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Title: The Giver
Author: Lois Lowry
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 3.5/5
Why I Read It: It’s been on my TBR list for a while (since November 20, 2005, to be exact) but forced its way to the top after I saw it listed as a suggested title for the DystopYA Reading Challenge.

Summary: 12-year-old Jonas lives in a utopian community with no crime, no unemployment, no problems at all. But when he gets chosen as the one and only Receiver of Memories, he starts to learn the dark secrets of his small world.

Review: The world in this book reminded me a bit of the movie Pleasantville.

I loved reading about this creepy world and Jonas’s journey to uncover the truth. I think the only reason I didn’t rate this an all-time favorite is that at 12 years old, Jonas was a little young for my taste. I like my main characters to be solidly in their teens, upper if possible. Or if they’re younger, I like them to be extra sassy (like 15-year-old Daisy).

This is probably because as a teen, I was about as dynamic as a baked potato. I wish I had been cool and self-aware and sarcastic. So I like to read about characters who are all that and more—not like my boring, starchy teen self.

Still, I am glad I read The Giver. I can see now why it’s considered one of the classic YA dystopias.

Borrow: Your local library | Swap
Buy: Your local bookstore | Powell’s | Amazon

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