Messenger

wdavery reviewed Messenger by Lois Lowry

Review of 'Messenger' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I’m very conflicted about this book... as a “companion” to The Giver it falls totally flat. As a novel it its own right it’s... fine. I enjoyed The Giver and Gathering Blue as separate works, and was excited to read this to tie them together but it feels so disconnected from the worlds of both.
There were also passages that directly conflicted with the previous book, really disappointing from an editing standpoint.

If this was presented as its own story I may be able to give it a 3 or 4 star rating. But it’s the third book of a quartet and it just doesn’t hit the standard that The Giver sets.

Graham Downs reviewed Messenger by Lois Lowry (The Giver, #3)

Review of 'Messenger' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

The last two books in this series ([b:The Giver|3636|The Giver (The Giver, #1)|Lois Lowry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1342493368l/3636.SY75.jpg|2543234] and [b:Gathering Blue|12936|Gathering Blue (The Giver, #2)|Lois Lowry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388195391l/12936.SY75.jpg|2134456]) were completely different stories involving distinct characters and set in different locales. This is the book that brings those two together: we get to meet Jonas again, and Matty, and Kira, and Kira’s father.

In the first two books, the villages started out feeling idyllic and utopian, but as we got deeper into the story, we discovered that things weren’t as they appeared and it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. In this one, the village IS an idyllic utopia, but something happens that corrupts everything.

And all I can say is... wow. It’s amazing. It shows us that, no matter how perfect things are at the outset, human beings will always screw it up with their own selfish greed. Something’s going seriously wrong in …

The last two books in this series ([b:The Giver|3636|The Giver (The Giver, #1)|Lois Lowry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1342493368l/3636.SY75.jpg|2543234] and [b:Gathering Blue|12936|Gathering Blue (The Giver, #2)|Lois Lowry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388195391l/12936.SY75.jpg|2134456]) were completely different stories involving distinct characters and set in different locales. This is the book that brings those two together: we get to meet Jonas again, and Matty, and Kira, and Kira’s father.

In the first two books, the villages started out feeling idyllic and utopian, but as we got deeper into the story, we discovered that things weren’t as they appeared and it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. In this one, the village IS an idyllic utopia, but something happens that corrupts everything.

And all I can say is... wow. It’s amazing. It shows us that, no matter how perfect things are at the outset, human beings will always screw it up with their own selfish greed. Something’s going seriously wrong in the village, and the author knows just how to pace it so it seems benign and easily fixable in the beginning, but escalates to horrors that nobody could have imagined possible.

The world-building is, again, perfect, the story is perfect, everything is just... perfect. And that ending just about left me literally gasping for breath!

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Books That Burn reviewed Messenger by Lois Lowry

Review of 'Messenger' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

Messenger connects The Giver and Gathering Blue to show the slow creep of xenophobia in the Village that had always been a welcoming place. This is a strong entry that can stand on its own, but is much better due to what came before.

I like the way that this story incorporates the previous two books such that this story can make sense on its own, but it completes the unfinished threads of the other books so that they feel more complete. I'm very excited to see how this series concludes in Son, but "Messenger" alone filled in a lot of what was missing from Gathering Blue.

The dynamic between Matty and the blind man was very good. Matty is not as knowledgeable as the blind man, but the blind man clearly values their friendship, and I think Matty enjoys having someone to help. From a narrative perspective, the way …

Messenger connects The Giver and Gathering Blue to show the slow creep of xenophobia in the Village that had always been a welcoming place. This is a strong entry that can stand on its own, but is much better due to what came before.

I like the way that this story incorporates the previous two books such that this story can make sense on its own, but it completes the unfinished threads of the other books so that they feel more complete. I'm very excited to see how this series concludes in Son, but "Messenger" alone filled in a lot of what was missing from Gathering Blue.

The dynamic between Matty and the blind man was very good. Matty is not as knowledgeable as the blind man, but the blind man clearly values their friendship, and I think Matty enjoys having someone to help. From a narrative perspective, the way that we get hints of the blind man's breadth of knowledge even when Matty doesn't have the context for his assertions was very well handled. It made them both feel like full persons even when we mostly are left with Matty's thoughts.

I'm glad that Kira didn't let Matty heal her for the journey, and that he respected her autonomy and didn't force the healing on her. The discourse about disability within these books seems to be very well handled.

Overall I liked this one and I'm looking forward to reading the conclusion in Son.

govmarley reviewed Messenger by Lois Lowry (The Giver, #3)

Review of 'Messenger' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The third installment in The Giver Quartet answers some questions and leaves you with others.

This one follows Matty and Seer and their lives in Village. Matty is one of the few who can travel safely through the forest, and delivers messages to the other villages. But things are changing in the Village and Matty, Leader, and Seer have to work together to uncover what is happening before it's too late.

My biggest objection with this installment is the abrupt ending with no true explanations. The trade market line is completely dropped, and we don't know the true reason behind the changes in the Village. I can only hope that my questions remaining from The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger are answered in Son, otherwise I will be very disappointed.