The Giver is a very pleasant book. I don't think I've ever read such a pleasant book set in a dystopian society, and I've read my fair share of dystopian novels. Really, this book was a breath of fresh air, and a very endearing story. 
 Jonas lives in a perfect community - a community built on Sameness. There is no individuality, but no one goes hungry, there is no war or disease, and everyone has a purpose. Every morning, his family unit discusses their dreams, and every evening they discuss their feelings. Meals are delivered to houses, babies are cared for by Nurturers until they're old enough to be assigned to families, and children are assigned their careers at the age of twelve. Jonas is just about to turn twelve. He could not possibly imagine just how important his job will be, nor how much his world will change in the year to come. 
 I can't stress just how lovely this book is. The reader is presented with Jonas' world as he sees it - and he is an unreliable narrator as he knows nothing other than the very organised community he lives in - and even though we know that it's not an ideal society by any means, there doesn't seem to be any malice to it. Even when Jonas learns of how different the world could be, of just how much his people are missing out on, the world seems more pitiable than oppressive. In trying to protect themselves and create a perfect society, they have deprived themselves of the most wonderful things about life. 
 I really enjoyed how the world was unveiled to the reader through Jonas' eyes. Because everything is normal to him, we don't know that the community is so different until he learns of how it used to be and how it could be again. It is Jonas' relationship with The Giver that opens up the immense spectrum of human emotion that has been kept from the community. And it truly is delightful to read. 
 My favourite part of the book was the ending, which didn't really give me an answer. It reminded me of the story of the matchstick girl, who spends Christmas Eve trying to sell matches only to find herself huddled in an alley, lighting the last of them to keep herself warm. Regardless of not knowing either way how the book ends, I felt satisfied with the journey that I'd experienced, and I can't wait to pick up the rest of the quartet and learn even more.