Thin Yet Thick: The Giver

The Giver
Lois Lowry
179 pages

As a reminder, "Thin Yet Thick" reads are books thin from cover to cover (about 200 pages or less), but thick and deep in meaning. The Giver by Lois Lowry is definitely one to touch your heart.

Jonas lives in a futuristic Utopian community. There are no choices and everyone is assigned a life to live. At the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas is chosen to receive special instruction by The Giver. The Giver is the only person in the community with memories from the past. Meaning, he is the only one to know war, peace, pain, family, and most importantly, love.

One quote I especially like from this book is: "There could be love." While spending time with The Giver, Jonas learns what love is. After reading that chapter, I began to think about what it would be like if our world had no love, and I guess I started to appreciate how much love I receive from people. My family and friends love me, and I love them. I could not imagine what it would feel like to not give or receive that emotion at all.

That of course is not the only line I like, but I don't want to give too much away. Lowry does a fantastic job of throwing the reader into a setting so unlike the one we know best. With foreshadowing and unique character description, it is no wonder this novel won the 1994 Newbery Medal.

This is definitely a read you don't want to miss!

Check out my other "Thin Yet Thick" review