Mundie Moms

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Banned Books Week- The Giver

I wanted to talk about one of my favorite books for Banned Book Week, The Giver by Lois Lowry. If you know me you might have heard me talk about this book before, I love love love it! The first time I read The Giver was when I was in middle school for my English class. I wasn't much of a reader back then, actually I wasn't a reader at all, Now I'm very thankful that I was forced to read The Giver because it really made me change my opinion on books. It was the very first book that really make me feel connected to the main character which was the same age I was back then, the first book that moved me emotionally and had me wondering at the end and desperate for more.

I remember thinking about it several days after reading, what happened after the ending? Where did they end up? Did they survive? I had read books before The Giver but none that made my imagination really roam, or sparked my interest and curiosity. I kept thinking, if this book made me feel this way, what else is out there that I've been missing out on? Well from then on I was a reader, I had to be reading constantly and I never denied a book that an English teacher recommended. I can't say that I loved all of them, because there were some that were really boring, but I was willing to try.

Now The Giver has been on the banned books and challenged lists several times and to me it's unbelievable the reasons why, some are because the book is negative, because it has violence, or is too morbid. Yes, I agree The Giver has several sad parts in the story, it's definitely not a cheer you up type of book, But to me it's an amazing book that changed the way I felt about reading. The story about a boy that lived in a "supposedly" Utopian society and realized that he didn't approve with the life and decisions he was being forced to live by and wanted to change it and leave it behind, to take a stand against it!! I guess that is not something so many people will like or approve of, but I think it's up to each parents decision on what their child should be reading and not for just a handful of people to decide for everyone else and take away the experience of reading this book, which by the way won The Newberry Medal in 1994.

What if it would've been banned from my school when I was 12, would I have eventually gotten hooked on reading? Yes, eventually, but maybe not when I was that young or maybe not as passionate about it. Yes, there are great amazing books that change the way you think about reading, some that might even change your life or will move you emotionally, I've read several since then. The Giver might not be for everybody and will definitely not appeal to everyone, but it was for me and I'm grateful for it. So which book changed you? Which book was The Giver to you?

11 comments:

  1. Great post! I personally don't understand why this is a banned book? The Giver, like the Diary of Anne Frank were books I read in Middle School. Like you said, The Giver kept me thinking about after I read it. I re-read it a few months back and it still left me with the same questions I had when I was in middle school. If a book makes me think about it days after I read it, then it's served a purpose.

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  2. The books that first got me to love reading were Enid Blyton's Famous Five books.

    But my "The Giver" was probably Philip Pullman's Northern Lights (aka The Golden Compass). It was the first book I read that left me at "What? No! NOO! That can't be it! Where is the rest?!". It was the first time I ever felt DESPERATE to know what happened next in a story.

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  3. There were two books in 7th grade which triggered my love affair with reading - Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and Lois Lowry's The Giver. I've read both many times since the 7th grade and still love love love them.

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  4. The Giver was a book that I was required to read in my 7th grade English class as well. At that point I was already an avid reader, but I had never connected with a book like I did with The Giver. Much like you, this book pulled me in and made me think. It is still one of my all-time favorite books.

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  5. I'm so glad to hear that most of you have read The Giver and liked it too!! I'm very passionate about this book.

    Rachel- I really need to read The Golden Compass, I've heard so many great things about it.

    Roof Beam Reader- I read And Then There Were None too when I was younger and I loved it!!! =D

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  6. I read "The Giver" in 10th grade and I actually just re-read it for my lit class because we had a discussion on it today! And I think The Giver is an amazing book. How they can be so blind to things, how color can cease to exist. It's crazy. Great post :)

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  7. I loved the Giver. I read it in middle school I think. Most of my grade hated the book and still dislike it, but I love the Giver. it is such an influential book and probably one of the earliest books that sparked my love of reading. I even read Gathering Blue and the Messenger after reading the Giver to learn more about this world. It's saddens me to think that people who wish to ban such a beautiful, moving book.

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  8. THIS book is on banned lists?! That's insane!! Honestly, I can sorta understand why certain titles aren't in schools (like CATCHER IN THE RYE or something), but this? Seriously? There's nothing inappropriate about this book. It's the epitome of dystopian, and if we as a society can't accept that type of genre, we need to check ourselves to make sure we aren't turning into the kind of world those books depict. Just sayin'. Great post. LOVE this book!

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  9. KM- I felt exactly the same way when I found out this book had been on the Banned Lists!! It's insane!!

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  10. Okay, this has been on my TBR forever and ever. I'm going to the bookstore today and getting a copy. Thank you so much for a great article, Cynthia!

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