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 First edition cover | |
| Author | Lois Lowry |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | The Giver Quartet |
| Genre | Young adult fiction |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
Publication date | April 26, 2004 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover, paperback) |
| Pages | 169 |
| ISBN | 978-0618404414 |
| OCLC | 53215694 |
| [Fic] 22 | |
| LC Class | PZ7.L9673 Me 2004 |
| Preceded by | Gathering Blue |
| Followed by | Son |
Messenger is a 2004young adultdystopian novel by American authorLois Lowry, as is the third installment ofThe Giver Quartet, which began with the 1993Newbery Medal-winning novelThe Giver. The story takes place about six years after the events ofThe Giver, and the events ofGathering Blue, the preceding novel in the series. Characters from both of the previous books reappear inMessenger and give the novels a stronger continuity.
Set in an isolated community known simply as Village, the novel focuses on a boy, Matty, who serves as message-bearer through the ominous and lethal Forest that surrounds the community.
Messenger is set about seven years afterThe Giver (1993) andGathering Blue (2000).[1] It is set in Village, a simple community which is inclusive of all who seek refuge within it. Matty now lives in Village with Kira's father, Christopher. Christopher is known in Village as Seer—his true name, which everyone in Village is given when they reach maturity.The Giver's Jonas is revealed to have survived and become Village's Leader.[1]
Matty acts as a messenger, being the only person able to traverse the surrounding Forest safely. Others receive Warnings from Forest, indicating that they will not be able to travel there again without being harmed. Matty discovered that he has a supernatural "gift" where he can heal living things by touching them, at the cost of depleting himself.
The peaceful townspeople have gradually become selfish after Trademaster's arrival. Taking control of a market gathering known as Trade Mart, Trademaster offers any trade—from attractiveness toGaming Machines—in exchange for one's best qualities. Unwilling to share their resources, the townspeople vote to close Village's borders. Those who have never attended Trade Mart, such as Leader and Seer, disagree. Leader says that the wall cannot go up until three weeks have passed.
Leader assigns Matty to post notices of Village's border closure throughout Forest. Seer also asks him to bring Kira to Village before the wall is built. He retrieves Kira but they are assaulted by Forest and end up on the brink of death. Leader senses their plight with his gift, but is similarly trapped by Forest. Matty uses his gift to heal them and restore Forest and Village's natural order at the cost of his own life. Naming Matty "Healer", Kira and Leader start towards Village. Kira reaches the village.
Publishers Weekly,Kirkus Reviews andCommon Sense Media's Matt Berman praised the thought-provoking themes and simple yet "beautifully textured" prose.[2][3][4]
InThe ALAN Review, Sheryl O'Sullivan, a professor of English atAzusa Pacific University, commended Lowry for depicting evil with more ambiguity and gradualness than the two-dimensional portrayal of good and evil common inchildren's literature, mainly through Trade Mart's corruption of Village.[5] Other reviewers also considered Trade Mart as anallegory for the societal impact of greed, selfishness andconsumerism.[2][6] In her review forTor.com, American writerMari Ness disliked what she felt was a thematic shift from the evil stemming from people's and societies' inner choices—à laThe Giver andGathering Blue —to evil caused by the influence of external,supernatural forces.[1] She and Berman thought that plot aspects such as Forest'ssentience and Trademaster's motives were insufficiently established or explained. Berman found the characters likable and the story engaging, but not as complex as its two prequels.[1][4]
Messenger was nominated in the 2008Young Hoosier Book Award.[7]
LikeThe Giver,Messenger was banned in theFrisco Independent School District inTexas.[8]
