The Giver Quartet Box Set: The Giver, Gathering Blue, Messenger, Son

Excellent! Love this book. I put these in my classroom. The Giver is one of those books that quietly sneaks up on you and stays with you long after you finish it. Set in a seemingly perfect world without pain or choice, the story follows Jonas as he begins to uncover the hidden truths behind his community's "sameness." A lot of people don't realize this is a series.

If you enjoyed the giver, this set is delightful!

One very important detail to note: This is not a "series" in the traditional sense, i.e. it doesn't have a continuous storyline that runs chronologically from book one to book four. Rather, it's more of a "collection" of four distinct and separate stories connected by a common theme and overlapping of characters with the final book providing a satisfying resolution to the quartet.In "The Giver", we are introduced to a community in a dystopian future in which emotions are chemically suppressed. Although on the surface this creates a pleasant, productive society free from emotions like anger, jealousy and hate, it's also lacking in love, joy and empathy. Spouses are not chosen, they're assigned with the soul purpose of raising and guiding the next generation of children. Babies are not born into their families, they are born to women who's job it is to birth them, then they are cared for in a facility until they're assigned to a family unit. Babies deemed unfit for placement are "released" from the community. The main character, a boy named Jonas, is assigned the job of Receiver of Memories. As the Receiver, he receives the "memories" of emotional experiences (both good and bad) from the Giver. As his collection of "memories" grows, so does the compassion he feels for baby Gabe, who is scheduled for release."Gathering Blue" takes us to a completely different community and a different cast of characters. I was confused and disappointed at first because I expected it to pick up where "The Giver" left off. Instead, the reader is introduced to Kira who lives in a community far less advanced than Jonas' but on some levels very similar. No one is allowed to be a burden to the community. Babies born with defects are left out to be taken by wild beasts. Born with a deformed leg, Kira was spared this fate by her mother who loved her. When her mother passes away, Kira once again faces the threat of being turned out."Messenger" tells the story of Village, where diversity is celebrated and all are welcome. It is a refuge for the weak, the injured, the disabled and those seeking a kinder way of life. But as the forest around them grows darker and more threatening, the people of Village begin to change as well. A teenage boy named Matty may be Village's only hope."Son"The final book takes us back to the beginning where we see the story from the perspective of Gabe's mother. Claire was assigned the occupation of Birth Mother, producing babies to be placed in approved family units. Claire loved her son in spite of the community's rules. This love sends her on an epic quest to find her son. All of our familiar characters are finally connected in this book as the threads of the different storylines are woven together.To me, it felt like "The Giver" and "Gathering Blue" weren't originally intended to be connected to each other. They don't even seem like they're in the same time period! "Messenger" seemed to be a sequel to both books, with "Son" completing the story. In spite of that, I thoroughly enjoyed reading these books and recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre.

Who would have thought that there was more to the story, beyond the first entry? I read The Giver for middle school and didn't find out about the sequels until college! They're definitely unusual, and quite different from the first entry, but worth the read! Keep that belief suspended and you'll have yourself a nice little read. I couldn't put these books down!

I enjoyed this book very much. It has valuable and timeless story to tell. I would recommend it to the 13yr olds inside us .

The giver Quartet is a great series. In some schools, the book giver might be required rating, but if your child wants to go further after the book is finished, then they can certainly do that. The first book is called the giver. It’s about a 12-year-old boy who gets selected to do something that no one else in the community except for certain people where he lives can do. The next book is called gathering blue. That’s about a girl named Kira who finds that she can stitch things together Out of threads that she is taught how to dye to make different colors. The third book is called Messenger. This one is about a boy named Mattty who finds that he can make things better for other people, this one has a sad ending to it. The fourth book is called Son, this one actually has three sections. The sections are before, this part takes place during the book giver. There is a character that is introduced named Claire, she’s actually in the whole book. The next part of Son is called between, in this part of the book, the main character is washed ashore on an island, she is shown the way out of the island by someone that she gets really close to. The third part is called beyond. In this part of the book the character, Gabe has to defeat an evil character. The character he has to defeat is actually a character that was also in Messenger named trademaster. This is a good series even though it has some parts in it that are sad. I would actually recommend that sensitive children shouldn’t read messenger because of what happens at the end of the book. I would say that the age range for this series should be 11 or 12 and up. But if you feel your child can handle these series, I would say that it’s a very good series for them to read.

Lois Lowry didn’t leave us perched on an ominous brink to wonder what happens after The Giver. Allow yourself time to enter the full world of The Giver Quartet. It is replete with stories for our time and for all time.

Beautifully woven tapestry of character development, diverse setting, and plan of action. The series brings forth serious and worthwhile discussion topics that are both relevant and necessary. Utopia versus dystopia.