In 1995, Lowry published the Newbery Medal winning novel, The Giver, which represented a rather significant departure from her previous writing. The Giver is a science fiction novel about life in a highly structured, future society where all the physical and emotional challenges in life have systematically been eliminated. The safety and security of the people are ensured by regimented ignorance enforced by a form of government reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984. No one has to make difficult choices or to even be aware there are such choices.

The plot centers around Jonas, who has been chosen to be the successor to the Giver, the one member of the society who still knows and remembers all the pain, the wonder, and the triumph of life before. As the apprentice to the Giver, Jonas learns many truths that no one else knows about life in his society. He must...