The Giver - Lois Lowry

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. Lois Lowry has written three companion novels to The Giver, including Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.

3.5 stars out of 5

I feel kind of conflicted about the rating, I want to give it a five for the amazing view on life it takes... But then there are the weird things involved with it... the slightly bland writing style, the incredible short length of the book... Actually, I probably wouldn't have been able to finish it if it was any longer (I've been enjoying shorter books just because I don't have as much time to read anymore), but it seemed like she could have expanded on the story a lot more... Put more detail in about the world that Jonas lives, had more character development so that we would have more sympathy more the characters... I don't know. All in all, it was really interesting and I'm definitely going to be getting the next three books.

I actually saw the movie first and even though the book isn't one of my favorites, I would definitely say that the movie is. It seemed to improve on the book by making the main characters a bit older, editing out some of the weirder things, and adding more depth to side characters. Not to mention what an awesome cast they had. Not just because they had famous actors, but because the casting was just so good. All of the actors looks incredibly like the description in the book. Especially Jonas and Fiona. 

I normally don't recommend watching a movie before reading the book... but for this one, watching the movie actually helped me enjoy the book more...