The Giver
Lois Lowry, 1993
A boy in a perfectly ordered community is chosen to hold its memories—and discovers what that order costs.
Lois Lowry
Lois Lowry writes for young readers without talking down to them, and both of these books trust you to sit with hard questions: what a community asks of its people, and what it takes to protect someone you love. Start with «Number the Stars» if you want a story grounded in wartime Denmark and quiet, everyday bravery; start with «The Giver» if you'd rather step into an invented, orderly world and see its edges from the inside. Both are short, clear, and stay with you.
Feels like dread, hope and war.
Start with The Giver.
The Giver won the 1994 Newbery Medal and is among the most frequently challenged books in U.S. schools, often for its depiction of release and euthanasia.
A word that sounds like mercy is used for the worst punishment.
NEEDLESS TO SAY, HE WILL BE RELEASED, the voice had said, followed by silence. There was an ironic tone to that finally message, as if the Speaker found it amusing; and Jonas had smiled a little, though he knew what a grim statement it had been. For a contributing citizen to be released from the community was a final decision, a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure. Books by Lois Lowry
Number the Stars
Lois Lowry, 1989
A Danish girl learns what courage looks like when her best friend's life depends on ordinary people doing small, dangerous things.
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