The Giver

The Giver is a 1993 young adult dystopian novel written by Lois Lowry. Taking place in community that enforces utter similarity and emotional repression, the plot follows a 12-year-old boy named Jonas who's given a special assignment as the assistant to the titular "Giver", who stores all memories of the past before the "sameness" and begins sharing them with Jonas.

Why it Rocks

 * 1) It's widely different from just about any YA dystopian novel at any point in time. There's no point where Jonas is making a revolutionary army or any of that cliche nonsense, and it takes much more time detailing the world it takes place in, like how children having their "comfort object" (stuffed animal) taken away at a certain age, which Jonas' sister is quickly approaching. It also has a much darker and more mature tone than most of them.
 * 2) Speaking of that world, it sends a message about how perfection is unreachable, especially with the hypocrisy present in the community, who outright kill (or "release") anyone who is outside their ideal of perfection even slightly (though those who do it have no idea they're killing them).
 * 3) Despite being in a world of emotional repression, the characters are all very interesting and have their own personalities.
 * 4) A very interesting plot, wherein Jonas starts to see through the cracks in their utopian society as the Giver shares more memories with him, good or bad, and teaches him emotions like love as well as sadness and hatred.
 * 5) Vividly detailed writing that puts you into Jonas' mindset both before and after he discovers emotions, and his shock at the more difficult memories and revelations feels genuine because Lowry takes all the time she needs to make it believable.
 * 6) Many different themes are explored and work well in the story, like lust, depression, ignorance, and deception.
 * 7) Speaking of ignorance, Jonas' dad gives the rejected baby Gabe a "Hippo" as a comfort object, which Jonas learns is actually an Elephant.
 * 8) Jonas has several specific rules that others don't have, like how he can't apply for "release" (which we know the truth about from WIR #2), and how he can lie, which both become themes throughout the latter half of the novel.
 * 9) A strange ending that doesn't feel very sequel-baity (despite the fact that there were multiple sequels following up the events of this book), and instead invites the reader to think, while still being quite satisfying.
 * 10) Multiple things help the book feel timeless: Unlike other dystopian stories, the world is not described in a futuristic manner. There's nothing about the writing that screams "90s!". It's a story that could have been told a century ago and can be told today.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) Fiona, while a likable character, doesn't have much of a role in the story and therefore feels like a somewhat wasted character. Possibly the only thing that the movie adaptation of this book does better than the book itself.