by Lois Lowry
Houghton Mifflin, 1993
180 pages
About the Book
“It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened.”
Thus opens this haunting novel in which a boy inhabits a seemingly ideal world: a world without conflict, poverty, unemployment, divorce, injustice or inequality. It is a time in which family values are paramount, teenage rebellion is unheard of, and even good manners are a way of life.
Told with deceptive simplicity, this is the provocative story of a boy who experiences something incredible and undertakes something impossible. In the telling it questions every value we have taken for granted and reexamines our mostly deeply held beliefs.
My Thoughts
This book made me regret having stopped reading Young Adult books after I got out of college. I first saw it on Tuesday night at an information session for a cyberschool. I was immediately intrigued and wanted to sit down and read it then and there. Instead I controlled myself and drove straight to the library and checked it out, proceeding to read it in one sitting on Wednesday night.
Lowry does an amazing job of drawing the reader into Jonas’ world. The details of life in his community are fascinating by being familiar and yet strange at the same time. As the story unfolds and we learn more about how this place has come to be and what it entails, the fascination gradually takes on a sense of horror and dread.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It is listed for ages 12-14, and I think that is an appropriate age as there are topics that may be too disturbing for younger children. It was also the recipient of a well-deserved Newbery Medal
Note: This is Book #68 of my 2011 Reads (master list here).
I'm a mom with Asperger's raising an amazing son with autism, which means I'm basically the case manager/advocate/cheerleader/chauffeur. The rest of the time, you can usually find me with my nose in a book!
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I love this book. I used to teach it to my 7th graders and also to my 11th graders. It stimulated their thinking and our classroom conversation. It is excellent.