The Giver by Lois Lowry has long been of favorite of middle-school teachers and readers. I remember reading it, discussing it with my daughter’s sixth-grade book club, then attending a local stage production of the story. It was a great way to talk about the issues the story raises from a variety of angles. With the movie starring Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges coming out in August, now is a good time for your mother-daughter or kids book club to read the book and make plans to see the movie.
Here’s an official synopsis of the story:
“The haunting story of THE GIVER centers on Jonas (Brenton Thwaites), a young man who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Yet as he begins to spend time with The Giver (Jeff Bridges), who is the sole keeper of all the community’s memories, Jonas quickly begins to discover the dark and deadly truths of his community’s secret past. With this newfound power of knowledge, he realizes that the stakes are higher than imagined – a matter of life and death for himself and those he loves most. At extreme odds, Jonas knows that he must escape their world to protect them all – a challenge that no one has ever succeeded at before. THE GIVER is based on Lois Lowry’s beloved young adult novel of the same name, which was the winner the 1994 Newbery Medal and has sold over 10 million copies worldwide.”
You may also want to check out the official trailer:
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/the-giver-exclusive-trailer-meryl-streep-jeff-87806867547.html
Other things may interest you:
Character Poster: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5bne470p45l8un8/AADuShgedBAAvmCZCiT6xvQea
The Giver Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TheGiverFilmOfficial
The Giver on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thegivermovie
The Giver Challenge: http://thegiverchallenge.com/
The Memory Deposit: http://thegivermemory.tumblr.com/
The Giver Experience, which is three fully immersive, interactive websites that are designed to reflect upon the themes present in the film and allows users to experience The Giver for themselves.: https://thegiverfilm.com/
