I'm not sure on exactly how this relates to The Giver, but it definitely draws on a lot of similar themes and motifs. Unlike the unlike the borderline sci-fi dystopia of The Giver, this presents a dystopic future where people have regressed to a medieval-like state, and anyone unable to pull their weight is killed or shunned. 

A lot of the ideas here feel either simpler or murkier than in The Giver. The village is more obviously in the wrong, the mysteries are more evident even if the characters can't see it, and the characters even just blurt out some concepts that seemed to be built up around skills and usefulness and support.

I think the most interesting themes were the ones around creativity. Kira and Thomas are only able to use their skills in ways that stifle their creativity. At the same time, they were taken in because of that creativity, and they would struggle to utilize their skills as fully outside of their jobs. The line between doing what they want and doing what the council wants is only just starting to be toed by the end of the book, but the related discussions were definitely the most interesting to me.

So this doesn't feel as good as The Giver did. The themes are less poignant and less complex. The setting feels less thought provoking. The plot kind of ends just as it seems to be getting interesting. But it's still a decent read, and it does make me want to read the rest of the quartet.