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The GiverLois Lowry
The Giver
by Lois Lowry
In a community with no colour, no weather and no pain, twelve-year-old Jonas is chosen to receive everything that was taken away.
A story about children, thoughtful and spooky in tone. We would put it with children of 11–13, and at a reading age of about 11 for reading alone.
Worth knowing before you buy
- Frightening scenes
- A character dies
None of this makes it a bad book — often the opposite. It is here so you can decide whether it is right for your child now or in a year or two.
Our take on this book
Jonas lives in a community with no pain, no colour, no choice and no memory of the past — until, at twelve, he is chosen to become the Receiver, and the old man who trains him begins to pass on the true memories of the world, both its beauty and its terrible cost. Lois Lowry's Newbery-winning novel is one of the great dystopias for young people: quietly chilling, deeply thought-provoking, and built to make a reader question sameness, freedom and what it means to feel. The horror is philosophical rather than graphic, revealed slowly as Jonas learns what his perfect society has given up, and the famously open ending is much debated. For a thoughtful reader of eleven to thirteen it is a powerful, unsettling, unforgettable book — one that opens huge questions about individuality and control — and a superb introduction to dystopian fiction, best for a child ready to sit with ideas that don't resolve neatly.
If they like this, try these
Chosen by matching age, reading age, tone and subject — not by what is selling.
The Graveyard BookNeil Gaiman
ElidorAlan Garner
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated RodentsTerry Pratchett
The Dark Is RisingSusan Cooper
A Pinch of MagicMichelle Harrison
A Wizard of EarthseaUrsula K. Le Guin
Or let them write their own.
Nothing gets a child reading like a story they invented themselves. Your child plans the characters and the plot, and we write, illustrate and print it as a real book with their name on the cover as the author.
Find another book
Tell us the age, the reading age and what they like, and we will suggest a handful.