The Giver - Lois Lowry

Such a good read, such a quick read.

I remember reading some of these parts when we were kids in elementary school, but there was a lot of the plot I forgot, and some parts I really think were lost on me at the time. Despite it being a YA book and I no longer being a YA, I still think it is pretty powerful in its message. 

I think it’s important to read and/or reflect on this book with the thought in mind that Jonas is like 12-13 years old throughout this entire thing. It adds to the extreme bewilderment it seems like he is constantly facing. His experience as the Receiver feels almost like he is witnessing Plato’s Allegory of the Cave in realtime.

Reading as Jonas evolves from looking at the concept of choice as a mix of laughable and dangerous, to seeing at something everyone needs and can’t live without felt more relatable than I expected. It’s as if the more he gets of it, the more he realizes he can’t live without it anymore, and he can’t keep it to himself either to the point of passing on his experience to Gabriel. On top of that he is constantly balancing the blissful-ignorance childhood he experienced before with the incredible power of knowledge that he now possesses, which I think speaks to the nostalgia you often experience as an adult. 

Honestly I would still read this again in the future, and if we have kids, I would definitely consider reading this to them and talking about the messages we see throughout the book. 

Overall, and this might be ridiculous, I think I’m giving it a 5/5. It’s just good, and I really enjoyed reading it.