This story was so good! The world building was excellent and Matt was the best character. This would be a 5-star book for me, but it ends at the climax of the story!

Just when we find out what's really going on and things start really happening, the book just ends. We're given information about what's wrong, and then it ends. No resolution, no fulfillment!, no nothing! There isn't even any indication that there might be a continuation, not even a cliffhanger(!), and that's heartbreaking. Fortunately I live in a time long after this book was published, so I know that the next book continues at least Matt's story. But dang!

Anyway, I really like what Lowry did with this story. Rather than continuing from The Giver (which had a solid ending, in my opinion), she imagines the world from a different point of view entirely. A different village with a different culture, but all believably set in some post-apocalyptic world that only serves as the backdrop and reason for this particular culture's existence. I really like the mystery, but I really wish that it was developed more in this book. I'm really hoping that the next one gives me the answers and resolutions I need!