The Giver

Oh The Giver... I will have to admit that I had never read this book before. I had a lot of expectations though. Every time I would mention that we would be reading The Giver I got pretty much the same reaction from everyone. The would say that they loved the book. Even in class I got the impression that a lot of people liked it considering many people wanted to read it again. But it lived up to all my expectations. Maybe a even a little more.
When I started reading the book I didn't understand exactly what was going on. I thought that the way Jonas was talking was a little different than what I wanted to read. I found myself reading words that weren't in the text because it was how I wanted him to say something. But as I got further along in the book the way it was written was very consistent with the type of community that Jonas lived in. I had mixed feelings about the ceremony part of the book. I thought it was really unfair how all the children celebrated their "birthdays" all on the same day. It really took away from their individuality and grouped them into a general group. I understand it was a characteristic of the community but I really didn't like it. It made me not like the community. When the Elder skipped over Jonas I really felt sad for him. But then I was happy for him because he got the honor of being Receiver. But then when I found out what the job of Receiver meant, I was unhappy again. It was like an emotional roller-coaster for me. The biggest shock I had was about the release. The whole book was making the release this big thing to be celebrated and to look forward to. Then the part about the twin being released by Jonas' father almost made me cry. I really was not expecting anything like that to happen.
Our discussion in class also made me think a lot. Throughout the whole book I really pictured Jonas as a white child, his family white, a nice "dwelling", and dressed in nice clothes. It is so weird how you automatically have these visions of how things are supposed to be. I also envisioned everyone in the community to be white as well as the Giver. The whole idea of the community being colorless also made an impression on me. I think this is a very big concept to get your head around. I think it is even more difficult for a child to do. I cannot imagine things being colorless but I like the way that Jonas was beginning to see color.
I would definitely recommend this book to any young reader. I can completely understand the hype around this book and why Lois Lowry won a Newbery Medal for this book.