This story is about a 12-year-old boy named Jonas who must choose between the world he has always known filled with sameness or one that is filled with emotions, including the joys and pains of life.
Jonas lives in a perfect, utopian community, where there are no choices. Everything in Jonas's world seems to fit in order. Each family has a mother, a father, and two children, one of each sex. The families are chosen by the Elders. No child is biologically related to their parents. The elderly, as well as the newest members of the community, are all lovingly cared for. Despite the sameness in the society, there is happiness. There is no crime, no disease, no pain, no rudeness and no unemployment. The community lives in a peaceful existence.
Every person in Jonas's community is assigned a role, or job, which he or she is suited for emotionally, physically and mentally. When Jonas turns 12, Jonas is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory. As the Receiver of Memory, Jonas will be the one person to bear the collective memories of a society that lives only in the present.
Jonas's teacher, the present Receiver, a man named "The Giver," alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Jonas's job as the Receiver is to listen to the community members' proposals and then tell them whether or not they should do it based on the lessons of history. As Jonas starts the process of his learning, the Receiver starts giving Jonas all of his memories. The Receiver does this through all of his senses. Jonas soon learns of war and hate, of snow and trees and of color (all of which are not present in this world). Jonas also learns of the horror all around him.
As his lessons continue, Jonas realizes that his "perfect" world is not so perfect. As Jonas becomes more aware that his world is not perfect, he decides to change his world.
Jonas, while being taught by the Receiver, becomes attached to a "new child" named "Gabriel". When Gabriel's life is threatened, Jonas must decide where his loyalties lie.
The Giver investigates the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable, controllable society. Jonas learns just how costly it is to have an orderly, pain-free society and decides that he cannot pay that price.
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