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Summer M's avatar

It's been many years since I read it (back when I taught "The Giver" to my fifth graders), but Lois Lowry's "Gathering Blue" has been coming to mind a lot lately. The trepidation Kira felt when taking care of her cot (house), wondering whether it would be taken over by a hostile neighbor; the shifting alliances of neighbors, and their authority to report each other to the state; the idea of "disappearing" people who don't toe the line; the repetitive recitation of the ruling class's version of the history of the country...all of these things have parallels in current America. Lowry's later book in the same series, "Son," has salient themes as well: the desire of the villagers for the shiny new distraction(s) to the exclusion of their own lives and families, and the blind adoration of the evil character (who reeks of Musk, no pun intended) are pretty stark reflections of what we're all experiencing now. Children's books are often dismissed as simplistic (and some are), but many have incredibly deep insights that most adults overlook.

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Kate Standiford's avatar

It’s more contemporary, but rereading The Hunger Games collection feels eerie these days. The propaganda, the media manipulation, king-like president calling the shots and simultaneously empowering his supporters and treating them as expendable tools for power and control… while manipulating the people to fight within and amongst themselves with only the bare minimum for their survival in their “specialized” districts.

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