Banned Book Challenge: The Giver

During October’s Banned Book Week, I issued a challenge to myself. I would try to read five challenged/banned books over the course of the year and report back.

First up was The Giver by Lois Lowry, which I have recently finished reading. This is a soft science fiction young adult novel that has been challenged and/or banned in schools due to some of its content. Jonas, a 12-year-old living in a utopian society, is chosen to become a receiver of memories. In the past, Jonas’ community decided to go to ‘sameness’ and to remove emotion and emotional memories from their lives in order to live pain-free. Naturally, that comes at a cost. As Jonas learns more about his new job (he accepts the memories of the past that include war, hunger, and much, much more in order to serve as an adviser to the community) the more the illusion of innocence slips from his world.

The Giver has been challenged for many reasons. One is that in some ways, Jonas’ community resembles a communist society, two is that suicide is used as an ‘out’ by one character, three is infanticide, and fourth is the role of death in the story. Personally, I would have thought his ‘stirrings’ would have got a few parents squawking. I guess because he took a pill to resolve the pleasurable feelings, it’s okay. (Although, he did go against the rules and stop taking it. I would think that would really bother some parents.)

Personally, I enjoyed The Giver. It is a book that deals with a lot of heady topics and can serve as a forewarning to the next generation in a ‘what if’ sort of way. For example, what would happen if we didn’t remember war? What would happen if we had no choice or individuality?

I believe it to be an important book. What do you think?

P.S. Here is a cool little blurb about a student who is keeping a banned book lending library in a school locker. I love her gumption. She’s creating readers and should be given The Pristine Award (don’t know what it is? Stay tuned, more on that in December). She’s got some great ones on her lists.