Messenger is a dystopian novel written by Lois Lowry. The short novel with 169 pages is easy to read and comprehend, thus ideal for a book review among elementary pupils. Yahmir, my youngest had made a book review on it when he was still in grade 5, he finished reading it in just one sitting over a weekend.
The novel focuses on Matty, a boy who has a special power to heal that he uncovers through the novel. He serves as message-bearer through the ominous Forest that surrounds the isolated community known as Village. “Messenger” uses the ill-omened forest as a symbol for the conflict, hostility and animosity that spreads throughout the customarily quiet and diplomatic Village, as when dissatisfaction and anger builds up in the village, the forest becomes more and more hostile and violent, entraps those who travel through it with vines until they die.
Matty used his healing power to return back the peaceful personalities of the village and the forest to recover back to its natural self by putting his hands on to the ground and sacrificed his life in the end to reinstate the nonviolent, calm, serene and friendly condition once the village had.
A good read for children and adults too. I also read it after Yahmir had finished reading it. We discussed the important and relevant points in the novel then later on he made his book review with ease.
By the way Messenger is preceeded by the novels The Giver and Gathering Blue.