The Giver, by Lois Lowry

The Giver, by Lois Lowry is one of my favorite books of all time. I love it so much, in fact, that I wrote my college application essay about it.

The main point of that essay was that Lois Lowry changed my life by writing that book. It made me realize that I wanted to be an author someday, because I wanted to evoke the same kind of emotion in people that Lowry evoked in me.

About The Giver

The book follows the life of Jonas, a boy that lives in a world devoid of extremes. There is no great sadness, no great joy, just a lukewarm, stagnant spectrum of emotions and experiences meant to protect the citizens of the community.

But when Jonas goes through the ceremony of 12, where he learns what his profession in the community will be, he discovers that he has been chosen as the new Receiver of Memory, an extremely respected position in the community. Because, as Jonas soon discovers, the Receiver of Memory takes on all the memories of the past, all of the emotions and experiences, both joyful and horrifying, that are so alien to their way of living.

The old Receiver, who asks Jonas to call him The Giver, transfers his knowledge to the youth, and as he does so Jonas’ life is irrevocably changed. Things will never be the same for him. The question is, can things ever be the same for everyone else in his community?

A Young Adult Book with Hefty Social Themes

For a book marketed to young adults, The Giver tackles some pretty hefty philosophical themes. I think that’s good though. It’s almost a perfect transition book for kids reading nonsensical books with simplistic messages to more mature and challenging works. And adults will enjoy it because it’s an engaging yet easy read that they can probably get through in a day or two.

If you see The Giver somewhere, don’t miss your opportunity to grab it. You’ll be sorry if you miss the opportunity.

Stephanie Meyer

The first book in the 4-book series by Stephenie Meyer, Twilight, is outstanding. Bella Swan, a 16-year-old girl who is a known klutz from Arizona moves to a small town in Washington called Forks, where her father, Charlie Swan is the chief of police. She feels out of place, and immediately wishes she had been able to stay with her mother in Arizona, who had recently married a minor-league baseball player.

Shortly after arriving in Forks and starting school, Bella’s interest is piqued by a family of the most beautiful people she had ever seen — the Cullen family. In particular, Edward Cullen caught her attention. She was immediately drawn to Edward, even though he showed an emphatic repulsion toward her.

Twighlight’s Progression and Vampires

As the story progresses, we learn why Edward was at first avoiding Bella, and then later falling in love with her. Edward, along with his family, are vampires. They survive by consuming the blood of large wild animals instead of human blood, although they still have the desire to consume human blood.

Bella is embraced by the Cullen family, even though she is human, and the love between Bella and Edward begins to grow by the minute. Until a group of Nomad Vampires stumbles across Bella and the Cullens. The leader of the group of nomads decides he has to have Bella–and Edward and the rest of the Cullens aren’t going to let that happen.

Bella flees back to Arizona to avoid endangering the Cullens or her father. The tracker follows Bella, and claims to have taken her mother. She and Edward face the toughest test of their love during their time in Arizona, but true love always prevails. Bella learns the true value of her friendship with the Cullen family and her love for Edward, as well as for her mother and father.

American Gods, a novel by Neil Gaiman

American Gods begins with a man, known only as Shadow, in the process of being released from prison. He’s a few days away from the finality of it, and he’s confirmed it with his wife, Laura, over the phone. Shadow’s life has nearly been repaired. He will resume life as it was, or so it is assumed. On the day of his release he is informed that Laura and will not be coming to pick him up. Her death was quick; a traffic accident. In the car with her was the man she was sleeping with, who was also the man that held the job and home for Shadow upon his release, and whom was also Shadow’s best friend.

It happened so quickly that Shadow had not yet had the opportunity to feel normal again, and as it turns out, that time may never come. He soon meets an older man who introduces himself thus; “Well, seeing that today certainly is my day — why don’t you call me Wednesday?” Given the title of the book, and with some specific knowledge, it’s only a little less than difficult to grasp who he is immediately, if not harder to believe. Wednesday proposes Shadow work for him, to which he finally agrees, after some hard to swallow tests. Among those, fighting a drunken Irishman calling himself a leprechaun and toasting on a drink that could be considered a relic in this day of age.

Shadow’s New Job

Shadow’s new job leads him in circles around the United States, and plowing his way through every situation that could possibly go wrong. As it happens, Wednesday is a con artist (emphasis on the artist part) and needs Shadow to be his bodyguard and partner, although that sounds simpler than it turns out to be. Wednesday is finding it hard to keep up with the new generation, but I’ll leave it to you to find out who they are specifically.

The minute you pick up the book there’s absolutely no way to put it down, even after multiple times read. The characters and plot get only more interesting, especially with the additional side stories included between some chapters, and the stirring plot twists and reveals. It’s entertaining to figure out just who each character really is, and there are a lot, all relevant and fleshed out. The inclusion of many real cities may strike familiar with readers, and it’s certainly welcome, and interesting to learn the mysterious past that surrounds them.

Combining mythology with reality as it is today, American Gods has all the things necessary to become a modern classic, along with the author, Neil Gaiman (Stardust, Anansi Boys) himself. I can’t recommend this book enough. It has changed the way I think about writing and storytelling in general. A somewhat noir, somewhat fantasy story that can’t receive enough praise. Gritty, powerful, intelligent, and magical in ways you wouldn’t expect, American Gods has found a permanent space on my shelf.