Messenger

sunnyf - This is the third book of the companion of the dystopian novel The Giver. Matty lived in a flourished village that was different from the one took place in the book Gathering Blue. Matty had grown from a mischievous boy to a young adult that took care of the Seer, a blind old man with special sights. As the village prospered, the villagers seemed to lost themselves. They were trading their deepest selves to get what they desired. This seemed to be effective and a warning to the readers. We often see what we desire, but we often left behind or forgot what we really own in our souls. Meanwhile, ominous changes were occurring in the forest. Matty had to bring Kira, who was the Seer’s daughter, to the village, or else the forest would thicken and kept the outsiders out of the village. Before Matty began his journey, the Leader told him that his had a gift, or some sort of magical power, in his soul. While Matty was going through the journey, the forest didn’t stop thickening. Matty was finding himself during the journey and didn’t give up although they were unlikely going to survive through the way. I love this book, because it offered me the confidence to find myself and be who I am.

Starred review from February 16, 2004
Lowry masterfully presents another thought-provoking, haunting tale in this third novel, a companion to The Giver
and Gathering Blue
. Matty, the scruffy thief from Gathering Blue
, lives with the blind man called Seer and helps him around the house. Now an educated young adult, Matty delivers messages for Leader, the head of Village, traversing the sometimes inhospitable Forest. On one such mission, he discovers that he has the power to heal. Meanwhile, sinister attitudes begin to infiltrate his formerly tolerant Village—most notably in Mentor, the man who "tamed" Matty—and to threaten the principles on which it was founded. While Lowry intertwines compelling threads from past novels (readers discover what happened to Jonas, and that Kira also has a connection to Village), this story more than stands on its own. The author revisits some of the themes of her previous novels (the cost of striving for physical perfection; the benefits of inclusion), and takes them to another level. Because she continues to work in allegorical terms, her lessons about the effects of consumerism on society and the importance of knowing one's history never feel teacherly; instead, she allows readers to come to their own conclusions. And Matty himself, once a taker, in many ways brings the series full circle, becoming the Village citizen who offers the greatest gift. Ages 12-up.