Breathe To Read

Breathe To Read

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Book Review #31 (2015 Challenge), The Giver


The next review is for: The Giver (read in September 2015)


This was in the category: A Book that became a movie

A short blurb from Amazon says
The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community.


I enjoyed this book.  Until the ending.  It is short and takes place in a Utopian future that is mainly happy and content.  No one has pain, or sadness, or conflict.  Of course there is no love or differences or opinions......  But folks didn't know what they were missing.

Then there was the ending.  Lois what are you doing to your readers?  You ended basically mid sentence and I felt very unfulfilled.  I wanted more!  I wanted to know what happened to our beloved hero, and yet I never found out.  I understand there are companion books to this one, but what most people tell me - it isn't really a continuation of the story.  Forget that.

I did see the movie and it did follow the book well.  Mat watched it with me and didn't read the book but felt the same about the ending.  When the credits rolled, he said "wait, what?"

So - take the book for what it is.  A book with 8500 customer reviews - most of them positive.  

Stars: 3 1/2

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