There's quite the debate on whether this book is good or not and my personal preference is that it was a good book. True you don't connect with many characters but my interpretation is that your not suppose to. The giver is about the utopian world where there is no pain, no war, no hunger...everyone is the same so there's no racism. In theory its the perfect world but Jonas soon shows you how the so called perfect world isn't so perfect. 
 The world they live in get rid of things we take for granted. Emotions are not a right nor is free will and you suddenly see their world in a painful light. They don't have a normal family and they don't love anyone but Jonas sets out against his family, his friends, his society when he is given the role of the receiver and he learns about the old world, our world, and learns to love. Jonas faces hard truths and carries you on an emotional story.