The Giver is a beautiful story about the importance of knowing history and the dangers of letting "experts" decide how people should live and when they should die.
Some parents are uncomfortable with The Giver because of its allusions to sexuality and descriptions of violence. We would not recommend handing The Giver to a young child to read on his own. However, we believe that most high school students are ready to handle it when presented as part of a course on developing a Biblical worldview and understanding of history.
The references to human sexuality are discreet. The society in the book treats sexuality as something bad. But since God made us male and female, we should recognize and celebrate the goodness of his design. The descriptions of "release" in the book are disturbing, but they are less graphic than descriptions of violence in the Bible. Unborn children are routinely killed in the United States every day, and we want to help students recognize the slippery slope our country is on.
If you have concerns about letting your child read The Giver, please read the book and decide for yourself if it is appropriate for your child. If you choose not to use the book, you can easily drop it (or any of the other literature) from our course, choosing an alternate book if desired.