Lois Lowry’s The Giver series consists of four books. It is a young adult dystopian science fiction series. Unlike other series, these books are only vaguely related and do not share the protagonist. The first novel’s main character is Jonas. He is a twelve-year-old boy living in a state heavily controlled by the government. Jonas is told that he is the receiver, someone who is wise and collects memories. Jonas attends meetings with the Giver, an elderly man who served as the old receiver. Through these meetings, Jonas learns about hurt, hardship, and sacrifice.
The main character in the second book is Kira. She has deformed legs, and disabled people are left to die in her society. But Kira’s mother saves her life. When her mother dies, she must face a committee to determine her destiny. Kira is permitted to live after the council learns about her talent for embroidery. The story challenges readers to imagine what our world could become, how people could evolve, and what could be considered valuable.
Matt is introduced in the third book. The forest acts as an angry character in this book. The once-kind villagers have become anxious and want to close their borders. Matt is sent by the seer to find Kira. He rescues her, but the forest attacks them on the way back. Jonas senses that Kira and Matt are in trouble and go to save them. He is also taken by the forest. Matt becomes enraged and discovers that he possesses the ability to heal people, and, as it turns out, the forest.
The fourth novel stars Water Claire. Claire had a son. She was supposed to forget him, but it turned out to be impossible. Now Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice.
The Giver Quarter Books in order
The Giver
Similar authors
- S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders follows two weeks in the life of a 14-year-old boy. It tells the story of Ponyboy Curtis and his inner battle with what’s right and wrong when he feels like he doesn’t belong.
- Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games follows a dystopian post-apocalyptic future Here, a boy and a girl from each of the nation’s 12 Districts are chosen annually as “tributes”. They have to compete in the Hunger Games, a televised fight for survival.
See also: Robin Hobb Books in Order.
Most recommended books
- The Giver (The Giver, #1) (4.13 Goodreads score)
- Messenger (The Giver, #3) (3.91 Goodreads score)
- Gathering Blue (The Giver, #2) (3.82 Goodreads score)
- The Son (The Giver, #4) (3.98 Goodreads score)
Awards
The Giver won the Newbery Medal in 1994 and has sold over 12 million copies.
Movies based on the series
The first book of The Giver series was adapted into a 2014 American dystopian drama film directed by Phillip Noyce.
Latest releases
Son is the last book of The Giver series. It was published in 2012.
Book summaries
The Giver (1993)
The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, the world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Lois Lowry has written three companion novels to The Giver, including Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
Gathering Blue (2000)
Lois Lowry once again creates a mysterious but plausible future world. It is a society ruled by savagery and deceit that shuns and discards the weak. Left orphaned and physically flawed, young Kira faces a frightening, uncertain future. Blessed with an almost magical talent that keeps her alive, she struggles with ever-broadening responsibilities in her quest for truth, discovering things that will change her life forever.
Messenger (2004)
Strange changes are taking place in Village. Once a utopian community that prided itself on its welcome to new strangers, Village will soon be closed to all outsiders. As one of the few people able to travel through the dangerous Forest, Matty must deliver the message of the Village’s closing and try to convince Seer’s daughter to return with him before it’s too late. But Forest has become hostile to Matty as well, and he must risk everything to fight his way through it, armed only with an emerging power he cannot yet explain or understand.
Son (2012)
They called her Water Claire. When she washed up on their shore, no one knew that she came from a society where emotions and colors didn’t exist. That she had become a Vessel at age thirteen. That she had carried a Product at age fourteen. That it had been stolen from her body. Claire had a son. She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. Now Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice. In this thrilling series finale, Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of the Newbery Medal–winning book, The Giver.
