What Is The Giver About?

The Giver is a science fiction novel written by Lois Lowry and published in 1993. It is set in a technologically advanced society where people are born without the ability to see colors, experience emotions, or dream. The government controls everything in the society from its citizens’ memories to their daily schedules and even the food they eat. The main character, Jonas, is selected to be the next “Receiver of Memory” once his predecessor dies. As the Receiver of Memory, Jonas receives all of the past memories of humanity from his predecessor and experiences both good and bad events through these memories as he begins to understand how strangely out of balance his society really is. He also learns about the true nature of his society’s government and its control over people’s lives. Jonas rebels against this dominating force and helps his friends escape from their oppressive world into one that values freedom, color, emotion, and creativity. The Giver has won several awards including the Newbery Medal award given by the American Library Association for books published in 1990 or 1991 that most exemplify “a genuine contribution to literature for children.” It has been adapted into a movie which was released in 2014.