Messenger Book Review

Book Title: Messenger

Author: Lois Lowry

Publish Date: 2006
Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Series: The Giver Quartet #3

Messenger by Lois Lowry

Suggested Grade: 7th, 8th, High School

Suggested Format: Small Group, Independent Reading

Synopsis: 
Matty has the perfect life now, living in the Village and helping the Seer. His world is changing, however, and Matty doesn't think it is changing for the better. Something evil is changing people in the Village, and they no longer want to accept the outsiders that they once were. Matty acts as messenger between the other communities, and now with the boundaries closing, Matty must take one more message, this time to try and convince Kira to return to the Village. Along the way, he discovers a power that he holds inside of himself. But when the time comes, can Matty bring himself to make the necessary sacrifice?

Teacher's Notes: 
A wonderful read, this is the saddest of the Giver Quartet. I definitely cried through the ending. The story has a haunting presence on the reader, and is definitely for a slightly more mature audience than the first two stories. I would recommend this book to older students on a case by case basis. It is more abstract in nature than The Giver and Gathering Blue, and will not interest as many students. Those students who are interested, however, will once again be drawn into a wonderfully crafted world.

Overall: 9/10

How I Got the Book: Gift

Suggested Interests: Dystopia, Fantasy, Fiction