One Sentence Summary
The Giver by Lois Lowry is a Newbery Award-winning dystopian novel about a young boy’s journey to discover the dark secrets of his seemingly ideal society and its truth.
Book Genre
The Giver is a Young Adult Science-Fiction novel.
Main Topic of the Book
The main topic of The Giver is a dystopian society controlled by a select group of elders who are responsible for making all decisions for the society in a way that eliminates any possibility of harm, confusion, or pain.
Key Ideas
The key ideas of The Giver are:
- Utopia: The book discusses a utopian society that is seemingly perfect, but hides a dark secret.
- Memory: Memory is a powerful tool that can be used to shape and preserve a culture and its traditions, as well as to learn from past mistakes.
- Consequences: It explores the notion that with each decision we make, there are consequences that cannot be reversed.
Main Parts of the Book and a Short Summary
The Giver follows the story of Jonas, a young boy living in an ideal society that is controlled by a select group of elders, who make all of the decisions for the society to ensure the safety of its members.
The book explores the theme of utopia by revealing the dark secrets of the society and how the citizens are living under a false sense of happiness and security. Jonas slowly discovers the truth of his society on his journey to becoming the Giver, the one person responsible for holding all of the memories and experiences of the world.
Jonas finds out that the dystopian society had eliminated feelings and memories of pain in order to preserve peace and safety. He embarks on a dangerous journey to break free from the control of the elders, while also giving back the memories to the world.
Key Takeaways
Key takeaways from The Giver include:
- Memory: Memory can be used to preserve a culture and its traditions and can also be used to learn from past mistakes.
- Freedom: Everyone has the right to make their own decisions and the freedom to choose their own path.
- Utopia: Utopias may look perfect on the surface, but they can often be hiding a dark secret.
Author’s Background and Qualifications
Lois Lowry is an American writer who has written over 40 popular books for children and young adults, with over 35 million copies sold in the United States alone. Her works have twice won the Newbery Medal, and she has won numerous other awards including National Book Award and the Lewis Caroll Shelf Award.
Target Audience
The Giver is aimed at Young Adults.
Publisher and First Publication Date
The Giver was first published in 1993 by HMH Books for Young Readers.