When I wrote 'The Giver,' it contained no so-called 'bad words.' It was set, after all, in a mythical, futuristic, and Utopian society. Not only was there no poverty, divorce, racism, sexism, pollution, or violence in the world of 'The Giver'; there was also careful attention paid to language: to its fluency, precision, and power.

People in the know say The Giver was the first young adult dystopian novel.

Mama was crying, and the rain made it seem as if the whole world was crying.

Writing is hard work, and fun, and requires you to keep your backside in a chair when you would sometimes like to put it elsewhere. So the only wisdom is the advice to keep at it, I guess.

It is much easier to be brave if you do not know everything.

We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others.

The mind can’t explain it, and you can’t make it go away. It’s called love.