Two decades of waiting: Finishing the Giver Quartet, my first Dystopian experience as an educator

Back in April of 2012, I reflected on the popularity of the Dystopian novel  for young readers. This was during the time of the Hunger Games, when adults and young adults alike were fascinated and sucked into the story.

For me, the first real Dystopian novel of my career was The Giver by Lois Lowry. I had read Wrinkle in Time in a literature circle type setting in school. I may have read 1984 or Lord of the Flies in school. Neither of which I remember vividly. The Giver, though, came out in my final years of high school. I don’t remember specifically reading it in school, but by the time it recieved the Newbery in 1994, the book was on a roll. I am pretty sure that it appeared in most of my “modern fiction” courses in my career, as well as in my English Education courses. When I went back to school in the 2000s to get my Middle Level Communications Arts and Literature license, it was part of my courses again.

I loved the book, despite having to read it for classes. Unlike Heart of Darkness, which I struggled through in four classes before I finally saw some merit behind the words.  The Giver had a lot of the elements of what made me so attracted to a book. It had a character who seemed about normal, but had to face abnormal challenges. It was about fitting into a society that wasn’t right, which is a struggle many, many teens face.  I loved the Giver, but the very last page left me with so many questions. I read Lois Lowry’s responses to the frequently asked questions by readers. I had hope that the characters found music and warmth. But, there was no answer. Even reading Gathering Blue and Messenger, I didn’t feel complete. She didn’t mean to write sequels, but those became continuations of the same story.

I heard that Son had been published. I was so busy in the world of iPads, technology, and innovation that I wasn’t taking time to read. I was forgetting the magic that a book can bring.

This week, I reread Giver and Messenger so that I could read Son. (My copy of Gathering Blue is still in a box because of our recent move, and I didn’t have the patience to wait until it was found.)  Reading Son, I found that Lois Lowry did not disappoint. She closed some story lines that I’ve waited literally two decades to understand. Yet, she created a novel that left the reader clinging to every word. With less than ten pages left in the novel, I had no idea how she could pull it all together.

But, Son did not disappoint. While I waited two years from its publication to read it, I feel that the suspense on waiting for the answers was worth two more years. The world that Lois Lowry created, with its intricate communities, prophetic societies, and ultimate hope for the future of humanity (despite human failings)… are worlds beyond compare.  I have finished the Quartet, but unlike twenty years ago when I finished The Giver, I feel complete. I do believe, in part, it is because I am a mother myself that Son resonates the most.

So, for all the young adult readers who embraced The Giver in your formative years, I suggest that you take the time to reread the series and complete the journey started so long ago.

What novel touched you most as a young adult?
Was there a novel that touched you as an educator?
What made these books so powerful in  your memory?

 

 

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