Book Summary

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver, by Louis Lowry, is about Jonas, who lives in a world where there are no problems.  Everything is regulated, from what you eat to what you wear to what you do for a living.  As his twelfth birthday approaches, Jonas is apprehensive about the job that the elders of the community will choose for him.  Finally, the day of the ceremony of twelve arrives, and all of Jonas' peers will be given their assignments for the rest of their lives.  Jonas is chosen to be the receiver of memory.  He will hold all the memories from the beginning of time-memories of sled rides and sunburns and war.  The Giver, Jonas' mentor who "gives" Jonas all the memories of the past, which become overwhelming to Jonas.  He no longer fits in with his friends or with his family and is burdened by the weight of the memories and newfound knowledge about death.  Jonas realizes that the memories would be so much easier to bear if shared by everyone, and he realizes that the community is missing so many things, from color to music to the ability to make decisions.  So with the help of the Giver, Jonas develops a plan to ease the pain of the memories and to find a different world of emotion and feeling.