Review: The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Giver #1
Publisher: Ember
First published April 26, 1993
Paperback, 192 pages

Overview:

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Review:

I had been in the middle of studying for final exams when I picked up The Giver, hoping it would be a nice, easy break from all the work I was trying to finish. The Giver is a middle-grade novel that has been sitting on my shelf for years, unread; overall, I enjoyed the book, despite some reservations.

The Giver focuses on life in the Community, a utopian society that exists in perfect harmony. Every life choice--from naming babies to deciding what career someone will have--is carefully decided by a review board. When the main character, Jonas, is selected to become the next Receiver of Memory, he quickly learns that a world with no choices is more complicated than it seems. Other than the current Receiver of Memory, the Giver, Jonas is the only person in the Community who has access to past memories from a "before" time when people saw in color and felt emotions. With these newfound abilities, Jonas begins seeing many of the flaws present in his community, unquestioned by others.

One of my favorite things about The Giver is how unique its concept is, but while the idea of a world without colors and emotions is explored, I was left with more questions than answers. I would have loved to see more about the history of the Community--how did it come to be? Why would people want to give up the abilities to see colors and feel emotions? And especially, how exactly would they be able to give up these experiences? The world of the Community is intriguing and fascinating, but the world-building is vague.

The Giver is written as a middle-level book, and I felt like this confined the story and prevented further discussions from happening. The one thing that soured the whole reading experience for me was the oversimplified explanations given for the questions brought up. We're told (quite explicitly) who the "good guys" and the "bad guys" are, in very simple black-and-white terms, without any discussions of why these people might act the way they do. There are many complex social problems presented in The Giver that could have been explored in a multitude of different ways, but their overly-basic explanations left me feeling dissatisfied.

As a middle-grade novel, I think The Giver could serve as a good introduction to the many dystopian and utopian books that have cropped up since The Hunger Games. However, where books like The Hunger Games are aimed at an older, YA audience and are able to explore complicated, controversial issues more in-depth, The Giver sticks with simpler, basic explanations of good-versus-evil.

Overall rating: 3 of 5 stars.

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Covers of Books I've Read

One of the blogs I follow, The Broke and the Bookish, hosts a weekly feature called Top Ten Tuesday with a different prompt for book-related discussion. This week, the topic is favorite covers of books you've read. Here are some of my favorite covers!

1. The Selection by Kiera Cass

The gorgeous gown, the frosty glass in the background, 

and the crown above the title? Count me in!

  2. Divergent series by Veronica Roth

The color schemes for these books are fantastic, and I absolutely adore the scenes of Chicago at the bottoms of the covers. I'm throwing in the cover for Allegiant as well, even though I haven't read it, because it's my favorite of the three.

3. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

I don't know what it is about this cover, but I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. The art is gorgeous, and I love the title font.

4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I was ecstatic when the copies we read of Gatsby in English class used this cover, 

because it's an absolute work of art.

5. Origin by Jessica Khoury

6. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

7. Ingo by Helen Dunmore

One of my favorite books from my childhood, I still think Ingo has one of the best covers I've ever seen.

8. What's Left of Me and Once We Were by Kat Zhang

I love the simplicity in these covers, and the whole two-faces-in one idea. I'm really glad they kept the same cover theme for Once We Were because it's so unique!

9. Crewel by Gennifer Albin

Those colors!

10. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

I adore this book so much, and even though I liked the old one, I think the new cover suits it much better. The city of Paris is such an important part of Anna, and I'm so happy the new cover does it justice.

What are some of your favorite covers?

Review: Mind Games by Kiersten White

Mind Games by Kiersten White
Minds Games #1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published February 19, 2013
Hardcover, 237 pages

Overview:

Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future. 

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

Review:

I read one of Kiersten White's other books, Paranormalcy, a few years ago and didn't really like it, but I was feeling optimistic and decided to give Mind Games a try. Mind Games is very different from Paranormalcy, but I had some of the same problems with Mind Games as I did with her other book, and was left feeling disappointed by the end.

My biggest problem with Mind Games was the characters. Fia and Annie are twin sisters with amazing abilities who are supposedly willing to do anything for each other, not matter what... but I could never understand why! It seemed to me that the sisters were more of a burden to the other more than anything. Throughout the book, the audience is constantly told that the sisters are willing to risk everything for each other, but never shown why. Fia and Annie's relationship seemed empty and lifeless, more of an unwelcome obligation than a choice for either of them.

I felt the same way about Fia's relationship with the "bad-boy" James. Even though Fia repeatedly told herself to keep away from James, she continuously let him push her around, never learning from her mistakes. Fia becomes increasingly whiny and annoying as the story moves along, but never actually develops as a character.

I finished the book because I thought it might pick up towards the end; it never did. I was never able to care about any of the characters, and despite all the high-action/suspense events that were happening throughout the entire book, I felt bored and uninterested. Mind Games was a huge disappointment for me, and I will not be reading the sequel.

Overall rating: 1.5 of 5 stars.