In Jonas's community, kids are assigned their life's work at age twelve. When he is chosen to be the community's new Receiver of Memory, Jonas is turned over to a strange old man who calls himself the Giver and a demanding and often painful new life begins. This might be the book that really gave dystopia for young readers its start. You'll read it in an afternoon and be demolished for a week. Best to have the new hardcover, because you'll want to lend it to everyone you know.
— Kate"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.