Editorial Review

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. With echoes of Read more

Reviews (2879)

Memories
I enjoyed the book The Giver By: Lois Lowry. The Giver is about a boy named Jonas who lives in a community that everything is the same. Jonas is selected to be the new reciever of memories, which is an extremely important job. The receiver of memories holds all of the memories of the past so the community doesn't have to bear them. As Jonas takes on these memories the excitement begins. I enjoyed the characters in the Giver because they were different and interesting. I loved the plot because it was exciting and suspenceful. The Giver is one of a triolgy of books. The second is called Gathering Blue and the last is The Messenger, they are all relitivily related.

The Giver
Lois Lowry's eye opening novel, The Giver, really does make you think, ''Is the grass greener on the other side?''
VHS Class Giver Review- Benton Wilson
The Giver, by Lois Lowry, is an excellent work of literature. It presents a stunning example of a futuristic, dystopian society where all facets of life are controlled by various rules and regulations in an easily readable format. Jonas, the novel's protagonist, is chosen by the council to become the successor to the Giver, a man whose job is to mentally store the collective memories of society. The book focuses on situations such as a society without individuality, the importance of choice, and how people react to finding out that the accepted truths of their world were at one point not the case. Ms. Lowry uses chilling imagery, such as the lack of color, the inability of most people to love, and the unemotional "release" of those who don't fit into the government's carefully laid out plans for a perfect society to establish a mood that, while somewhat bleak, is not entirely without hope. The story picks up as it progresses, shifting to a more tense, but still equally atmospheric, form. This tension is skillfully maintained until the story's conclusion. I would heartily recommend this story to all those who enjoy fictional works that focus on either individualism vs. society or potential visions of the future.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Science Fiction    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Juvenile Fiction    4. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    5. Science fiction    6. Social Issues - Values    7. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / General    8. Reading Group Guide   

Editorial Review

Everyone in town thinks Meg Murry is volatile and dull-witted, and that her younger brother, Charles Wallace, is dumb. People are also saying that their physicist father has run off and left their brilliant scientist mother.Spurred on by these rumors and an unearthly stranger, the tesseract-touting Mrs Whatsit, Meg and Charles Wallace and their new friend Calvin O'Keefe embark on a perilous quest through space to find their father. In doing so, they must travel behind the shadow of an evil power that is darkening the cosmos, one planet at a time. This is no superhero tale, nor is it science fiction, although it shares elements of both. The travelers must rely on their individual and collective strengths, delving deep within themselves to find answers.Read more

Reviews (940)

Enjoyable by young and old alike!
The earth is surrounded by a sinister presence - a dark, foul fog that is the tool of an ultimate evil - whose ambition is to enslave the planet with the complete removal of free will. Three magical beings, Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who and Mrs Which - witches, angels, demigods perhaps - appear to Margaret and Charles Wallace Murry and their friend, Calvin O'Keefe, to persuade them that it is their destiny to battle this evil on its own turf and to rescue Margaret and Charles Wallace's father. Dr Murry has been missing for some months and the kids learn that he has been captured by the evil while he was "tessering", traveling time and space in the course of his scientific research.
A Wrinkle in time
At first my teacher read it. She read the first chapter to us. It had me very excited to read on. So, this book taught me a lot. It kind of keeps you in suspence to.

Hated it.
It seems that people either love it or hate it andI belong to the latter category.How did this become a classic???Having forced myself to read to the end I'm not going to waste anymore time - just read the other 1-star reviews - poor kids forced by their teachers to read this over-rated garbage. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - Fantasy    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Classics    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    7. Science fiction    8. Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic   

Editorial Review

Lois Lowry's magnificent novel of the distant future, Read more

Reviews (253)

