The Giver

By Lois Lowry

Published by Nahdet Misr

In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price. The Giver won the 1994 Newbery Medal and has sold more than 5.3 million copies. In the United States and Canada it is a part of many middle school reading lists.

Lois A. Lowry is an author of children's literature who has been awarded the Newbery Medal twice: first for Number the Stars in 1990, and again in 1994 for The Giver.