Great Middle Grade Reads discussion

Please leave your comments and thoughts about our Book for June on this thread.

Good choice. I read it in October of 2017, so I probably will not be reading it this time. However, I do recommend it.

I’ve read this book before and recommend the whole series. It’s one of my all-time favorites!

I read this three years ago after enjoying The Giver. Was very confused since the stories did not go together, but totally enjoyed the book enough to keep reading the rest of the series. Would highly recommend getting all the way to the fourth book when it all comes together and makes more sense!

I read this first before The Giver and remember going after the rest of the series.

When I read this book, I thought I made a mistake at first since it didn't actually seem to be a sequel to The Giver. I found it hard to read about such a savage place, but at least this place was open about its savagery unlike The Giver, where society had a veneer of civilization covering up its awfulness. I didn't like this one as much as the Giver, but I still enjoyed it.

Yay! I read The Giver many years ago and enjoyed it. I'm interested to see where this goes.

I also was having trouble seeing the connection with The Giver, but I really enjoyed the book. Interesting characters and developments. I liked it enough to check out the third in the series from the library, and now I am seeing the connection. I am intrigued to see how it all ties together. Lois Lowry is obviously a great writer, and I was quickly drawn into the book and had trouble putting it down.

I read this years ago and quite enjoyed it. The whole Giver Quartet is good. Lois Lowry is one of my favorite authors, especially her Anastasia Book Series.

I read the Giver a few years ago and only remembered the gist of the story. I don’t often read beyond the first book in a series because there are too many books to read out there (and too little time). So I was in two minds about this one.

In the end I decided to give it a go. I needn’t have worried. Like everyone have said already, you can’t really see the link. It’s like two separate books. I like this one better than The Giver. There’s more warmth. And I liked the hint of magic/ special gift. I’m glad I read it. It’s good.

At the risk of offering a spoiler, I'll just say that the connection becomes clear when you read the 4th book in the series. I haven't actually read this one, because I started it and was like, "what? This isn't a sequel!" I figured it out later after reading a lot of reviews, but haven't gotten back to this.

Rebecca wrote: "At the risk of offering a spoiler, I'll just say that the connection becomes clear when you read the 4th book in the series. I haven't actually read this one, because I started it and was like, "wh..."
This actually sounds appealing. I am more inclined to read the series if it's like reading 3 separate books and then all coming together.

If I looked hard enough, I could say the similarity is the judgement of children's future.