It Completes
When I first reviewed The Giver years ago, I loved it.Until I got to the end.It felt woefully incomplete.It wasn't simply that the reader was required to imagine possibilities.It felt like the author hadn't finished showing us her theme.Now she has with this sequel, and I only wish I could go back to increase the stars on The Giver, for the sequel has pulled up that book as well.
Gathering Blue
Kira is a child that is left with no family.Her mother now gone and taken to the field, with nowhere to live and no one to take care of her.Many people wouldn't mind if Kira and her twisted leg were left in the field to die. People thought that she was no good and couldn't do anything for the community.One of the women of the community had taken her land and made it into a place for their small children.These same women didn't agree that Kira should stay; she had gone to the Council of Guardians with the situation.
Gathering Blue, the best of Lois Lowry
The book Gathering Blue is about a crippled girl named Kira. After her mother dies from sickness, Kira is left an orphan. Most of the town is more than happy to get ridof her, especially Vandara. In an angry attempt o kill Kira, she reminds them that "If there is any death, the causer of death must die." She is brought to trail with Vandara as her accuser. Vandara's charges against Kira are that she is worthless, eats a lot yet she doesn't earn her food. Kira is speechless and has no idea how she is going to defend herself. It doesn't matter because the Council of Elders has plans for her. Kira's mother was an talented seamstress and Kira is even better. She has been asked to repair the Singer's robe and in time, create her own section of work onto the robe. Her encounters with people who know the real truth changes her life forever. Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - Science Fiction    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Family - Orphans & Foster Homes    5. Fiction    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Orphans    8. People with disabilities    9. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    10. Science fiction    11. Social Issues - Special Needs    12. Social Situations - Special Needs    13. Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic    14. Reading Group Guide   

Editorial Review

Often compared to Tolkien's Middle-earth or Lewis's Narnia, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea is a stunning fantasy world that grabs quickly at our hearts, pulling us deeply into its imaginary realms. Four books (Read more

Reviews (366)

Wonderful novel of a wonderful series
I read the Earthsea Trilogy as an adolescent. I remember loving it, although the experience was, even then, very different for me. I was a fan of C.S. Lewis, Tolkein, Lloyd Alexander. But Leguin felt really differrent. Part of this was that the novel was more intellectual in focus, more about what lies at the heart of her characters and less about overt action, heroics. I remembering being surprised that the plot moved so quickly away from the obvious. In this novel the hero, Ged, very early on makes terrible mistakes. Instead of being brave and untarnished, he's afraid and for some time runs away from the evil he's unleashed. This is not obvious fantasy fare. It doesn't fit the formula, and for that I loved it. Adolescence was, for me, a time of much uncertainty and doubt and sometimes outright fear. I really connected with Ged and appreciated being able to read about a troubled, damaged hero who wasn't always perfect. Also, I did note that LeGuin is careful to describe her character's racial diversity. This is a world of brown and black people, with a few paler ones living at the margins of society. I think people often miss this, but I didn't then.
Overrated
So often it seems like an adequate book is well loved just because it appears in an "unusual" genre. If this book was about anything but wizards, it would be considered mildly entertaining, but not much else. I found it neither very intellectually stimulating, nor focused around an incredible plot. Of course, people can like what they like, but I feel like this book was a real let down.

"There was not much work to be got out of Duny."
While not as detailed or as ornate as THE LORD OF THE RINGS, LeGuin's Earthsea Cycle is considered among the finest of the Sword and Sorcery classics. A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA is the first book in the Cycle.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Fantasy    2. Fantasy    3. Fiction    4. Magic    5. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    6. Fiction / Fantasy / General   

Editorial Review

Genly Ai is an emissary from the human galaxy to Winter, a lost, stray world. His mission is to bring the planet back into the fold of an evolving galactic civilization, but to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own culture and prejudices and those that he encounters. On a planet where people are of no gender--or both--this is a broad gulf indeed. The inventiveness and delicacy with which Le Guin portrays her alien world are not only unusual and inspiring, they are fundamental to almost all decent science fiction that has been written since. In fact, reading Le Guin again may cause the eye to narrow somewhat disapprovingly at the younger generation: what new ground are they breaking that is not already explored here with greater skill and acumen? It cannot be said, however, that this is a rollicking good story. Le Guin takes a lot of time to explore her characters, the world of her creation, and the philosophical themes that arise.Read more

Reviews (155)

Too cold....the book, not the planet.
First off let me say that I am willing to grant this book two things, regardless of whether or not I enjoyed it:I can tell LeGuin is a great author and I understand why this book won the Hugo and Nebula.The world-building skill illustrated in this book is very impressive.In fact, my favorite parts of the book were the little interspersed "myths".Also, the idea behind the Ekumen was great.The political intrigues on Gethen, while interesting, we kind of hard for me to follow and I just didn't really care.I also didn't come away from this book feeling either way about any of the characters.I realize the narrative in this book introduces itself as Genly's "report" to the Ekumen, but even bearing that in mind while reading it wasn't enough to get me actually enjoying the book.In fact, the only reason I finished it is because I don't like "quitting".Maybe I went into this with inappropriate expectations, but the story and the writing style ultimately just did not draw me in.I will not give up on LeGuin, however.Next I'm going to try some Earthsea books as I hear they're pretty good.

