The Giver by: Lois Lowry
5 out of 5 stars!
The Giver by Lois Lowry; is about a community that is run by a group of people called the Elders. In this community the Elders have set rules for everyone to follow to ensure the community is safe for everyone. The rules being; You have to stay with the partner you were assigned, you have to stay with the job you were assigned, each family has no more than 4 members(father, mother, son, daughter[does not include Grandparents, they are taken to the Home of Old, you can start riding your bike at age nine (that's also the age you get one), no taking any community center objects home, no lying, use precise words, take pills for Stirrings, be respectful. You get two warning if you break the rules. If you break them a third time, you are 'Released' from the community. It's a community where the Old are respected and are thrown a celebration where everyone is shown their life story before they are 'Released' from the community. For the most part everyone lives in a happy and crime-free community.
Within this community there is an eleven year old boy, Jonas, who is a little worried about what choice of career the Elders have planned for him. He did his volunteer hours in a variety of places to see if they are good for him, but he's still not sure exactly what he wants to do with the rest of his life. As the ceremony grows closer, he gets more and more nervous. At the day of the ceremony, as he's about to get up when they call his name, he realizes they never call him; they seem to go by him like he wasn't there. With his and everyone's confusion growing, after everyone's name is called, the Elder returns to Jonas. They announce he will have the job with the most honor and respect; he will be the new Receiver of Memory. He is told the training will be hard and painful. When his training starts he is very interested in what he will be doing, but soon that all ends. He can no longer look at things the same way, the more questions he has about things, and the more The Giver shows him. Jonas no longer has good feeling towards this place as the mystery of the Elders is solved. His interest for Elsewhere grows more and more, he makes a plan to change things.
This book really made me think about how this world would be if this could be true. The best thing would be a crime-free world, but the down side would be everything would be the same. I was thrown into this world that seemed so good on the surface, but had so many secrets underneath. I wanted to know why the community made these rules. What are the 'Released parties about for the Old? My mind was filled with questions about this! The further I got into the book, the more I felt Jonas's need to escape. The secrets behind the walls left me speechless and sad. I wished for nothing more than for Jonas to get out.