Jonas lives in a society free from pain or hunger. Society works like a well oiled machine, with spouses being matched by committee, babies being reared in a group until they are 1 (whoo hoo, no midnight feedings!), and even a group of birthmothers to deal with that messy aspect. Just enough food appears daily and is taken away at night. Everyone shares their feelings and troubles verbally so there is no conflict. But this society is also free from emotions, choice, even fulfillment, though Jonas doesn't know that. When he is assigned his life's work at age 12, he begins to see "behind the machine" and what he learns is frightening. 
 I enjoyed this story. It is obviously reminiscent of 1984, and since I am concurrently reading A Wrinkle in Time it was creepy to compare the "Utopian world" from that book to this one. The ending to The Given seemed vague and very open to interpretation, but since there are more books in the series, I guess that is a good thing: cliffhanger!