The Giver by Lois Lowry | Teen Ink
  1. Home
  2. Reviews
  3. Book Reviews
  4. The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver by Lois Lowry MAG

By Bapalapa2 ELITE, Brooklyn, New York
More by this author
Bapalapa2 ELITE, Brooklyn, New York
1044 articles 0 photos 1 comment
View profile

After reading The Giver, I was left confused and disappointed. It seemed as if it would be interesting, but you can't judge a book by its cover. The contents were dull and predictable. Quite honestly, I wouldn't recommend it to any reader seeking a fine piece of literature. It just doesn't suffice.

The Giver is about a young boy named Jonas. He resides in a futuristic society in which each citizen is assigned a job, a spouse, and children. The children are born to mothers who will never get to see them. Trying not to give anymore away, I will only say that Jonas is assigned an important job and is challenged with the release of an innocent child. Jonas is left with the option of leaving his home, job, and family to save the child, or facing the harsh reality of his community and job, and enduring the release of the child.

This book was dreadful. I became more and more dissatisfied with each page. It was a waste of time and hardly made sense. I'll admit, there were a few interesting lines, but far too few to continue reading after the first chapter. Although I finished it, I regret doing so. It was, by far, the worst book I've ever picked up. It proved to be mediocre, no better than what the average person could conceive. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Image Credit: Amazon.com

Buy from Amazon
Post a comment
Submit your own

Similar Articles

Previous Next
Reviews
Watchers Island
By Anonymous
Reviews
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
By Anonymous
Reviews
Nights in Rodanthe By Nicholas Sparks
By Anonymous
Reviews
7 Days at the Hot Corner by Terry Trueman
By Anonymous
Reviews
Twilight by Stepheine Meyer
By Anonymous
Reviews
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
By Anonymous

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 587 comments.

swcricket98 GOLD said...
on Feb. 24 2012 at 12:32 am
swcricket98 GOLD, Williamson, Georgia
13 articles 17 photos 102 comments

Favorite Quote:
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

View profile
I would have to say that I disagree with this review. I feel like it was a close-minded viewpoint, as this book, to me, was a very figurative piece. Perceive it as you may, but it was far from uninteresting and was not as dreadful as you make it sound.
GretaGibson PLATINUM said...
on Feb. 19 2012 at 9:33 pm
GretaGibson PLATINUM, Vancouver, Other
23 articles 4 photos 23 comments
View profile
With all due respect, i strongly disagree with this review. While the plot line may not have been as exciting as the hunger games, for example; it grew in complexity and charecter development with every page. The society was a very original concept, eliminating colour, music, animals, landscape, and introducing a drug to eliminate love. I found it got my brain working and kept me compelled the whole time. While the ending was a bit confusing, there are two others in the series to explain it, if you will take the time to read them. They are called "Gathering Blue" and "The Messenger" so once again, i disagree and think it is a brilliant peice of liturature that i only wish i could dream up.
WritersArt GOLD said...
on Feb. 19 2012 at 4:11 pm
WritersArt GOLD, Spring, Texas
14 articles 0 photos 26 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Paper is more patient that man.&quot; -Anne Frank<br /> &quot;Always do what you are afraid to do.&quot; -Emerson

View profile
This book happens to be considered a great, classic, beautiful piece of literature. I loved it! I believe it takes a very sophisticated viewpoint to really understand it, and Lois Lowry wanted everyone to be able to interpret it in their own way. It's a very mature style of writing, so if you don't appreciate beauty, I can understand why you wouldn't like it. But I thought it was pure art.
Eshshah PLATINUM said...
on Feb. 19 2012 at 11:20 am
Eshshah PLATINUM, Galloway, New Jersey
32 articles 31 photos 239 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.&quot; -Robert Frost

View profile
The giver is one of my favorite books ever- I love dystopian society books, and though it was on a reading list and I thought it would be boring, I found myself eating it up! I disagree with this review.
Amyelisee BRONZE said...
on Feb. 13 2012 at 9:47 pm
Amyelisee BRONZE, Lake Bluff, Illinois
3 articles 8 photos 117 comments
View profile
Huh. I remember liking it.
KatsK DIAMOND said...
on Feb. 12 2012 at 4:07 pm
KatsK DIAMOND, Saint Paul, Minnesota
57 articles 0 photos 301 comments

