In Lois Lowrys Newbery Medal-winning classic twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind his fragile community. The Giver the 1994 Newbery Medal winner has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas who lives in a seemingly ideal if colorless world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark complex secrets behind his fragile community. Lois Lowry has written three companion novels to The Giver including Gathering Blue Messenger and Son