Somehow I missed out on reading this book in my formative years, but I can definitely see what people mean when they talk about the new trend of dystopian fiction borrowing heavily from The Giver. 
 Overall, I enjoyed this book. The way the world was crafted, the details that were slipped in carefully, all of that. And unlike The Dark Dreamweaver, which I read recently, here's a "kids" book that doesn't talk down to its major audience. Which was refreshing. 
 After the Ceremony of Twelve, I was really intrigued by the Giver/Receiver dynamic and all the memories and training that Jonas was undergoing. But things started falling apart for me when the Giver had is revelation about how he could help the community understand memories and feelings. The book just seemed to take a sharp 90 turn off into "what-the-hell" land. 
 (view spoiler)[Especially because I'm not entirely convinced that Jonas' journey Elsewhere never happened. Like, that the Giver killed him before and ugh, terrible theories. But that totally ambiguous ending was definitely Jonas dying, for sure, right? Right? I'm not crazy? (hide spoiler)] 
 All in all, I shouldn't have plowed through the back half of this novel before bed, because it kept spinning around in my mind all night. Mostly in a frustrated way, but still.