Book Review: The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver is a futuristic novel written by Lois Lowry. The book centers around a young boy named Jonas. In this book, Jonas and his family unit live inside a strange civilization founded by who we can only guess is the remaining people in the world after war, starvation, anger, and memories devastated it. Inside this strange society, there are no memories, no color, and no freedom. The book starts off with Jonas preparing for the
annual Ceremony of the Twelves. In this sacred tradition, young children turning twelve are given their jobs chosen by the Elders of the community, the people who enforce the rules. The choice is non-negotiable with the recipients, and if you chose to not follow the choice, then you are to be released from the community. With this important ceremony coming up, Jonas nervously anticipates the Elder's choice for him. When the Ceremony of the Twelves finally arrives, the Elders do something very rare and special: they give Jonas the job of the Receiver of Memory. Not knowing how much of a burden the Elders have put on him, Jonas agrees to meet the current Receiver and start his training. The Receiver tells Jonas to call him the Giver, and over his training, the Giver essentially gives Jonas all of the memories of everyone who once lived on Earth. Memories that can be good, such as love and peacefulness, but also the memories of war, and starvation, and loneliness. All these memories are memories that the people living inside the community do not have to bear. The only person that has to bear all of them now is Jonas. Jonas learns about love, hatred, brilliant colors, and depression. These memories encourage Jonas to do things that he would never have done before. But how far is he willing to go to learn the truth?

I loved this book because it's unlike anything I've ever read before. Imagine never seeing any color in the sky, or not being able to know what love is and how it feels. Would it really be worth it to have your memories stolen, in exchange for a perfect society? I enjoyed this book thoroughly, but I did not like the ending. Of course, I can't say the ending, because that would spoil the book. However, even though I did not particularly like the ending, it is very much worth it to read this book and uncover the adventures that lie in between The Giver's pages.

-Jordan K.

Book Review: "Why We Took the Car" by Wolfgang Herrndorf

One thing I remember vividly my high school years is being one of THOSE kids. The kid that, no matter how small my class size (one year there were only about 25 of us) I didn’t get invited to anything. I can remember thinking why, if there were only 25 kids in my grade, I didn’t get invited to things. Freshman Mike Klingenberg is also one of those kids, which is one reason I love him so much. The other reason is his family is twisted that at one point he ended up with the nickname Psycho. I originally checked out “Why We Took the Car” by Wolfgang Herrndorf because European authors tend to be a little odd and who doesn’t love a good car-stealing joy ride? It’s a lot cooler and more interesting than just that, though, and has managed to become one of my fave books of this year. 

Summer break is supposed to awesome, filled with all sorts of wild and fun things. Unfortunately, Mike’s mom just went back to her spa (a.k.a. rehab), his dad took off for two weeks with his hot assistant (a.k.a. mistress), and Tatiana (a.k.a. Mike’s massive crush) didn’t invite him to her birthday party. Out of nowhere the weird new Russian student, Tschick, decides he and Mike should be friends and this is where the car-stealing joy ride comes in. They have $200, a barely functioning Lada, and no idea where they’re going; all they know is that they need to do something amazing and interesting and now’s the time to do it. The rest of the book is filled with odd balls, a random romance, two car crashes, a crazy man with a shotgun, and several run-ins with the police.

Pawn by Aimee Carter

This book intrigued me when I first read the description on the back cover. It has a strong female character, Kitty Doe, who I instantly loved on the first page of reading. Before I go any further, you have to understand that this is another , yes, another dystopian novel.  It has a similar theme to Divergent in that everyone in society is ranked after taking a test at age seventeen. They are branded on their necks with a number from I-VII to show their level in society. Kitty can't read and unfairly is ranked a III. She looks a lot like Lila Hart, the daughter of the Prime Minister (This story takes place in Washington D.C.---no President??). She's given the opportunity to live in misery as a III forced to leave the people she loves or join the most powerful family in the country as a VII taking the place of Lila Hart, who has died under mysterious circumstances. Of course Kitty agrees, but then finds out there is a catch. Lila secretly fostered a rebellion and Kitty agrees with it. If she doesn't play her part, her boyfriend, Benjy, will be killed. She's also slated to marry Knox, "Lila's" fiance in six months. He's a very likeable guy. Kitty, as Lila, becomes a pawn in the political intrigues of the Hart family. There are so many twists and turns in this story. The characters are great and Lila as Kitty is constantly faced with decisions of what is the right choice. Will the pawn, the weakest piece that takes the brunt of the attack, move forward against impossible odds, and become the most powerful piece in the game? Read and find out.