The Giver by Lowis Lowry

Lowry, Lois. 1993. The Giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 0395645662. $13.95. Trade cloth.

Annotation:
Jonas lives in an ideal society. When he is assigned to become the receiver of memory for his community, he begins to understand what they have sacrificed in order to achieve peace and prosperity.

Awards:
WINNER 1994 - Newbery Medal Winner
WINNER 1994 - ALA Best Books for Young Adults
WINNER 1994 - ALA Notable Children's Book
WINNER 1996 - New Jersey Garden State Teen Book Award
WINNER 1995 - Virginia Young Readers Program Award
WINNER 1995 - Arkansas Charlie May Simon Master List
WINNER 1996 - Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award
WINNER 1996 - Kansas William White Award
WINNER 1995 - Kentucky Bluegrass Master List
WINNER 1994 - Maine Student Book Award

Jonas lives in a community where everyone is happy and satisfied with their lives. There aren’t rich or poor people, everyone has just what they need. No one knows what war or starvation or prejudice are. At the end of every day, young people can sort out their feelings openly with their parents and they won’t be judged or punished.

At a special ceremony, 12 year olds are assigned a career they are suited for by the community Elders. Jonas is shocked and frightened when he hears that he has been selected to be the next Receiver of Memory by the current Receiver. The Chief Elder tells him:

“…the training required of you involves pain. Physical pain.… You have never experienced that. Yes, you have scraped your knees in falls from your bicycle. Yes you crushed your finger in a door last year… But you will be faced now with pain of a magnitude that none of us here can comprehend because it is beyond our experience.”

Jonas discovers that the peace and happiness of the community comes with a price, and that terrible price must be paid by him.

Image from WorldCat.