Book Review: The Giver

The Giver by Lowis Lowry, Reading level: Young Adult, Paperback: 208 pages, Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (January 24, 2006), ISBN-10: 0385732554

Rating: 4 of 5 STARs, 5 of 5 STARs (my rating!)
Source: The first selection for Mary's book club - If Books Could Talk! :-)

Mary has had a heart to put a book club together for some time now and she and her friend E finally did it. They had their first meeting last Friday. Mary was a little disappointed that only two other girls came, but they had a wonderful discussion on this great, great book. They gave it an overall rating of 4 STARs.

We started off by taping the names of two characters to each girl's back and having them try to figure out their characters by asking yes/no questions of each other. (Of course, this was done while eating the all important snacks!) We had a great discussion using these questions:

1. Jonas is chosen as the next Receiver of Memory. Is this an honor or a punishment?
2. If ignorance of the past is a benefit to the citizens of the community, why do you think that the Receiver of Memory exists?
3. The Chief Elder lists five characteristics that a Receiver must have: intelligence, integrity, courage, wisdom and the Capacity to See Beyond. Was Jonas a good choice for this position?
4. Do you agree with Jonas’s decision to leave the community? Why or why not?
5. How realistic is this society? Could it exist?

These prompted some good discussions on whether it is possible to build Heaven on earth, the sanctity of life, and how God has created us all differently.

Then we played this on line trivia quiz (very cute) to pick the winner of a door prize (a book of course!). Finally, we drew a girl's name to choose next month's book: The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963.

Then, the book club meeting turned into a sleepover and much, much fun was had by all! :-)

Seriously, if you haven't read The Giver, read it no matter how old you are. Wonderful, thought-provoking, well-written book. I had forgotten some of the more mature content in this book, so I would definitely recommend reading it along with your child so you can discuss some of the themes it brings up. 5th Grade is probably as young as I would say to read it.