The Giver Quartet

The Giver

The Giver is a 1993 American children's novel (generally Young Adult or older) by Lois Lowry. It is set in a society which is at first presented as a utopian society but gradually appears more and more dystopian. The novel follows a boy named Jonas through the twelfth and thirteenth years of his life. The society has eliminated pain and strife by converting to "Sameness," a plan that has also eradicated emotional depth from their lives. Jonas is selected to inherit the position of Receiver of Memory, the person who stores all the past memories of the time before Sameness, in case they are ever needed to aid in decisions that others lack the experience to make. Jonas learns the truth about his Utopian society and struggles with its weight. The Community lacks any color, memory, climate and terrain whatsoever, all part of Sameness and this emphasizes the Utopian qualities of the Community.

The Giver won the 1994 Newbery Medal and has sold more than 10 million copies. In Australia, Canada, and the United States, it is a part of many middle school reading lists, but it is also on many challenged book lists and appeared on the American Library Association's list of most challenged books of the 1990s.

The novel forms a loose quartet with three other books set in the same future era: Gathering Blue (2000), Messenger (2004), and Son (2012).

Gathering Blue

Gathering Blue is a 2000 children's, social science fiction, dystopian novel by children's author Lois Lowry. The book is a companion novel to The Giver (1993) and Messenger (2004), and is followed by Son (2012) in The Giver Quartet. It is set in the same future time period, and it treats some of the same themes.

The central character, Kira, who has a deformed leg, is orphaned and must learn to survive in a society that normally leaves the weak or disabled exposed to die in the fields. Kira's dad apparently was mauled by The Beasts at the Field. Kira's mom died from an illness. Since she is an orphan, Kira needs a reason for the Council of Edifice to keep her in the village and not take her to the Field (which is certain death at the hands of The Beasts). Kira's mom used to do embroidery for the Council and taught Kira some of her talents. Kira has a gift for embroidery, and the Council keeps her around to mend and update a beautiful robe that shows the history of their society. In the course of the book, she begins to learn the art of dyeing thread different colors, except for blue, which nobody in her community knows how to make. She also learns more about the truth of her village and the terrible secrets they hold.

Messenger

Messenger is a 2004 novel by children's author Lois Lowry. It forms the third installment of The Giver Quartet begun by her 1993 Newbery Medal-winning novel The Giver. This novel takes place about eight years after the events of The Giver, and about six years after the events of Gathering Blue. Characters from the two earlier books reappear in Messenger, linking the novels more strongly. Set in an isolated community known simply as Village, this novel focuses upon a boy named Matty, who serves as message-bearer through the ominous Forest that surrounds the community. This book also tells us of the fate of Jonas and Gabe, from the first book The Giver.

Son

Son is the fourth and final book in The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry, which follows Claire, the birth mother of Gabriel from The Giver, and her journey to locate her son.

Film adaptation

A film adaptation of the first book was produced by The Weinstein Company and Walden Media. It was released on August 15, 2014, and starred Jeff Bridges as The Giver and Brenton Thwaites as Jonas.