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The Giver
A growing attachment between fifteen-year-old Mary McNeal and her homeroom teacher tests her character and proves her maturity.
119 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
69 people want to read
About the author
Lynn Hall
119 books33 followersLynn Hall was the author of over fifty novels for juvenile and young adult readers, as well as over two dozen novels for younger readers. Her books focus on coming-of-age stories featuring dogs and horses.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 4, 2019
Welcome to the perfect student/teacher romance: the kind where nothing unseemly happens even though Feelings are involved on both sides.
Though intended for a teen audience, the narration alternates between Mary's perspective and her 45-year-old teacher's, and kicks off with an omniscient overview to set the stage. The writing is beautiful, detailed and thoughtful from beginning to end. Granted, there is some mild secondhand embarrassment to be had, as Hall nails EXACTLY what one might theoretically do while trying to spend more time with a teacher in ways that you think are totally subtle but are totally transparent to everyone else. But then again, Mary also has a fairly good handle on acknowledging that she's (probably) just indulging in a fantasy.
What's really important for this book, though, is how extremely sympathetic the old-professor-type teacher is. Mr. Flicket is presented as neither lecherous nor pathetic, only as a quiet, reserved man who has resigned himself to a life alone, fulfilled by teaching with wood-carving as a hobby. He accepts, albeit not without regret, that love will simply pass him by, since no one has really compared to the girlfriend his domineering mother scared off in high school. That is, until "Merry Mary" brings a burst of light into his life that he can't help indulging, just a little, a tangled cocktail of genuine admiration mixed with heart stirrings.
[He knew what he should do. Put an end to it right now.
But if this was the only love he was going to get in his life, damn it he couldn't kill it yet. Not a while yet, please.]
The mutual crush is handled with devastating maturity, so much so that I wanted to give the book a standing ovation for doing so without stern moral lectures and with an acknowledgment that feelings aren't the problem, only the way you act on them. It has a rather bittersweet epilogue, but I like to think it only strengths the sympathy attached to Mr. Flicket's character portrait.
All in all, it's the perfect romantic fantasy without any consequences.
Though intended for a teen audience, the narration alternates between Mary's perspective and her 45-year-old teacher's, and kicks off with an omniscient overview to set the stage. The writing is beautiful, detailed and thoughtful from beginning to end. Granted, there is some mild secondhand embarrassment to be had, as Hall nails EXACTLY what one might theoretically do while trying to spend more time with a teacher in ways that you think are totally subtle but are totally transparent to everyone else. But then again, Mary also has a fairly good handle on acknowledging that she's (probably) just indulging in a fantasy.
What's really important for this book, though, is how extremely sympathetic the old-professor-type teacher is. Mr. Flicket is presented as neither lecherous nor pathetic, only as a quiet, reserved man who has resigned himself to a life alone, fulfilled by teaching with wood-carving as a hobby. He accepts, albeit not without regret, that love will simply pass him by, since no one has really compared to the girlfriend his domineering mother scared off in high school. That is, until "Merry Mary" brings a burst of light into his life that he can't help indulging, just a little, a tangled cocktail of genuine admiration mixed with heart stirrings.
[He knew what he should do. Put an end to it right now.
But if this was the only love he was going to get in his life, damn it he couldn't kill it yet. Not a while yet, please.]
The mutual crush is handled with devastating maturity, so much so that I wanted to give the book a standing ovation for doing so without stern moral lectures and with an acknowledgment that feelings aren't the problem, only the way you act on them. It has a rather bittersweet epilogue, but I like to think it only strengths the sympathy attached to Mr. Flicket's character portrait.
All in all, it's the perfect romantic fantasy without any consequences.
April 14, 2014
I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one when I say I mistook this book for the one by Lois Lowry, but I actually enjoyed it. I read it in a day! I'm really glad it ended the way it did and the overall message was lovely. It's an unusual story, however I'm glad I made the mistake. Turned out to be worth it.
October 18, 2012
I mistakenly put this book on hold at the library when I thought I was holding "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. I got it home before I realized I had the wrong book. It looked like a quick read so I read it in a couple of days. At first I thought it might be a sleazy book. The story line was about a teenage girl with a crush on her teacher. The teacher reciprocated those feelings, but didn't act on them. In the end there was a good message, but it was a weird book. I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone to read.
March 31, 2014
Not the best written book, but charming in how it captures the awkwardness of two late-bloomers. I have not taken it off my shelf so that I can occasionally reread it and remember the hope that one day we all blossom.
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January 3, 2011i think this was not the book my friend was telling me about but i read it anyway. creepy adolescent bullcrap gave me the heebies.
October 2, 2022
Although the end message had some positives, I can’t recommend this book especially for preteens. If they were to assume that the actions in this book would be ‘safe’ they would more likely be lead into some very dangerous and devastating situations. I was uncomfortable throughout. Most of the book dealt with reality based emotions and feelings but it’s not good.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews