The Giver Lois Lowry

Good day reader, *employ cultish tone*
The cultish tone I feel truly embodies the feeling I get from The Giver. The first time I read it I really didn't enjoy it, but when I read it again along with the rest of the series I loved it. It's a very odd series, not dystopian but more utopian. And spoiler alert utopias don't ever work. Also congratulations on making it to day five of the apocamaybe quarantine/social  distancing. Extra congratulations if you haven't gone crazy yet. I'm writing this from my dining room eating my very basic boring lunch. I've become a regular little house wife, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry ALL DAY LONG. And CA, and CR I'm doing my very best to stay home where I belong, and it's working, to an extent. Anyway on with the book!

Characters!

• Jonas- Jonas is our main character who may be eleven but that seems really off so maybe not. He's mild mannered and quiet generally obeying the rules until he becomes the Receiver of Memories.
• Fiona-One of Jonas's friends she's kind and nurturing, and accepts all the rules given to the people of this place. It's also important to note that she has red hair, we'll get to why in a minute.
• Asher- Jonas other friend. He's loud, always late, and tends to speak before he thinks. CA don't even I know what you're thinking. He's basically the life of the party, if they had parties, as it he's frowned upon. 
• Gabriel- the new child that Jonas's family is taking care of. He's very important.

Plot!

 The Giver is set in a utopia that doesn't have a name and is at some point in the future. We don't ever know what caused the Community to form but it did. To keep everything perfect, the Community elders enforce Sameness which is pretty much what it sounds like, everything is the same. The Elders assign homes, bicycles, spouses, and jobs. Jobs are what start our story off. Every year there's a ceremony, and when you come of age you get assigned a job. Well everyone is assigned a job, except Jonas. He's skipped which doesn't ever happen. As it turns out he has been selected to be the Receiver of Memory. He was selected because he can see beyond. Remember when I said Fiona had red hair? Well Jonas is the only one who can see it. As the Receiver of Memory, Jonas gets all the memories of humanity basically ever, good and bad. During this time his father brings home a struggling new child to stay with the family at night. The memories combined with Jonas's new found knowledge and emotions lead him to do things. And that's where I'll leave it.

My Opinion!

The Giver is really good, especially when you read rest of the series with it. It explores why utopias aren't really perfect and how being the same isn't a good thing. It also sends the message, at least to me that emotions are good, especially love. It's a little weird but also good. Weird because it's a utopia with Sameness and no emotion going on. Nine of ten Paw Prints 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

Enjoy the apocamaybe,

Merlin:)

To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee

Well hello my dears. Come in sit a spell.
Feel free to read that in a horribly stereotypical southern accent. I hate those accents but well it goes with the story, ish. I will continue to hate and be insulted by those accents forever. I don't sound like that, nor does anyone I know. And for those of you not from the south, and I mean deep south, and not just the southern united states. Think bible belt, good old fashion racism (something I do not and have never supported in any way), and ridiculous summer heat. Anyway, To Kill a Mockingbird is widely regarded as a classic, which typically means that it's boring as crap and horrible (I thought this when I first tried to read it) but it's actually really good. Given that I had to practically psychoanalyze this for my Lit class my opinions may be kind if weird but it's great. The morals. The plot. The characters, static and dynamic. I can't believe I actually went there, so weird. But that's all I'm going to say about static and dynamic characters. Possibly ever.

Characters!

• Scout Finch- Scout is a little girl at the beginning and the book follows her growing up over the years in the 1930's. She starts out as an innocent six year old. She doesn't really understand how the world works and what's going on but she's full of spunk and character and absolutely refuses to take crap from any body. 
• Jem Finch- Jem is Scout's older brother. He understands more about the world than Scout but he still doesn't quiet understand the world and why it is the way it is. But then again who does honestly. As much as Scout grows Jem grows and learns just as much. He's a young boy, he's mischievous, and constantly into trouble, and unwilling to let anyone tell him how things have to be.
• Atticus Finch- I freaking love Atticus. He's like the perfect southern gentleman. He's chivalrous, and kind, and willing to stand up for what he believes in. Why can't more people be like Atticus? Life would be so much better if they were. He also gives really good advice. 
• Boo Radley- I can't say much about him because he's an enigma wrapped in a mystery. He lives in the Radley house and may have killed someone but who knows.

There are a lot more characters. Tom Robinson springs to mind and I probably should have talked about him more than I did but I don't want to go on and on and on about characters. Some of the characters I love, others not so much but all together the cast of this book is fantastic.

Setting!

This is a rarely seen heading isn't it, but I think this is a book that the setting needs to be talked about. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Maycomb, Alabama, in 1933-1935. Maycomb is your stereotypical small southern town. Everybody knows everybody, and the problems that you associate with Small town Southern America are prevalent and then some. Everybody knows about slavery and the Civil Rights movement but this falls in between the two (a lot of things did). This story shows everyday racism and sexism and all these problems, but also the wholesome community and love in the south that I know. So I just ask, if you read this book and aren't from the south, please keep this in mind.

Plot!

The plot of To Kill a Mockingbird is very simple, its just the life of a young girl growing up in Maycomb, Alabama. Scout is growing up with her father, Calpurnia, their cook/housekeeper/mother-figure, and her brother. Her life is very ordinary, happy, and to her amazing. Then Atticus takes a rather controversial case. This leads to all sorts of problems, for the children and the town. It brings to light racism that Scout and Jem didn't know existed and shows them how unfair the world is.

My Opinion!

I love this book. The first time I read this book I was too young to truly enjoy it and was horribly bored.  Reading it again later made me truly appreciate it and it's message.  Atticus says "You don't know a man until you walk a mile in his shoes." and he's quiet right. The whole book explores life in the south in the 30's and how people aren't always what they seem. Many characters in the book seem to be one way, (Boo, Tom, Mrs. Dubose) when they turn out to be completely different person. It shows how one person can slowly make all the difference in the world. I love it. Everyone should read it at some point. Read it to your children. Read for your self. Just read it. Eleven of Ten paw prints 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

I wish you the best in the apocamaybe and in life,

Merlin:)