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Let me be frank. These books got super weird.

As mentioned in my review of book three, The Giver (book 1) was a fast favorite for me because I read it when I was much younger, and it kind of helped transition me into more adult writing. Lots of real world themes, great characters, a convincing plot, and a truly touching story. The remaining books attempt to continue this story, beginning with the development of Kira, who lives in a Community that is extremely different from the one Jonas was raised in.

It is later discovered that after escaping his Community, Jonas starts a refuge called Village, which is the setting for book three, and partially book four. But the way that this is all explained and uncovered makes absolutely no sense.

This series is living proof that Lois Lowry was a one-hit wonder.

Let me try to explain what was so weird about these books. Jonas and Gabe, who escape the Community in book one, are not seen again until book three. And once we see them return in book three, we aren't directly told who they are until book four. I can handle that. That's okay.

But book four actually starts out where book one did. (weird)

And books two and three, as you'll find out at the end of this book, were completely pointless in comparison to the larger story that was happening. Like, they literally served no purpose at all. (annoying)

And after the disappointment of discovering that books two and three were pointless, we find out that the larger story that was happening is actually just really bad. Poorly developed plot, unconvincing characters and storyline, and one of the dumbest villains I've ever read about. (disappointing).

You'd expect that you'd learn more about the world as a whole, but you never do. The worldbuilding is basically non-existent. I wish I stopped at book one.



Continuing that thought about the villain in this story.... He is not even introduced until book three, and by book four, we're supposed to believe that he is the penultimate evil and author of all the suffering in these books. His name is the Trademaster. We are not told anything about him beyond that he trades things. Somebody might ask him for a boat, and he would take their honor in exchange. Somebody might ask him for their youth, and he would make them young again, but he would take their happiness.

How does he do these things? Nobody knows. It's just some magical ability that he has... Almost like Lois Lowry got tired of writing dystopian and wanted to turn this into fantasy at the last minute, and it doesn't work AT ALL.

Speaking of magical abilities, all of the main characters in this book gain mysterious magical abilities in book three. Why does this happen? Nobody knows. What purpose does it serve? None that I know of.

And all of this stuff works up to the ultimate defeat of the Trademaster, who we still know nothing about by the end, and NOTHING is done to explain the government behind the Communities.



Read something else. Only reason this got two stars is because Lowry's prose is quite good at times, and I did enjoy the main character in this book, but both of those things were drowned out by a torrent of negatives that rolled in the further I read. But at least I can cross one out on my incomplete series list =D.