“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It’s the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.” Lois Lowry, The Giver

So since I’ve read this book and talked to other people about it, I have found that apparently most people read this in school at some point. Well, I didn’t. In fact, I hadn’t even heard of it until my husband heard they were making a movie about it and referred me to it immediately saying it was an awesome book and I-can’t-believe-you’ve-never-heard-of-it. Such is life I guess. I waited until it made my list to read it but it might not be the only time I read it.
I loved the book. It was more of the dystopian society that we’ve been obsessed with lately but it was awesome. I loved hearing how things would be controlled in a “perfect” world and how they would pass on the memories. It’s a thought-creating book in the idea that it makes you believe that this is how things would go if people wanted everything controlled: jobs would be assigned so there is no unemployment, food would be given so there is no hunger, and all color would be eliminated so there is no racism, and spouses would be assigned so there is no heartbreak. Wouldn’t this just be the perfect way to live?

SPOILER ALERT

No it wouldn’t be. The book shows that without colors and choices and love, life is void of what makes it worth living to most. The time you see this most is when Jonas is given the memory of a family on Christmas gathered together and he feels the warmth that most people get when they think of their family in the same situation. And no color?!? One of my favorite parts of my home is how the colors all perfectly coordinate to each other and to the particular room that they are in. Without color, I wouldn’t have enjoyed this.
A couple of random thoughts: I am a person who is all over the place in regards to “What do I want to be when I grow up?” I’m smart but I don’t know what I want to do for the next 50 years – I love volleyball, reading, making charts, gardening, numbers, movies, cooking, sleeping, reading, cross-stitching… (Some might call it Divergent) You see my problem? Basically, I couldn’t stop myself from almost being slightly envious of the idea that someone else would assign me to do something I would (theoretically) love based on my talents and interests. But then there’s the sci-fi side of the book: How are those memories passed on? How did the government or ‘The Man’ or whoever figure out how to eliminate colors from our sight?

SUMMARY

Really, looking forward to this movie. I’m a fan of the big names in this movie (Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Taylor Swift) but I am somewhat disappointed in the casting of Jonas. Not because I don’t like the actor (I’ve never heard of him) but I read the book picturing a 12/13 year old kid. He will probably do fine but it’s hard to image a 12 year old reading the book and get a kid 6ish years older in the movie.

I will say that the trailers look like the movie goes away from the book quite a bit, primarily what I would believe would be at the end. There’s going to be more about Rosemary probably because she is being played by Taylor Swift, and probably more from Fiona than what we get in the book. I am always more happy when they stay true to the book but I can’t really blame them for it because the book is not actually that long so we have to expect fillers. Here’s to hoping for the best!
Basically, lots of questions but completely enthralled by the book and will probably try to find the next ones –yes, there are more books after this one.

GRADE: A

Release Date: August 15, 2014