Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. How can young people participate in creating the future of their societies? How do characters in young adult literature often shape their communities’ futures?

Teaching Suggestion: These questions can be used to deliver series context on The Giver Quartet, as the above questions engage themes integral to the entire series. Messenger is the third book in the 4-book series and references characters and events from the previous two books. While the novel is self-contained and can be read as a standalone, understanding how Messenger builds upon the themes established by The Giver and Gathering Blue will help students construct a deeper understanding of the novel. Series context will also offer students additional insight into characters and relationships in the text; this context can be bridged into an activity that prompts students to predict the important themes of Messenger. Because the concept of community and the role of young people in creating positive change for their societies are so prominent across all books in the series, these discussion questions will prepare students to engage with Messenger’s themes of Honesty, Openness, and Secrets; Selfishness Versus the Collective Good; and Identity, Diversity, and Difference.