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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
The Forest poses real physical danger; deaths occur; the climax involves self-sacrifice
Language
None
No strong language
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
Some
A community turning against its own values; the cost of a gift used to its limit; the particular grief of this ending — best read after The Giver and Gathering Blue
What this book is about
Matty lives in the Village — the community where Jonas's friend Kira settled after escaping her own dark society. The Village has long been a refuge for those who have been turned away elsewhere, but now it's considering closing its borders, and the Forest that surrounds it has become hostile and strange. Matty, who secretly possesses a gift for healing, must make a devastating choice about what his gift costs to use. The third novel in Lois Lowry's Giver quartet crosses characters from The Giver and Gathering Blue into a shared story. Darker and shorter than its predecessors, and the most explicitly tragic entry in the series.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
the ending is genuinely devastating for younger readers
third of four books — context helps significantly
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