The Giver
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 12+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
This is a powerful book against a world that kills the weak to stay comfortable. It shows infanticide and euthanasia as the evil they are, and a boy who risks everything to save a baby. Writing on the film, Bishop Barron saw in its ending the forgotten memory of Christmas. The reservations: God is never named, a former Receiver's suicide is mourned but not judged, and the ending is uncertain.
For parents
Read aloud from 11, independent reading from 12, ideally with a parent reading too. Common Sense Media says 11 and up. Jonas watches his father kill a newborn twin. Ask why the town called killing 'release.' Ask what the Church teaches about every life (CCC 2258, 2277). Ask what Jonas hears at the end.