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The Giver by Lois Lowry (B reviewer)

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Book name and author
The Giver, by Lois Lowry
Brief synopsis (no spoilers)
"The society has eliminated pain and strife by converting to 'Sameness,' a plan that has also eradicated emotional depth from their lives. Jonas is selected to inherit the position of Receiver of Memory, the person who stores all the past memories of the time before Sameness, in case they are ever needed to aid in decisions that others lack the experience to make. Jonas learns the truth about his dystopian society and struggles with its weight." (From Wikipedia)
Why I chose this book
It was recommended, on the library site
My personal opinion (the review)
The premise is profound, the story flows well, the writing is gripping, and the content is controversial. There are no old or feeble people anywhere. There are only a certain number of babies born each year. The people don't fear death- or anything, for that matter. But their relationship with death starts out "interesting" and progresses to "horrifying". My thought at the end was: do they not understand death, or do they understand it too well- almost worshipping it?
Warnings 
Language: mild
Violence: no physical violence, but emotional stress is common, and memories of violence are recounted
Adult situations: none
Death: frequent; they are not violent, but some might find them disturbing
Movie rating equivalent
PG-13
Protagonist description
Jonas and his ability are incredible, and he only gets more distinct with time.
Point of view of story
First person
Book length
Less than a week.
Story flow
Quite gripping, no slow parts
Grammar and spelling issues
None
Character connection (no spoilers)
None
For series:
Independent or integral (stand-alone or back story dependent)
Independent
Series review as a whole
Perplexing. I'm really not sure how or even if they'll tie together.
If you only have time for one, read: (which one)
Gathering Blue, if mind games disturb you

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