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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Giver in Books

Sep 7, 2017

The Giver

Lois Lowry | 2012 | Children

8.5

(84 Ratings)

Book Rating

A strange book.

So, I know The Giver has been out for a long time, and I know they made a movie, but somehow I’d never read or watched it. But on the recommendation of a friend, I finally have. What a strange little book! It definitely belongs in the same realm as Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, 1984, and The Handmaid’s Tale – which are among my favorite books – but the ending was tremendously unsatisfying. It’s the first book in a quartet, though, so I’m hoping the other three, which I have requested from the library, will tie up the loose ends. It definitely feels like it’s only the first installment of a story.

The dystopian society in this book has effectively banished most feelings. But to get rid of hate and war and prejudice, they also had to banish the memories and feelings of individuality and difference. With everyone and everything the same, they’re mostly incapable of feeling true love or happiness. So they all live in peace – but it’s a complacent, uncaring peace. It’s not peace because of love, it’s peace because of the absence of passionate feelings. Whether this is good or not, well, that’s up to the reader to decide for themselves. The actions of the main character, who aims to disrupt that peace, could be seen as good or bad.

I’m not actually entirely sure how I feel about this book. After reading the next three – Gathering Blue (2000), Messenger (2004), and Son (2012), I'm still at a bit of a loss. These were just...odd.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com

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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated Scoop to Kill in Books

Jul 6, 2019

Here’s the Scoop – This is a Tasty Mystery

A reception to honor outstanding achievement at the local college turns tragic when Tally Jones’s niece, Alice, finds the body of grad student Bryan. Bryan was another local attending the college, although he had clearly been making some enemies along the way. With Alice in the thick of things, Tally starts spending a little less time at her ice cream shop, Remember the A-La-Mode, and more time at the college looking for clues. Will she find the killer?

While the mystery starts strongly with the discovery of Bryan’s body just a few pages in, the book still seems to wander a bit. We are gathering clues and information on the suspects, but it isn’t until the second half that it feels like Tally is truly investigating and we are beginning to find clues and disregard the red herrings. Once this happens, the book gets very good, and I was fully hooked. Tally and her immediate circle are a fun group, and I enjoyed spending time with them. I also enjoyed the cameos by some of the supporting cast from the first book. The suspects were strong enough to help us tell them apart, but they could have spent a little more time on the page to be fully developed. I had forgotten that there is a love triangle in this series, although it looks like that is coming to a head, which I appreciated. There is more language scattered throughout this book than is typical for a cozy, but this is still a light, fun cozy sure to keep you cool on a warm summer day. You might want to make sure you have some ice cream on hand first, however, to satisfy any cravings.