The Giver (novel)

Before you open my cover, I am a quiet promise, a world waiting to be discovered. Inside my pages, everything is neat and tidy. The world is in black and white, and every day is exactly the same as the one before. There are no steep hills to climb, no bright sunshine to make you squint, and no deep sadness to make you cry. It is a world of Sameness, designed to be perfectly safe and predictable. But for a boy named Jonas who lives inside my story, this perfect world doesn't feel quite right. He feels a deep stirring inside him, a sense that something important, something beautiful, is missing. He just doesn’t know what it is yet. He lives in a community where every choice is made for him, but he is about to be given the most important choice of all. I hold his story, and I hold all the things his world has forgotten. I am a book. My name is The Giver.

I was brought to life by a wonderful writer named Lois Lowry. She used her words like a key to unlock the world inside me. She had big, thoughtful questions on her mind. What would life be like if we never felt any pain? What would we have to give up to live in a world like that? With these questions in her heart, she created me, and on April 26th, 1993, I was shared with the world for the first time. In my story, when Jonas turns twelve, he is chosen for a very special and rare job: the Receiver of Memory. He is sent to train with a wise old man who holds a title no one else does. He is The Giver. The Giver’s job is to hold all the memories of the past—from the entire world—so that no one else has to. Can you imagine carrying every happy and sad moment that has ever happened? The Giver begins to pass these memories to Jonas. Suddenly, Jonas sees things he never knew existed. He sees the brilliant red of a sled, feels the warmth of sunshine on his skin, and hears the beautiful sound of music. He experiences love for a family and the joy of a holiday celebration. But with the good memories come the difficult ones. He also feels the sting of a sunburn, the horror of war, and the deep, lonely ache of loss.

For the first time, Jonas understood what his community had given up for their safety. They had given up color. They had given up music. They had given up choice and love. Jonas knew this wasn't right. He made a difficult but incredibly brave decision. He decided that everyone deserved to feel life fully, with all its joys and its sorrows. He knew he had to return the memories to everyone. So, he began a dangerous journey, leaving his home to travel to a place called Elsewhere, which would release all the memories back into the community’s minds. As soon as readers began to open my cover, they started talking and thinking about the world I held. They asked the same big questions Lois Lowry did. Because of the important ideas I carry, I was given a very special award called the Newbery Medal in 1994. I found my way into classrooms and libraries, where readers just like you began to wonder about what makes life truly worth living.

I want you to know that I am more than just paper and ink; I am a home for big ideas. I am a reminder that our memories—both happy and sad—are treasures. They, along with our feelings and our choices, are what paint our lives with brilliant color and meaning. My story doesn't just end on the last page. It continues in the questions you ask and the way you see the world. So I ask you: What memories will you cherish? What colors do you see in your life? I hope my story lives on, not just on a shelf, but in the way you appreciate every single feeling that makes you who you are.