Ahhh, me and this book have a hate-love relationship. Yes, I am considering that a thing. I hated this book when I first read it. Detested it. Thought it was the dumbest book ever (until I read Lord of the Flies . Don't get me started on that terrible awful waste of paper.). I had to read it for school in middle school and then write an ending for it because at the time I don't think the sequels were out yet. I don't like being forced to chunk out my books. I could only read like a chapter a day and I hate that! I want to be able to read as much as I want.

So in high school, I picked up this book again. I am always willing to give books another go. And I loved it! Now I own it. This is my third read of this book and it is still just as amazing. The magic is still there. I'll review the book and then I'll review the movie, because I saw that too.

Book Review
Okay, so this book is about Jonas as the synopsis says. He is turning 12, which is a big deal in the community he lives in. He gets a job assigned to him based on his skills. Everything is the same in Jonas' world. No color, no music, no love. Jobs are assigned to you. The government picks out your spouse and kids. There is even climate control. It's Sameness and it has worked for this community for a very long time.

Jonas is selected to be the Receiver of Memories. This means, he will get the memories of happiness, color, pain, war, death, etc from the Giver (he was the previous Receiver of Memories). Jonas will hold all these memories inside him and the Elders would call on him in times of need. And also to make sure the memories do not reach the community for chaos and panic would ensue.

I'll just leave it at that because I don't want to spoil the book. This book will make you think. You will think about what it must be like to live in a world of Sameness. To have everything picked out for you, down to what you wear. Can you imagine? There are benefits to this. No pain or war. No jealousy. Everybody is treated fairly. No worries about making the wrong choices.

This book just messes with me. To think that our world could be like that if the government saw it as fair and had enough power to do so. I don't know if they can control the climate like in The Giver but still. To think that might happen. It's just a crazy and terrifying thought.

I think this book should be read in high school. As an 8th grade, I didn't appreciate the message and what it was trying to say. I was too young to understand and that is why I didn't like it when I read it in 8th grade. When I read it in high school, things made sense. I think I read 1984 after this, which helped me to further understand such a world. That book is a trip. I can't wait to read the sequels of this book, which will probably be a little bit yet.

Movie Review
So to start out this little review, the movie has some pretty obvious differences. The kids are 16 or so, not 12. I thought it still worked. It didn't affect the story too much. Another difference is Fiona. She never stopped taking her pill because Jonas told her too. She never got in trouble and was scheduled for Release. However, I appreciated it and I thought it added to the story.

We also never go to see how the community was affected with the memories after Jonas left. But I didn't mind that either. I was always curious about what happened.

Another smaller detail was that in the movie, Asher was a Pilot. That was not the case in the book. Asher was the Assistant Activity Director.

Besides those differences, the movie was incredible. I was hooked the entire time. I couldn't help but smile like a loon the entire time I watched it. I can't wait to own it on Bluray. Also, as a side note, it was pretty weird for me at first to watch because the actor who played Jonas looked exactly like my brother. But the movie was amazing. I recommend reading the book and then watching the movie.