The Giver

The Giver is the second book I have read by Lois Lowry. I read her book, Number the Stars, when I was in Elementary school and it is one of my favorite books. When I started reading The Giver, I hoped it would be as good as Number the Stars and it met my expectations. 

The Giver is about a 12 year old boy named Jonas who lives in a society where there is no sex, no war, no pain, no aging, and no crime. Jonas is given the task of becoming the receiver of memories from the past, where there is currently no snow, sunlight, colors, or love. Jonas was a very believable twelve year old and I don't think he could have survived in this dystopia and be sane. I found the plot reminded me of The Tripod series by John Christopher and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, with all their teenage protagonists leaving a dystopian world for freedom. The writing is fast paced and I liked the open ending, which shows hope for happiness.