In the antebellum South, two siblings shelter a large, mysterious, wounded bird and eventually follow it west toward freedom.

Living in a "perfect" world without social ills, a boy approaches the time when he will receive a life assignment from the Elders, but his selection leads him to a mysterious man known as the Giver, who reveals the dark secrets behind the utopian facade. This special edition contains a new afterword by the author, as well as her Newbery Medal acceptance speech.