Despite its differences from Lowry's other work, The Giver was universally well-received on publication. Gary D. Schmidt, writing in The Five Owls, stated: "This is a fantasy novel that does what fantasy at its best can do: make us see the reality all the more clearly. The questions it asks about the costs of love, the structure of the family, the role of painful memories, the nature of the perfect society are all timely." In a much longer, but equally enthusiastic review of "this intricately constructed masterwork," Patty Campbell, writing for Horn Book, began by...
Source: Novels for Students, ©2013 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
(The entire page is 683 words.)
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