Messenger: The Giver, Book 3

Book review by Matt Berman, Common Sense Media
Messenger: The Giver, Book 3 Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 11+

Mythic vibe in engaging story of boy with healing powers.

Lois Lowry Fantasy 2014
Rate book

Parents say

age 11+

Based on 8 reviews

Kids say

age 10+

Based on 49 reviews

Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
Rate book

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this book.

Stands out for and .

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Messenger, the third book in Lois Lowry's Giver quartet, links together the first two books, The Giver and Gathering Blue, and leaves the reader reaching for the next. The setting here is known simply as the Village, a safe haven for damaged people and a place of kindness, compassion, and community. But the place is changing for the worse. Villagers are selling their souls for mundane things, and that is unleashing an ominous, evil force that threatens to destroy everything. The mood is turning ugly. There's much to discuss. As in ancient myths, the difference between good and evil is obvious, nature reflects the health (or sickness) of the community, and it takes a self-sacrificing hero to right things again. Matty, Kira, and Leader (Jonas) are graphically attacked by plants and trees in Forest. A major character dies.

Community Reviews

Felipe Carmona
Felipe Carmona Adult
January 27, 2015
age 11+

The Journey

This is a story about a boy who had grown up and now is name Matty. What his objective is to bring the Seer's daughter to the village before it's to late. Matty's task to bring Kira back to the village will be difficult because of how forest is looking. Now that forest is fighting back Matty has difficult time by passing to forest. Reason he is doing this task is because then he would something that will give him respect. Some BIG miracle would happen to change all at the end. The central conflict about the Messenger is how all of the people from the village where Matty lives change their personality by something called a trademart. A theme that fits this book is courage because of how Matty kept fighting forest. I say this book is the best i have read beside Pegauses. The reason i like this book is how Matty sets a promise to bring Kira back to the village no matter what. I would recommend this book to other people because of the it teaches how to keep going and not giving up.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
laxnabby
laxnabby Adult
March 18, 2012
age 8+

It left more questions than answers

I'm rather baffled at all the 4 and 5 ratings on The Messenger. I was REALLY enjoying the book, but it ended with more questions than answers. I was annoyed that this book spent so much time reviewing our main characters. I felt that Matty's character could have stood alone w/o all the backstory. Perhaps a little less looking back would have left room to answer so many questions left unanswered. Like what happened to Trademart? And what is going on with the Trademaster. How could he trade people for looks, love, and material items? What is he getting in return and why does he want it? What does this have to do with Forest? There needs to be another book. If not, then don't even waste your time reading this one. The Giver and Gathering Blue should stand alone if The Messenger is the end.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
See all 8 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In Village, outcasts from other places, often wounded or damaged in some way, have always been welcome. It's a simple place but friendly and kind. It welcomed Matty when he appeared one day out of Forest and over the years changed him, through compassionate nurturing, for the better. Taken in by Seer, an old blind man who can see what others cannot, he has grown from a mischievous imp who lied and stole into an honorable, well-respected youth. He runs errands for Leader and hopes to be called Messenger when he's given his adult name. But Village is changing: A selfish pettiness is taking root, and discord is festering. Villagers are becoming less kind, the Trade Mart is becoming dangerously secretive, and an unhappy faction talks of closing the borders to outsiders. Surrounding Village, the foreboding and animated Forest harbors a malevolence that is making it lethal, and Matty is beginning to discover within himself a gift for healing that frightens him. When Seer sends him to fetch Kira from her village on the other side of Forest before Village is closed, Matty doesn't know if he can bring both of them safely back -- and his fears are well-founded.

Is It Any Good?

Fans of The Giver series who are looking for resolution in MESSENGER may be disappointed. The story's not finished yet. Though readers now know what happened to main characters from previous books, they may be left with a whole host of other questions, especially about the nature of the world and how it's changing.

Lowry's writing is, as always, beautifully textured, and her characters are likable. This story's engaging but less complicated or complex than the other two books in the series. Some readers may want more from the ending, and others may wonder about weakly explained magical factors that move the plot along -- the changing Trade Mart and Forest, for example. But most readers will find those very good reasons to read Book 4. Spoiler alert: A child character dies, sacrificing himself to save the world from the amorphous evil that's tying it up in knots. Some children may find this disturbing.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Jonas, Kira, and Matty, the three heroes with special talents. How are they the same? How are they different? How do you think Lowry decided which gift to give to which character? Why?

  • How does Messenger compare with other books in the Giver quartet? Do you like the way it pulls them together? What questions are left unresolved? What do you think will happen in Book 4?

  • Why do you think some Villagers are willing to trade parts of themselves for things such as the Gaming Machine or having good looks? How does that change the Village? What is the role of the Trade Master? Where did he come from?

Book Details

Our Editors Recommend

Themes & Topics

Browse titles with similar subject matter.

  • Cartoon magic wand on orange background
    Magic and Fantasy
    See all
  • Cartoon picture of luggage and a map
    Adventures
    See all
  • Cartoon hands high fiving
    Friendship
    See all
  • Cartoon picture of the side profile of a boy
    Great Boy Role Models
    See all
  • Cartoon picture of a girl
    Great Girl Role Models
    See all

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate