Welcome to Litsy!

“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.”

The Giver is a great choice for middle school because it gets students thinking deeply about freedom, choice, and what it means to be human. Its mix of mystery and emotion encourages discussion about society, individuality, and the value of both happiness and pain in real life.

Speculative Fiction
Published in 1993
This book is suited for older middle school or high school students. The Giver shows a world that‘s a lot like ours, just taken to the extreme. People trade freedom and feelings for safety and control. It makes you think about how much we give up for comfort and reminds us that real life needs both joy and pain to feel truly human.

I never heard about this book or movie. Sci-fi, and especially Dystopian stories, rarely interest me.

We had an opportunity to watch the movie this week...and I wasn't surprised to learn that the book has faced bans.

Is this what Little t and his administration aspires to transform Our America into?

This movie is both beautiful and horrifying.

👇🏼

4.6⭐️ let me start by saying that this was my #ReadBannedBooks for July, and it was better than I thought it was going to be. I wish it would‘ve read this one so much sooner, especially since apparently there‘s four books of the series. I mean, I‘m glad there‘s more because that ending was not enough, but dang. Also, really scary similarities to what‘s going on right now. I will be continuing this one next month.

My #ReadBannedBooks and #FriendsPick for July.

I remember this series on PBS. 2018 seems like a lifetime ago! Final score was 42/100, and yes I‘m counting the whole series no matter how many books I read! These, however, are whole series I read.
1. The Giver
2. Lord of the Rings
3. Harry Potter
4. Hunger Games
5. Hitchhiker‘s Guide to the Galaxy
#TLT

If you want to join the fun, here‘s the link: https://www.listchallenges.com/litsy-the-great-american-read-2018-from-100-1

I have read only 16 of the books #tlt

We're ignoring the ripped sticker since I got this from a LFL 🙃

It made zero sense.

89/62

#ReadingMyTBRs #ReadAway2024 @Andrew65 @DieAReader

I'm embarrassed to only just now have read this book for the first time.

I love this book and how the new receiver deals with all the memories of the past. also one of my favorite movies!

“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.“

A book about a dystopian world where everyone in society is chosen their roles based on close evaluation until they are twelve. The words are easy to read, and the story is easy to follow along with although it is taken place in a completely different world.

I think this book would be a great book to teach about dystopian societies and their characteristics. You could also have your student's characterize the different characters since everyone is vastly different. There are a lot of themes such as freedom vs control, and I think these are great lessons to be taught in school.

This book is a great read about a dystopian society and ones journey battling being different than everyone else. I liked this book because it describes a world that is vastly different than the one we live in.

I‘ve meant to read this for a while now. I can understand why it‘s become part of school curriculum for many students. I enjoyed it.

I blew through this quartet quickly - just kept reading because I enjoyed the universe that the author created. I love a good dystopia. These stories are related, but can be read as stand-alone books. It had been years since I last read The Giver, and I was pleased to discover the other books. All good.

Wow! What a great read! I can‘t believe I waited so long to read it.

#bookspinbingo - free space
#pop24 - a book set in the future

One of my favorite books in middle school, I decided to read it again 30 years later. I‘m not sure why I loved it so much back then, maybe it was my age and the idea that we‘re not all meant to be the same. The writing is choppy and the descriptions are lacking, but it‘s a good book. Book #47 in 2024

#TLT @dabbe

1. The Giver
2. KOTLC series (with my daughter)
3. Harry Potter series

Yikes these are hard #wonderouswednesday @Eggs

1. Susanne Clark, Ariel Lawhon, Alan Bradley, Joanne Fluke
2. Favorite genre - magical realism
So therefore favorite book - tagged
Ok I can't pick one so...
Favorite genre - mystery
Favorite book - thirteenth tale.
Just a really well done, creepy mystery. That's my sweet spot
3. I'll go with Alan Bradley although I feel like I could say Jasper Fforde, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Joanne Fluke.

#TBT @dabbe

Thank you for the tag, Denise 💙💙

1. The Giver
2. Speak
3. To Kill a Mockingbird

Can't believe it is March already! I read 9 books in February, and the tagged book was my favorite read of the month. However, the scientific nonfiction "Outlive" comes in a close 2nd.
#2024Bracket
@CSeydel

I'm taking a long weekend, with Monday off, for self care reasons and planning to finish the tagged book for #Roll100 #76. I've never read it and have been intrigued lately when I saw some FB friends complaining about this being inappropriate for their kids to read in school. I'm 1/3 into it, and it seems fine for school reading to me. What am I missing?
@LitsyLove
@PuddleJumper

I‘m so glad I got to go into this one blind! I was 14 when it was released and never had it as part of my high school curriculum.

