At Maybe Genius, S.E. Sinkhorn shares her thoughts on one book that changed her life: The Giver by Lois Lowry. She says:
“Sometimes books come into your life that you don’t just enjoy. They don’t flit before you and then disappear again. The Giver is a book that changed what I wanted from fiction. It changed my outlook on life. It changed me. It seeded a love of dystopia and imperfection and melancholy in my heart. It stole my breath when I realized that the characters of this book had been robbed of color. Their lives had been sterilized. Passion had died. And Jonah fought to win it back.
Books like this are why I write. They’re why I demand so much of the books I love. This is everything I want to create someday. I’m not there yet, but… maybe one day.”
I felt the same way about The Giver when I first read it. When I started, I thought “Wow, this community is so great. Everyone has a place and everyone shares things.” Then, as the truth is slowly revealed, I felt that I had moved into another level of reading and understanding. Even though I’d read fantastic books before that, The Giver was the first book that really made me think about what it meant to live in a world with pain and joy and beauty and suffering. It’s the first book that made me consider what it means to be human.
This is what books can do–particular books for young readers. This is why we need books as stunning asThe Giver.
What books have touched you or changed your life?
So glad I saw your post while wondering through topics. I have been wanting to get this book for my daughter. I definitely think it will be in her Easter basket now. She loves “good books”, amongst her favorites…Island of the Blue Dolphins, Because of Winn Dixie, many classics and so on.
I love books that change your view of the world. The kind of book that you can’t get out of your head. The last book I felt like that about was, Sarah’s Key.
Thanks so much for the post!
That makes me so happy!! I really hope your daughter likes The Giver. It sounds like she has great taste already, so I’m guessing she’ll love it.