Messenger was published by Houghton Mifflin in 2004, the third book in The Giver Quartet. The novel connects the worlds of the first two books: Matty (a minor character from Gathering Blue) lives in Village, a community led by a blind man called Leader (identified as the grown-up Jonas from The Giver). Village was founded as a refuge — a place that welcomed anyone, regardless of origin or ability.
But Village is changing. Citizens who once celebrated their diversity are voting to close the borders, to build walls, to exclude newcomers. The Forest that surrounds the village — once passable, if difficult — is becoming actively hostile, trapping and killing those who try to cross it. And some villagers are trading at a mysterious market, exchanging their best qualities (kindness, honesty, generosity) for material goods — becoming literally less human through commerce.
The novel’s allegory is transparent but effective: communities that close themselves off from others lose the qualities that made them good in the first place. The fear that drives exclusion is not merely wrong but self-destructive — it corrodes the very values the community claims to protect. Matty’s gift — the ability to heal through sacrifice — provides the resolution, but at a cost that the novel does not minimize.
Collecting Messenger
First edition (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 2004): Cloth binding, dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition in dust jacket: $10–$25
- Signed first edition: $25–$60