“Our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness... We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine and did away with a difference. We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others.”

-The Giver, By Lois Lowry

In The Giver, society is called Utopia and life is heavily regulated. Deviations from the societal standard are isolated and eliminated. Citizens are unaware that they are deprived of experiencing emotions, seeing color, and access to society’s histories. Instead, the memories of these things are collectively stored in one isolated individual, the Giver, who serves as an advisor to society and a living relic of the past. The book explores what happens when a new “Giver” is selected and begins his training- accepting and experiencing each emotion, each color, and each memory for the very first time. The protagonist begins to question whether “sameness” is worth the sacrifice of individuality. Although written in 1993, The Giver’s themes remain ever relevant, yet keep it a constant on the list(s) of those who deal in the banning of books.