Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Wait, there's a series? Yes, the award-winning novel that found its way into many middle school curricula has been followed by three sequels so far, the most recent one having been released in October of 2012. I remember becoming completely captivated by Lois Lowry's story about Jonas and his futuristic community, and I know I'm not the only one. But what about the other three books? Are they worth reading?
The short answer is yes. They're written for the same readers as the first book, i.e. middle schoolers, they're short and easy for an adult to read, and if you're looking for a bit of light reading to add to your summer reading list, these are great to read as a break from more lengthy books.
If you haven't even read The Giver yet, stop reading this, and go read The Giver. Do it, now. You won't regret it. It's a fantastically original and enjoyable story, and was one of my favorite books growing up.
When I found out about the first sequel, Gathering Blue, I was excited. I thought I would get a chance to see what became of Jonas after that red toboggan ride at the end of the first book. What I got was something very different. The second follows a different character in a completely different society. Jonas is only mentioned once at the end, and not even by name. As a brief synopsis, Kira is a girl with a weird twisted leg who needs a wooden stick to get around. She's also good at weaving. In her harsh society, the infirm are usually left to die, but her special skill saves her from this when she is chosen to weave a robe with which the history of the society is told. To weave this robe, she must learn to gather the colors necessary to dye the wool, but blue is the one color that no one can seem to find, hence the title.
It isn't that great a story, and it wasn't what anyone would expect from a sequel to The Giver. I use the term "sequel" rather loosely here, because it's barely a sequel, and more of just an independent story that is consistent with the first book, but not really related to it. The whole series is more of a quasi-series of stories that slightly overlap.
Messenger is pretty much the same as Gathering Blue: it isn't very interesting, and we are forced to accept another new protagonist who is rather difficult to relate to. I think that's part of what made The Giver so great. Jonas is an extremely relatable character. As he changes throughout the story, he becomes an outsider in his own community, and we see the society from his perspective and realize it's not the utopia it originally seems.
Anyway, I should get back to Messenger, but speaking of Jonas, we are finally reunited with our hero in book three, but only briefly, and he's not the Jonas we remember. He's quite a bit older, he behaves rather wisely and reserved, and of course, we don't get to see inside his mind because he's not the protagonist. It's like he's just another character that we don't really care about. Actually, you know what it's like? It's like when you have a friend in school that you suddenly stop being friends with, but you still see them in school, and you don't really want to talk to them anymore and it's just really awkward when they're around. It's kind of like that. Jonas has changed, he's not the same person anymore, and we must accept that none of the books in this series will ever be as good as the first one.
Messenger follows Matty, a character who we first meet in the previous book. He has a special power that he doesn't quite understand, and he must eventually use it to save the people he cares about. It's really not that interesting, but I still suggest you read it, because it's all tied in to the fourth book.
Son, book four in the Giver series—which I've just finished reading—was actually pretty good, at least parts of it were. The book is separated into three parts, and the first two are quite fun to read, the third not so much. The first part is the best, because at long last, we revisit the community where Jonas grew up, this time from a different perspective. We meet Claire shortly after her Ceremony of Twelve, where she was assigned to be a birth mother for the community. After a single pregnancy which ends rather messily, she is assigned another mundane job, but she remains curious about the child she gave birth to. She visits him in the place where they keep newborns, and grows quite attached to him, despite the community's rules against this. It's easy to figure out when you're reading it that the baby is Gabriel, and this, I thought, was awesome. It hadn't occurred to me that we knew nothing of what became of him since the end of book one. Adding background for this character was pretty neat, but that's only part one.
Somehow Claire escapes the community—much like Jonas did—and suddenly finds herself in a small seaside village surrounded by cliffs. I've already told enough of the story, so I won't reveal much more. She eventually leaves this place and finally arrives at the place where Jonas and Gabriel ended up. There, the story shifts to the perspectives of Jonas and Gabe himself. Gabe is now an adolescent and dealing with the hole left by the mother he never knew.
Book four is full of themes like good vs evil, family and motherhood, determination, loss and healing, and strangely enough, gambling. It was a pretty good read, and probably my second favorite in the series. This doesn't necessarily mean it was amazing, merely that the other two were really that much worse.
Some writers are really good at creating fun and interesting stories, but suck at writing. Lois Lowry is kind of the opposite. She writes great, her descriptions are lovely, but her stories could use some improvement. Understandably they're very simply, since they're written for children, but I think she should consider kicking it up a notch, considering how many adults enjoyed The Giver and would love a story of grander proportions.
You know how some franchises just seem to head in the wrong direction? This might be one of those, although the fourth book did get us back on track a little. I mean, it's fine if that's what Ms. Lowry wants to write, nothing against her personally, but she should understand what her readers want and try to take that into account.
FYI, a movie adaptation of The Giver has been in the works for a long time, but it looks like it might actually be filmed soon. Jeff Bridges owns the movie rights, and he will be playing the Giver. There is very little news concerning the project, but I believe they are currently casting the other characters, and I imagine the script is still being revised. I personally think Jeff Bridges will do an excellent job as The Giver, and I'm really looking forward to the movie. Take a look at the picture of Bridges below and tell me he isn't perfect for the role.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So my suggestion to you is to read them, because like I said, they're quick and easy, and it's worth reading books two and three just to get to book four. I don't recommend reading them out of order, because they do build upon each other, and you probably won't understand it all if you skip one. Son is a pretty good read, and I hope Ms. Lowry uses the feedback she's received from it to write even more books in this series, maybe even a prequel about the Giver as a young boy. That would be pretty cool.