Favorite Quote:
Being inexhaustible, life and nature are a constant stimulus for a creative mind.<br /> ~Hans Hofmann<br /> You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.<br /> ~Ray Bradbury

View profile
I guess you haven't read Little House on the Prarie then. Jokes aside, The Giver is a really good book, and I highly recommend it.
Katrini BRONZE said...
on Feb. 6 2012 at 4:18 pm
Katrini BRONZE, Bellingham, Washington
4 articles 0 photos 3 comments
View profile
So true, alemx, I really enjoyed this book and I think it was written in a great style
Katrini BRONZE said...
on Feb. 6 2012 at 4:18 pm
Katrini BRONZE, Bellingham, Washington
4 articles 0 photos 3 comments
View profile
What a fitting user name!
alemx said...
on Feb. 6 2012 at 4:14 pm
I loved this book! I think that you need to reread it, and focus more on the meanings, than on the plot. I was fascinated by the way the took out color.
crazyboy6 said...
on Feb. 6 2012 at 4:08 pm
hi kate its colton
kcunning44 said...
on Feb. 6 2012 at 4:04 pm
I disagree with you. I think this book is one of the best books I have ever read. I loved how the end was sudden, and a cliffhanger. Every time I reread this book I think about what happens to Jonah and it stays with me for days. This is the point of literature; to make you think.
3va101 said...
on Feb. 3 2012 at 8:24 pm
i know what yoou mean when u felt disappointed at then because the story was just hanging there but i discussed this with my teacher and i finally realized the author did this to make sure the reader keeps thinking about what's gonna happen next the author want u to keep thinking about the book!
yankeesgirl14 said...
on Jan. 30 2012 at 8:22 pm
I disagree with all of you this was a good book you just had to dig in deep to find the true story. There are two follow up books. Yes it was slow at first and the book is sad and depressing but interesting
AlexAvery PLATINUM said...
on Jan. 28 2012 at 9:30 pm
AlexAvery PLATINUM, Tecumseh, Other
23 articles 2 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Life is but a dream that shall be written by the dreamers&quot;

View profile
I agree. I was forced to read this book for a book report and was greatly disappointed. I usually am okay with ambiguous ending but this one left me hanging, needing to know more.
FrozenInChaos SILVER said...
on Jan. 28 2012 at 2:32 pm
FrozenInChaos SILVER, Cottonwood, California
6 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Oh, Children. Shame on you. He just wanted to be your friend,..... and you exploded him.&quot;

View profile
I somewhat enjoyed this book wen it was read to me by one of my favorite teachers last year. It was not as bad as you say, though it was a bit confusing.
ElvenGirl4Ever said...
on Jan. 28 2012 at 9:05 am
I completely disagree, I loved this book it was amazing! I don't know what you got from it but From what I understood it was completely original, and unpredictable!
bookitup123 said...
on Jan. 23 2012 at 10:18 am
ok so who can answer this question for me... why should the younger generation read "the Giver"? btw i loved this book :)
sunsetsecrets said...
on Jan. 22 2012 at 10:41 pm
sunsetsecrets, Amarillo, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;hard work pays off&quot;

View profile
I have to say I completely disagree with what you said. The Giver takes place in a "so-called" Utopia. They try to control everything that is going on to maintain that image of a perfect society. Jonas is given one of the most important jobs in his community. Throughout the story Jonas discovers all the thing that the rulers of the community are doing that only certain people know about. As for the ending, she leaves it so you can guess what you think happens. But in the book, "The Messenger", it tells you what happened to them.
Bookworm1997 BRONZE said...
on Jan. 20 2012 at 7:15 pm
Bookworm1997 BRONZE, South Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1 article 0 photos 29 comments

Favorite Quote:
You cannot open a book without learning something. -Confucious

View profile
I completely agree with this. The Giver really was a disappointment. We had to read it in my class, and it was a good concept but it fell through.
iloverontoomuch BRONZE said...
on Jan. 7 2012 at 12:06 pm
iloverontoomuch BRONZE, Mola Di Bari, Other
1 article 0 photos 9 comments
View profile
I have to agree with this article, and the end was too fast. The most epic part of the book was only 2 chapters long, while we get endless boring chapters in the beginning