Messenger

I am not ashamed to say it...I am a fan of Lois Lowry. I just don't know how she comes up with these stories of Alternative societies. Well...She is a two time Newbery Medal winner, so I guess she knows a thing or two about writing. I wish I could really go in depth with all three books that I read. The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger were all very thought provoking.

All the books sparked a certain reaction out of me, but Messenger had a very interesting tone. They lived in this society that prided itself on being, "Selfless." Those that were disfigured, blind, or in some way or another thought weird in our society, were admired in this one. Everyone was given a name based on their personalities. For instance, the name of the Blind Man was Seer because he could see better than most people, the head guy of the town was named Leader, the teacher was named Mentor, etc. They had this thing called a trade mart where they would...You guessed it...Trade for things. This is where it gets interesting. Over time, people were trading things to improve...Themselves. Mentor had a huge birth mark across his face, and eventually it was all gone. He was no longer bald, and was dating another woman (his wife passed away). The interesting thing is that once they started changing physical characteristics of themselves, they became selfish, mean, and crude. The town that was open to everyone and accepting of everyone, now had many members that wanted to close it's doors....Permanently. The price of everyone becoming so self-involved was drastic. One person had to give his life to heal everyone and everything...Do you see the symbolism?!? If you don't, just think about it.

I want end with a quote from the book that I thought was very profound.

"He saw Forest and understood was Seer had meant. It was an illusion. It was a tangled knot of fears and deceits and dark struggles for power that had disguised itself and almost destroyed everything. Now it was unfolding, like a flower coming into bloom, radiant with possibility."