My Favorite Le Guin novel
Out of all of Le Guin's books I've read so far, including the Telling, The Dispossessed,Earthsea, Gifts, Changing Planes, and Coyote Girls, this book was my favorite. Although the Telling and the Dispossed are also achingly good, the stories are a little too political. At times, the messages in them distract you from the story.
A quiet classic
It's hard to believe that this was released in 1969 - it is still as fresh, even urgent, as ever.
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Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Science Fiction    3. Science Fiction    4. Science Fiction - General    5. Fantasy    6. Fiction / Science Fiction / General   

Reviews (83)

I was moved.
This was a fitting completion to the trilogy.Messenger finally brings in the plot elements of The Giver as well as its themes, entwining them with Gathering Blue, so we can see a land where spirit and physical combine into something greater.However, a minor warning:some scenes in this final novel are so gruesome they would be inappropriate for younger readers.
Great follow-up story to the Giver and Gathering Blue
This was a great mysterious tear jerker. It really makes you think. I have read the first two books "The Giver" and "Gathering Blue" so I'm not sure how it would read without having read the first two. I would love to have a 4th story to tie in the characters more.

It is a must NOT read!
I DID NOT LIKE this book. It was sooooo retarted and i would not recommend it to anyone, ever. I had to read it for school and it was very hard to get through it, I'll tell you that. But, it was ok... in that it was better then the other book we had to read and the book we had to read last year. Definetely. I have never read the giver or gathering blue so I can't tell you how it relates to those but if it's like this one, I wouldn't recommend those either. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Community life    4. Fiction    5. General    6. Healers    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    9. Social Issues - Values    10. Utopias    11. Juvenile Fiction / General   

Editorial Review

Fifteen-year-old Charles Wallace Murry, whom readers first met in Read more

Reviews (114)

THE LEGACY OF WARRING BROTHERS
Fans of L'Engle's exceptional Murry family will delight in the continued adventures of the more grown up siblings.Married Meg is enjoying her pregnancy while wishing that her husband were not in distant London.Still very close to the youngest brother, Charles Wallace, she also tries to welcome her crusty
My favorite of the Time Quartet
This is perhaps my favorite book in L'Engle's famous "Time Quartet." Set a decade after the events of the previous book, A Wind in the Door, Meg Murray and Calvin O'Keefe are now married and she pregnant when he is sent overseas one Thanksgiving. She takes her mother-in-law to her family's home for the holiday, but the mood of the celebration is shattered when the President calls Mr. Murray with dire news: the Central American dictator Mad Dog Branzillo has gotten his hands on a nuclear arsenal, and his fingers are stroking the button. A cryptic rune uttered by Mrs. O'Keefe sends the 15-year-old Charles Wallace on a quest through time itself on a desperate search for the link between Calvin's family and the Might-Have-Been that he has to change to save the world.
A Swiftly Tilting Planet
If the world's fate were in your hands, what would you do? Don't know, well if you were fifteen-year-old Charles Wallace you would have to figure it out soon. Charles Wallace has to find out how to save the world from being attacked by a nuclear bomb after his father gets a call on Thanksgiving from the president telling him that Branzillo has threatened nuclear warfare on the world. After his father got the call, his sister's mother-in-law gives him a rune that he is to use to save the world. After Thanksgiving dinner Charles goes out to lie on a rock and is met there by a unicorn named Gaudior. Gaudior tells him that in order to save the world he has to go wither people from the past and future to save what is going on in the present times. Charles agrees on going within the people because he knows that only he can do it. He ends up going within four people in the past and present at the same location that he is at and in the end he ends up changing the fact that Branzillo was born to the Gwydryr family and instead to the Madocs. I would recommend this novel to people who enjoy reading books that are sci-fi and keep you on the edge of you seat wanting to find out what is going to happen next or how they were going to put the clues together to solve the problem.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - Fantasy    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Classics    5. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    6. Science fiction    7. Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic   

Editorial Review

Alfred's life is going nowhere fast. He's a high-school dropout working at a grocery store. His best friend is drifting behind a haze of drugs and violence, and now some street punks are harassing him for something he didn't do. Feeling powerless and afraid, Alfred gathers up the courage to visit Donatelli's Gym, the neighborhood's boxing club. He wants to be a champion--on the streets and in his own life. Alfred doesn't quite understand when Mr. Donatelli tells him, "It's the climbing that makes the man. Getting to the top is an extra reward." In the end, he learns that a winner isn't necessarily the one standing when the fight is over. Teens and adults alike will be knocked out by this powerful story of how a frightened boy becomes a man. ... Read more

Reviews (298)

The Contender
In the book " The Contender," a series of bad events happen in Alfred Brooks' life, he decides he wants to be a boxer, but one thing he doesn't know is how hard the training will be for him.Although boxing is very hard for Alfred he has a lot of other things to deal with like gangs and cops and his best friend James or ex best friend James.Since Alfred can't solve that problem, he has to move on with his life.After his second fight, Donatelli, Alfred's trainer, decides to tell Alfred that his boxing career is over, but Alfred didn't want to stop until he knew he was a contender. After his third fight even though he lost, he realizes he was a contender.
The Contender
The Contender
The Contender

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Subjects:  1. African Americans    2. Boxing    3. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    5. Fiction    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Juvenile delinquency    8. People & Places - United States - African-American    9. Social Issues - Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance    10. Social Situations - Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance    11. Sports & Recreation - General    12. Sports & Recreation - Miscellaneous    13. Juvenile Fiction / Ethnic / African American   

Reviews (3)

Strong characterization and fast-paced story line.
Ursula K. LeGuin's VOICES will reach the same age group with a fantasy set in a world where a once-peaceful city of scholars has been captured by desert Alds, its residents forbidden to read or write. Teen Memer finds her life changed with poet Orrec and his wife arrive - and finds that as she explores her skills and talents, forbidden in the new world, she may prove her people's last hope. This is the second book of the Annals of the Western Shore - but it stands alone well and needs no prior introduction to prove compelling, with its strong characterization and fast-paced story line.

Another good peice of writing for a master story teller.
Much more fast paced than I am used to for LeGuin's novels.As always though, the writing is amazing, she really does show her family's background in anthropology when she creates these new peoples.They are so realistic.I had the feeling while reading this that it is very much inspired by some contemporary events.It deals with the effects of war--and not just war but an occupied people (in a city) and how the cultures of the occupied and occupier clash due to willful misunderstanding and ignorance.
Entertaining story, engaging characters
This is a YA novel set in the same world as Le Guin's earlier Gifts, and Orrec and Gry, from the previous book, do figure in the story. The story is completely separate, though, and it's not necessary to have read that one in order to read this.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Science Fiction    2. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Fantasy    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Leguin, Ursula - Prose & Criticism    7. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    8. Social Issues - General    9. Social Situations - Adolescence    10. Social Situations - Prejudice & Racism    11. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Prejudice & Racism   

Reviews (11)

not thrilled.
The idea behind the book is promising. I was really disappointed by the overall story. Its one of the worst books I have read by far. It is highly anti-climatic. It is impossible to connect with the characters. I would suggest this book only to people who want to know how not to write

Creepy, but must read
The life of Keir is a string of delusions.He only sees what he wishes to see.He cannot reconcile his reality to actual reality.The situations he puts himself in makes him and unlikable narrator, but one that the reader can even pity somehow.The book is heavy and powerful.

A Fascinating and Disturbing Tale. A Must-Read!
This book is fascinating and disturbing. I couldn't put it down. Inexcusable, by Chris Lynch, is told from the perspective of Keir Sarafian, a high school senior, football kicker, and self-proclaimed "good guy". The very first scene depicts Keir in a bedroom having an intense confrontation with Gigi Boudakian, the girl that he claims to love. Gigi rails against him for what he's just done to her. "I said no" she insists. Keir argues with her, and with himself, because the picture in front of him simply can't be right. He is baffled. He can't possibly have just done this to someone he loves.
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Subjects:  1. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Family life    5. Fiction    6. General    7. High schools    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Rape    10. School & Education    11. Schools    12. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    13. Social Issues - General    14. Social Issues - Sexual Abuse    15. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Sexual Abuse   

Editorial Review

Ursula K. LeGuin follows her classic trilogy from Earthsea with a magical tale that won the 1991 Nebula Award for Science Fiction. Unlike the tales in the trilogy, this novel is short and concise, yet it is by no means simplistic. Promoted as a children's book because of the awards garnered in that category by her previous work, Read more

Reviews (133)

