Saturday, April 28, 2007

The Giver



The Giver by Lois Lowry

Finished April 28th, 2007

Rating: 9/10

Dystopian Challenge Book #1




This is the first book I read for the Dystopian Challenge and I am so glad I signed up for this Challenge or I probably would never have come across this book.

I won't go into too many details as there are a number of people who will be reading this book for this challenge. The book is about a utopian society but as the book progesses the reader quickly learns that although there is no hunger, pain or war the matter of choice is missing. Every aspect of these people's lives are planned, from what jobs they will be assigned to who their spouses will be to the number of children they will be given.

It was a very easy read and I think the author did a good job of explaining the good and the bad of the utopian society in this book, such as the climate is controlled so one does not need to worry about getting too cold or too hot or have to deal with the rain. However at the same time they miss out on the good things that come with the weather such as the ability to make a snowman, the warmth of the sunshine on our faces or the pleasure of curling up inside a house and listening to the pitter patter of the rain.

This book makes a great choice for a book club as there are so many topics within it to explore and discuss. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

2 comments:

Ryan Hines said...

The thing i like about this book is how easy of a read it is and how powerful the message it is. Not many people can accomplish that and bring such powerful themes to kids as young as 8th grade. I picked it up a year ago for the second time and it was still an interesting read for a 20 year old. I agree with your rating, and i love the blog, keep sharing.

alisonwonderland said...

i hadn't read The Giver until last year, after a friend recommended it. i absolutely loved it!