The Giver
by Lois Lowry
In a seemingly perfect society without pain or choice, a boy is chosen to receive the memories of the past. A short, thought-provoking dystopian classic for young readers. Read the full description
Best for: Ages ten and up, and parents to read along
The Giver is #85 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 52 out of 100.
The Giver: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-08-31), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, The Giver’s reading interest has run from #64 to #86 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
The Giver was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 345 times in the past 12 months, peaking in September 2025 with 47 (63% above its monthly average of 29). Over the latest three months (Jun 2026 to Aug 2026) shelf adds were up 11% on the three months before. 79% of the adds were “want to read”, 6% “currently reading” and 15% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Wikipedia page views
Its Wikipedia article was viewed 441,754 times in the past 12 months, peaking in January 2026 with 40,908 views. The latest three months were down 21% on the three before.
Source: Wikimedia monthly page views for the article The Giver.
Adaptations
- The Giver (film), 2014
Adaptations are listed from Wikidata; a release date near a rise in the charts above is context, not proof of a cause.
Awards and honours listed on Wikidata: Newbery Medal.
What the data says about The Giver
- Moderate swings. Monthly shelf adds averaged 29 with some ups and downs.
- Busiest and quietest months. September 2025 was its busiest month (47 adds), about 3.4 times its quietest, December 2025 (14).
- A book people finish. Only 79% of its shelf adds are “want to read”, against 86% across the Top 100, so more of its activity comes from readers logging books they have read or are reading.
- Against its genre. It had 45% fewer shelf adds than the average Young adult book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 0.3% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #94 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 1993 (33 years ago), it is older than 65% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
The Giver on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in September 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | #85 | 52 |
Is The Giver rising or falling?
Cooling It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level.
On Open Library, The Giver ranks #140 this week, #122 this month, and #181 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-09-30.
Why The Giver made the Top 100
The Giver made the list mainly on momentum (+18.4 points) and being read right now (+14 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+2.1). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for The Giver
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-09-30. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have The Giver open right now than 24% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Young adult books
It is #11 of the 13 Young adult books on this month’s list.
About The Giver
In a seemingly perfect society without pain or choice, a boy is chosen to receive the memories of the past. A short, thought-provoking dystopian classic for young readers.
Why it’s here: It is widely taught, and its ideas stay with readers long after the last page.
Best for: Ages ten and up, and parents to read along
At a glance
- First published
- 1993
- Genre
- Young adult
- Also described as
- soft science fiction, young adult fiction, dystopian fiction
- Series
- The Giver Quartet, book 1
- Length
- about 200 pages (the median across its editions)
- Original language
- English
- Languages
- editions in 15 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 106 on Open Library
- Setting
- America
- Awards and honours
- Newbery Medal
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
Themes
- Memory and freedom
- Conformity
- Choice
What reading it is like
Quiet dystopia in simple prose.
At about 200 pages it is a medium-length read: roughly 4 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
Good to know
First of a quartet, and often taught in schools.
The premise
Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a community that has removed pain and choice, and is selected to receive the memories of the past. As he learns what was lost, he must decide what to do.
What you’ll get
- A thoughtful dystopia
- Short and accessible
- Great for discussion
You might skip it if you want an action-heavy story.
Pairs well with: The Hunger Games · Animal Farm
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #84 and #86
Questions about The Giver
What rank is The Giver on the Top 100 books?
The Giver is #85 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 52 out of 100.
Is The Giver rising or falling?
Cooling. It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level. On Open Library, The Giver ranks #140 this week, #122 this month, and #181 over the past year.
Why is The Giver on the Top 100?
The Giver made the list mainly on momentum (+18.4 points) and being read right now (+14 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+2.1).
How many people are reading The Giver right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 177 readers currently reading The Giver, 2,310 who want to read it and 535 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-09-30). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has The Giver had over the past year?
345 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak September 2025, 47); latest three months up 11% on the prior three; 441,754 Wikipedia views in the past 12 months (down 21% over the latest three months); Adaptations on Wikidata: The Giver (2014). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is The Giver best for?
Ages ten and up, and parents to read along.
Ask a question about The Giver
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How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated September 2026. Read the full methodology.
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