"His name was Aihal."
Written some twenty years after the original Earthsea trilogy, TEHANU picks up the story of Tenar's and Ged's self-imposed exile on Gont.
Tahanu, more than meets the eye
I never thought that Tehanu would be the book leading me to write my first Amazon review, yet here I am.In terms of fantasy writing, I didn't find Tehanu to be outstanding.Yet, on the same token, it was by no means bad, or even average.Taken in the context of the Earthsea world, it was good.And then I read some of the reviews posted here...
Shares the spirit and writing quality of the original trilogy
I'm not sure why so many lovers of the original trilogy have lambasted this book. I agree that the rest of the series after _Tehanu_ (starting with _Tales from Earthsea_) swerves away from the originals in terms of tone, plot, writing style/quality, etc.; they lack the grace and power of the trilogy and take on an unsatisfyingly revisionist bent, adopting a strange sort of misplaced feminism that made me think Le Guin no longer understood what the original books were all about. And although _Tehanu_ does dig away a little at some of the assumptions upon which the world of Earthsea is founded, it does so in a thoughtful, quiet, respectful, and graceful manner. This book shares the simple, poetic prose of the originals, and it has the added benefit of taking us into the thoughts and daily goings-on of an older person--a welcome addition to the trilogy's focus on the inner workings of younger characters. This allows Le Guin to delve into certain areas that the earlier books could only hint at. Revisiting the character from _Tombs of Atuan_ is welcome as well, since she is a deep well of story to draw from given her background and the fact that she had to give up all she new and live among strangers in a foreign land. But most important of all, the writing itself is just splendid--quiet, profound, and very much in the spirit of the originals (with, I might add, a new adult layer of depth that is inappropriate for younger readers). That's the biggest problem with the subsequent books: their attempts to overturn all our beliefs about Earthsea might be forgivable if they were actually well-written, but most any reader can readily see the specific elements that make the prose of the later books inferior. Fortunately, _Tehanu_ doesn't suffer from that problem; although its more adult and female-centric narrative might bother some readers, that's more of a personal problem on the reader's part than a literary flaw:-). As for the oft-criticized ending: I agree that the final scenes regarding the title character (the little girl Tehanu) are a bit abrupt and incoherent, but the end situation of our dear old characters (Ged and Tenar) serves as a satisfying, fitting end to one of the best series in fantasy writing, even if Le Guin decided not to let it be the end (no disrespect intended to such a great writer:-). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Fantasy    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Classics    4. Fairy Tales & Folklore - General    5. Fantasy fiction    6. Fiction    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Magic    9. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    10. Juvenile Fiction / Classics   

Editorial Review

"There are dragons in the twins' vegetable garden," announces six-year-old Charles Wallace Murry in the opening sentence of Read more

Reviews (102)

Is there really "A wind in the door"?
Is There Really "A Wind in the Door"?
Joe from Thailand
Meg was trying to help Charles, her brother, from his illness. She and her friends must face of three ordeals in order to find out what is the cause of this illness and how to terminate it.
Strong follow-up
Madeline L'Engle returns to the young heroes of A Wrinkle In Time in the second volume of her Time Quartet. This time, young prodigy Charles Wallace is suffering from a bizarre illness that threatens his very life at the same time that his father examines the skies, where huge swaths of stars are vanishing. His sister Meg and their friend Calvin are recruited again to act as soldiers in a war between good and evil, this time on a battlefield ranging from the Heavens themselves to the smallest organisms within Charles Wallace himself.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Classics    5. Juvenile Fiction    6. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    7. Fantasy    8. Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic    9. Science fiction   

Reviews (2)

The Bone Wars Review
14 year old Thad wants to be a scout. He starts to look for dinosaur bones on Indian land. The Indians find him, they mean no harm. He becomes friends with them and learns about life. Thad meets Buffalo Bill and he recommendsThad for a fossil hunting expedition. Thad gets the job and starts diggingwith them. This book starts kind of slow but then picks up the pace. Thecharacters are great and the plot is awesome.

Wow!
Wow! what a book to read! Hey, it is a book everybody should read at least once. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Fiction    4. General    5. Great Plains    6. Indians of North America    7. Juvenile fiction    8. Paleontology    9. Wars    10. Black Elk    11. Juvenile Fiction / General   

Subjects:  1. Fiction - Science Fiction    2. Science Fiction    3. Science Fiction - General    4. Fantasy    5. Fiction / Science Fiction / General   

Reviews (3)

A Fantasy Classic
Before Harry Potter, before Rand Al'Thor, and somewhere around the time of Elric of Melnibone there was Ged, the simple goatherder turned Wizard.Ursala Le Guin's trilogy is a must for those seeking to find the post-Tolkien roots of the fantasy genre.
Great
This is the first in a series of books