SBC: WIJFR - The Giver (sp)

krispy83 · April 2014

I read this book for the first time as assigned summer reading before I started seventh grade. I was still in the very literal mindset of childhood and didn't really get it. My mom read it along with me and helped me digest it, but I still didn't fully appreciate it. I read it again in high school and thought it was good, but didn't really analyze it much.

Wow, reading it as an adult is so completely different! The scary part for me is that while I know that it's fiction, I could also see how something like this could potentially happen. The idea of a completely controlled life where everyone has exactly what they need, and no one knows pain or anguish or sadness or anything like that - it certainly has it's appeal. Granted, then you lose all of the happiness, joy, excitement, love, music, colors, etc. I'm obviously not advocating for a Utopian society, but it was interesting to think about what would drive a group of people to make the decision to give up so many of the positives in life in order to avoid the negatives as well. I enjoyed reading it so much more this time around where I could really think about what they had given up in order to control their circumstances.

ThisModernLove · April 2014

This is my favorite book by far. I read it in eight grade and each year I read it, I feel differently about it.

Young_Love · April 2014

I think this is one of those books you can read over and over and get something different out of it each time.

krispy83 · April 2014

Young_Love said:

I think this is one of those books you can read over and over and get something different out of it each time.

I completely agree. I remember enjoying it more in high school but not getting as much out of it. But this time around, especially reading it as a mother (all the stuff about the birthmothers, the release of the newborn, potential release of Gabriel because he wasn't sleeping through the night) really made me look at it very differently. I had planned to read it again before the movie came out and I'm SO glad that having this task in SBC gave me the little push I needed.

SBC: WIJFR - The Giver (sp)

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