A literary take on fashion part 9

If you’re new to this books into fashion series, you can catch up with the others HERE.

I just finished reading this book, and it got me thinking about all the great futuristic and dystopian children’s books I have read over the years that are absolute classics.

If you have never read the Giver by Lois Lowry, go read it now. It is better than any Twilight, Hunger Games, etc. book you will ever read. Think of it as a juvenile introduction to 1984 or A Brave New World. The story revolves around a society in the future where everyone is satisfied with being the same, they remember nothing of their past, which includes fear, war, and pain but also color, happiness, and real love. They live blandly and move toward milestones as their birthdays go by. At age twelve, Jonas is supposed to be assigned his future job along with all the other soon to be 12 year olds. Jonas is to become the Receiver, working together with the Giver. The Giver is a very old man who holds all the real history of the past in his memory, so that the rulers don’t commit the same errors. Jonas finally begins to see things for what they really are, all the beauty but pain, it troubles him and he begins to think about escaping, but he worries about all the consequences it brings. I won’t give away too much, because this book is too complex and amazing to explain in a paragraph. Did this book leave a lasting impression on you too?

The next book is a little more lighthearted than the other, A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’engle is an another absolute must read book for young and old. Meg Murry is a mousy girl with quite low self esteem and confused with life after he father has left (well, he’s actually disappeared). Her mother is always preocupied with her science experiments, her twin brothers Sandy and Dennys are not really friendly, and her smallest brother Charles Wallace is there for her, but very young. Meg ends up making friends with Calvin O’Keefe who is out of her league, but he feels like he fits in around Meg. Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace wander into an abandoned home on a stormy night and find Mrs. Whatsit, then Mrs. Which and Mrs. Who. These three beings help the kids understand that Mr. Murry is in fact being held hostage on another planet by an evil force, and they will help the kids get him back by helping them understand the concept of tesseracts (traveling through space) and kything (communicating without speaking). This book is a great introduction to Science Fiction but delivers a strong message at the end. I have read many other works of fiction where this book is referenced to because it is so unique and strong.

Both are multiple award winning books and both also have several titles in the same series to keep your interests piqued. Tell me you’ve read both of these books and have enjoyed them as much as I have!