The Giver by Lois Lowry

This book was recommended to me a few years ago but I never got around to reading it. It is in constant use in the library as a novel study so it can be hard to get your hands on it. Then it was chosen as a book club selection and returned to the library at the same time so I took it as my lunch break reading.

I don't always love utopian/dystopian books but something about this one grabbed me right from the start. I loved it and have Darcy reading it now.

This is the story of Jonas a young man about to become "a twelve". You quickly learn that in his society, uniqueness is not valued. You don't get to choose your spouse, when you will have children or even how many children you will have. Once your spouse is chosen for you and you spend a few years together then you will have the opportunity to apply for a child. You will eventually apply for two children, one male, one female. These children are born to assigned birth mothers, so very few women have to undergo pregnancy. No one has their own birthday, all children born in a year advance ages at the same time. In fact, there is a ceremony each year where the milestone is marked and some new privilege is granted (such as a coat with pockets, a haircut that allows you to remove your hair ribbons or a bicycle). However, when you turn 12 your life's work is assigned to you. You will have had the opportunity to volunteer in different areas of the community so you will know where your aptitudes lie. Jonas, however, has enjoyed many different types of work so he has no idea what his assignment will be and he is very nervous about the different possibilities. But when he does finally receive his assignment, it is completely different from what he expected and it begins to change him in ways he didn't think possible. He learns that their perfect society may not be so perfect after all. What will that mean for him?

This is a short book, really aimed at younger readers so it is a quick read. I loved the characters, I loved the questions it raised. Yes, having these life decisions made for you can save a lot of pain and sadness in life, but it also removes a lot of joy. How do you balance that? What is more important?

There are more books in the series but not with the same characters. I am hoping to read those too but our library doesn't have them. I'm definitely interested to read more about this society.

All in all, this was a big hit for me. A great read!

Perfect by Rachel Joyce

Someone returned this to the library at the high school a couple of weeks ago and I decided to take a look at it on my lunch break instead of putting it right back on the shelf. I absolutely loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey so I was curious to read more by the same author.

The book has two parallel stories being told, one starting in the summer of 1972 and the other in the present day. In 1972 a young boy named Byron finds out that two seconds are being added to the world's clocks, a prospect that terrifies him. He's afraid of the repercussions of interfering with time in that way. What kind of ripple effects will that cause? He becomes consumed with these two seconds and how that will affect the world. One morning while driving to school his mom takes a different route through a poor neighbourhood and while Byron is convinced he sees his watch go backward for two seconds his mom gets distracted and unknowingly hits a young girl riding her bicycle. This sets off a chain reaction of events in their family that cannot be undone.

Alternating chapters tell the story of a man named Jim, living in the same town in the present day. Jim has no family and struggles with some serious mental health issues. He has been in and out of the local mental health facility but that has now closed so he lives alone in a broken down van. He works in a cafe located inside a store and hides his OCD rituals from the few people in his life. Through his job he meets an exciting woman named Eileen and tries to get to know her better.

Little by little you see how these two stories could be intertwined. Byron's mother also struggles with mental health issues, and it is heartbreaking to see her health deteriorate as their story progresses, while Jim begins making progress. The mental health stories were written with great respect and understanding. I think books like this can go a long way towards continuing to break down mental health stigmas and bringing greater understanding to these issues and to the people who live with these struggles and illnesses each day.

While I didn't love it as much as I loved Harold Fry I still enjoyed it quite a bit and read through it quite quickly. There was a good twist at the end as the two stories came together. All in all, I felt it was an enjoyable read. I'll read more from Rachel Joyce for sure.