Is ignorance bliss? Is a sanitized, safe existence any more than just existing? This book is beautifully written and definitely poses some great questions. I think I will always answer that the choice can‘t be to stay asleep.

Wonderful pick to start off #AuldLangSpine, @jenniferw88 !

August's fiction and nonfiction choices for #12booksof2023 @Andrew65

Thanks #52bookclub2023! I‘ve had this book on my TBR list for years and it would have likely languished there longer if not for the #newberrymedalwinner prompt. Am kicking myself I didn‘t read it sooner!

! @LaraReads @KarenUK @britt_brooke @CarolynM @DebbieGrillo @Smarkies @Lizpixie @LeeRHarry @BookBelle84 @jenniferw88 @Deblovestoread @AshleyHoss820 @Librarybelle @triplem80 @Read4life @rmaclean4 @squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB @ravenlee

It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

“If you were to be lost in the river, Jonas, your memories would not be lost with you. Memories are forever.”

This is a dystopian novel that some have to read in school. I was one who had to read it in seventh grade. I still remember my teacher explaining the difference between utopia and dystopia and how in most book that say they live in a utopia are actually dystopian. This book was one of the first school books that I really enjoyed and I hope to show my future students.

The giver is about a boy named Jonas who lives in a perfect world. Everything is the same for everyone so there is never any conflict. When it is time to get his job he gets “the receiver“. This is a very rare job that only one person gets every lifetime. Once he starts going to the giver to receive his training, Jonas' world changes completely.

I read banned books… and I loved them all! All rereads. I read The Giver every year and this year I added a few other banned books.
#bannedbookweek
#BookSpinBingo #Scarathlon #TeamCreepinItReal

This was another banned book from season 3 of Book Interrupted. I‘d recommend it. It was great for a book club discussion because of all the topics and themes it brought up. It was a short, fast-paced book, but I hated the end. I discovered during the podcast there‘s 4 books in this series but the 4th book “Son” is the ending of this book. So, I‘m going to read that to feel more satisfied. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6gB3LOne2QSwnTGz00DB7B

#readingbracket2023 #fiction

Tough choice between these two, but as I aim to get to Babel some point this year, I'm going with Yellowface.

@chasjjlee

Don‘t judge, but somehow, I‘ve gone my entire life without reading The Giver or The Outsiders. (Possssssibly read Outsiders in school, but if that‘s true, it didn‘t leave a strong impression on my young, not wholly developed mind 😅). Anywho, I‘ll be teaching both of these titles this year, so I‘m marking up my copy of The Giver and listening to The Outsiders. Pretty dang excited about both of them! 🤓👏

Another unexpected 5 ⭐ for a dystopian book! Thanks for sending me this book @TheAromaofBooks ! Stacking the next one (and won't put it off for so long).

#newberrymedalwinner #52bookclub2023 @Cinfhen @squirrelbrain @LeeRHarry @Bluebird @MissHel @AshleyHoss820 @Deblovestoread @RaeLovesToRead @BarbaraBB

#1993 #192025 @Librarybelle

I never read this book growing up, so I figured it was time to play catch up! I didn‘t actually know what this was about going into it, so the dystopian story was very interesting.

Terrific read.

On recommendation from my niece

Kate DiCamillo & Lois Lowry ❤️

My daughter and I chose THE GIVER for our mama+daughter book club this month. The copy on the right is my very first copy from elementary school that I ordered through the Scholastic book club mailers they sent home from school 💕

The book club I‘m in read this book under the theme of re-reading a favorite book from childhood. I wasn‘t quite the right age so I had actually never read this before. I do remember reading Lowry‘s other Newberry award winner “Number the Stars” and really being moved by it at the time. I love that Lowry addresses challenging topics for young readers and I think this would have had an even bigger impact on me had I read it as a young teen.

I cracked open a collected edition of the four books set in this world. I blew through The Giver over three nights, though I could have easily done it in one night. I have lost track of how many times I've read this book, and it never fails to amaze. I think I read Gathering Blue once, but never the other two, so it'll be interesting to compare.