." Gaiman explained.

He went on to say, “People think—wrongly—that speculative fiction is about predicting the future, but it isn't; or if it is, it tends to do a rotten job of it. Futures are huge things that come with many elements and a billion variables, and the human race has a habit of listening to predictions for what the future will bring and then doing something quite different.What speculative fiction is really good at is not the future but the present—taking an aspect of it that troubles or is dangerous, and extending and extrapolating that aspect into something that allows the people of that time to see what they are doing from a different angle and from a different place. It’s cautionary."

In other words, maybe we don't need to worry about our society somehow losing it's color and weather and losing all capacity for human emotion, but it's a way to look at, "if we continue on this road," with many aspects of the world today, such as individuality, especially, as it's being challenged across the globe. We may be an advanced society but you know as well as I do that this is a problem in homes between people as well as with the government and its citizens.

Maybe I'll stop rambling now. I could go on forever about the political, moral and social aspects this book touches on, but somehow I don't think you'd care all that much.I suppose you'd like to know about the actual book, not just the ramblings in my head.

Coming from the standpoint of someone who loved the book, I obviously think it is amazing. The world-building, while after a certain point doesn't go as in-depth as one may wish, is perfect for the story. We learn about all the little rules Community has and at first glance, it doesn't seem so bad. How many of us haven't thought, "if no one was hungry, no one hurt, no one was different, we'd all be happy"? Then we're reminded of what real life is like, which still makes the Community look pretty good (considering humans have an affinity for trying to blow each other up) but the Giver says in the story, “We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others.” They achieved Sameness for the entire community, there was no pain or hunger or sadness, but there also wasn't true happiness, joy, colors, seasons, love, or freaking hills. Of course, now we know those are things we'd never give up in exchange for never going hungry, feeling sad, being hungry... or would we?

Whatever your standpoint is on the themes and messages of the book are, the book at it's core is amazing. The writing, while simple, is powerful. It is considered middle grade, so when I say simple, I mean it, but this never bothered me - not once. Jonas is a character that is easy to like, to identify with and empathize with, along with the Giver and some of the other minor characters. Even after all this time and this many re-reads, The Giver still manages to speak to me and turn me into an emotional mess like it's the first time.

RATING: ★★★★★ - Absolutely loved it!

The Giver is one of my favorite books of all time so it's a little hard for me not to gush, and hopefully I was able to give you more than just an "ohmigod I love this book" reason to pick it up and read it yourself. I'm reading the next book in the series, Gathering Blue, which if I remember correctly, I didn't love nearly as much as The Giver but I'm incredibly anxious to finally read Son which was released at the end of 2012. Fans of this book will understand how the ending of The Giver will give me the motivation to wade through two mediocre books to find out what happened next in Son.

Have you read The Giver? Is it something you picked up recently for the first time in anticipation of the movie (which I think is going to suck balls, but that topic is for another time, another blog post), or has it been a favorite since childhood like it was for me? I love discussing favorites! Let's talk books!


A.